The December meeting was the Christmas Party. Peter Delaney presented some items from the Archive. This time, instead of
photographs and documents, they were examples of 3-dimensional objects in the society’s collection

The BCA site is known to have been occupied from at least the early 13th century. Diving into the archives, Simon and Janet shared what they know of the family that lived there for almost 200 years, show us some of their archival photographs and tell us how the site’s rich agricultural history continues today

Maureen Prince, who was born and grew up in the parish, shared
some of her family history, starting with her father, Alf Beckford

The Society resumed its meeting programme after a summer break with a presentation
by Peter Hague about Cliveden - the house itself and some of its owners and occupants

A historic walk around Woodley with our guide Ann Smith

In July, the Wargrave Local History Society visited Pendon
Museum in the village of Long Wittenham, and Dorchester Abbey

Wargrave Village Festival 2024: Society events - Historic Village Walk and an Evening with Simon Williams

Edward Polehampton left his significant wealth to the village of Twyford, establishing the Polehampton
Charity about 300 years ago, which built the old Polehampton Boys’ School there. For Wargrave Local
History Society’s May meeting, Andrew Cardy and James Fort recounted its history through to the present,
when it has been adapted to form Twyford’s new library

The Maiwand Lion in Forbury Gardens, Reading commemorates a battle fought in Afghanistan in 1880. The lion is posed snarling defiance to the north – towards Russia
Mike Cooper’s talk looked at the Battle of Maiwand against the background of Anglo-Russian rivalry in Asia – The Great Game – and the history of the lion itself

Following the Society's AGM and review of the year, Di Evans recounted more of her Reminiscences of Wargrave in the 1950s and 1960s, following on from her presentation in December

Woodley grew from a village to a suburb of Reading in the 20th Century. It is famous for Miles Aircraft and the Aerodrome. Ann Smith told us about this and also revealed the earlier, hidden history of Woodley

Rob told us of 100 million years of Reading’s underground history, from the creation of chalk in the area, to the opening of Emmer Green chalk mines in the 18th century, and the later uses of these underground chambers