Our programme of monthly TWHAS Talks is curtailed at the present time due to the Covid-19 emergency. However, we are endeavouring to broadcast some Talks by Zoom, live to TWHAS members, and then sometimes recorded for public viewing on this website. Please check below for the 2021 programme of Talks; and also for information the 2020 programme.
2021 Programme
Monthly Meetings
Meetings take place on the second Wednesday of each month (except August and December) at St Mary's Church, Wallingford.
Meetings are at 7.45pm for 8.00pm
Parking is available nearby in the Waitrose car park - free at that time of the evening.
Visitors welcome (£4)
Meetings take place on the second Wednesday of each month (except August and December) at St Mary's Church, Wallingford.
Meetings are at 7.45pm for 8.00pm
Parking is available nearby in the Waitrose car park - free at that time of the evening.
Visitors welcome (£4)
13 January (Weds)
Voyages to the House of Diversion: Garden Urns and the Destruction of the seventeenth-century Gardens at Hanwell Castle, Oxfordshire, a talk by Stephen Wass
In 1675 a family dispute lead to the destruction of the extraordinary garden that had been created at Hanwell Castle in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century. Its celebrated water gardens had been visited by royalty and were commented on by Robert Plot in his Natural History of Oxfordshire of 1677as 'the real New Atlantis'. Excavations over the past three years have revealed the remains of an elaborate garden feature known as 'the house of diversion' together with a unique assemblage of complete seventeenth-century pots. See also :-http://www.polyolbion.org.uk/Hanwell/Project.html
Our Speaker, Stephen Wass is undertaking a programme of doctoral research at the University of Oxford based on the gardens at Hanwell and their links to the early scientific community in Oxford. He also works as a commercial archaeologist specialising in historic gardens and is currently project archaeologist for the latest round of restoration at Stowe Landscape Garden.
10 Feb (Weds)
John Painter, ‘Reading Abbey – 900 years and still going’ (deferred from Sept 2020)
A review of the impact of Reading Abbey on the town of Reading, both in its heyday as a royal Abbey and one of the 10 leading monasteries in the country, through the dissolution and its subsequent use as a royal palace, to the destruction of the Civil War and the subsequent re-development of the Abbey Quarter and preservation of the Abbey Ruins up to the present day.
The talk will give a sense of what Reading lost with the Abbey's dissolution, and what it has gained from the subsequent re-uses of the site. It will also show what is still left of the monastic foundation, and the rich architectural heritage of Victorian and C20th developments in the Abbey Quarter.
John Painter retired from local government following 28 years working for Reading Borough Council. He has been actively involved in the Friends of Reading Abbey (FORA) since 2011, and Secretary since 2013. He joined FORA to support the council's efforts to consolidate the Abbey Ruins and get them re-opened to the public, which happened in 2018, in good time for the celebration of the 900th anniversary of the Abbey's foundation in 2021. He is co-author, with Peter Durrant, of the illustrated guide to Reading Abbey and the Abbey Quarter, published by Two Rivers Press in 2018 to coincide with the re-opening of the Abbey Ruins.
10 March (Weds)
Bill King: The Thames At War (deferred from April 2020)
The River Thames has always played an important strategic role throughout British history. From the time of the Romans, Anglo-Saxons and Normans, through the English Civil Wars and into modern times the River has proved to be both a key transport route and major obstacle to the movement of armies across southern England.
Following a brief outline of its historic role this talk explains why the river was such an important strategic feature in World War Two and its role in defence of the country. Industry along the Thames was adapted to serve the country in its hour of need and the Thames Valley became a centre for boat building, aircraft production and the site of numerous airfields.
Bills’ main interest is in the Second World War with particular reference to the role of Airborne and Special forces and in clandestine warfare. Bill has conducted extensive research on the role of the British Resistance Organisation (Auxiliary Units) and has contributed to the books ‘With Britain in Mortal Danger’ and ‘Churchill’s Underground Army’.
He has acted as historical adviser and appeared in the television programmes ‘Countryfile’ on BBC1, ‘History Mysteries’ on BBC2, the Channel 4 series ‘Dads Secret Army’, the Channel 5 series ‘Secrets of the National Trust’, and 'The Thames, Britain’s Great River’ with Tony Robinson.
14 April (Weds) - talk to be announced
12 May (Weds) - talk to be announced
9 June (Weds) - talk to be announced
14 July (Weds) - talk to be announced
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ no TWHAS talks in August ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8 Sept (Weds)
Andy Hood: Archaeological investigation at the Cross Keys, Wallingford
13 Oct (Weds)
Dr Tim Smith: 'Youth grows pale and spectre thin and dies - a history of tuberculosis' (deferred from July 2020)
10 Nov (Weds) - talk to be announced
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ no TWHAS talks in December ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last year's programme (2020) - for info
Jan
Marie-Louise Kerr (Curator Without Museum): ‘Oxford's Penicillin’
Think penicillin is just thanks to Fleming? Think again!
Feb
Dr Elaine Jamieson (Reading University): ‘Medieval Castles and the Reuse of Ancient Places’
Was the siting of medieval castles influenced by the remains of landscapes and monuments of the prehistoric and Roman periods?
March
Tim Allen (Oxford Archaeology): `New light on Wallingford's southern suburb: excavations at the former Police Station, Reading Road'.
April no meeting - talk POSTPONED until March 2021
Bill King: The Thames At War
May no meeting - talk given online 14th Oct 2020 - see links below
Dr Edward Peveler (Landscape Heritage Officer, Chilterns Conservation Board): 'Beacons of the Past: Citizen Science and LiDAR shedding light on the history of the Chilterns landscape'
June no meeting - talk POSTPONED until later date
John Smith: The Battle of Britain
July no meeting - talk POSTPONED until Oct 2021
Tim Smith: 'Youth grows pale and spectre thin and dies - a history of tuberculosis'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ no TWHAS talks in August ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sept no meeting - talk POSTPONED until Feb 2021
John Painter (secretary - Friends of Reading Abbey): 'Reading Abbey - 900 years and still going'
Oct TWHAS' first Zoom Talk - 14th October
'Beacons of the Past: Citizen Science and LiDAR shedding light on the history of the Chilterns landscape'
- presented by Dr Edward Peveler (Landscape Heritage Officer, Chilterns Conservation Board)
The results of the UK’s largest ever archaeological LiDAR survey have recently been made publicly available for citizen science analysis. The 1400 km2 survey, covering the Chilterns AONB and its surroundings, records the topography of the landscape in great detail. Any archaeological sites surviving as earthworks, even just a few centimetres high, will be detected, giving us evidence of people living and working in the region from the Neolithic to the 20th Century. The technique is particularly powerful in wooded landscapes, able to show up sites beneath the tree canopy where archaeological survey has traditionally been very difficult; with more than 20% tree coverage, the Chilterns AONB has many secrets to reveal. In this talk Dr Ed Peveler will be introducing this Lottery-funded project, explaining more about the survey, letting us know how we can access the data to do our own archaeological exploring, and showing us some of the exciting results that are already emerging.
Dr Ed Peveler is the Landscape Heritage Officer at the Chilterns Conservation Board, responsible for the technical elements of the Beacons of the Past project, and for the development and delivery of volunteering opportunities such as skills workshops. Prior to joining CCB, Ed completed his AHRC-funded DPhil at the University of Oxford, investigating the process of construction and building materials in Roman Oxfordshire. He also worked as Assistant Director of the University of Oxford excavations at the Roman small town of Dorchester on Thames between 2014 and 2017, and has excavated at sites in Britain, Italy, Albania, Tunisia, and India.
Ed's recorded talk is HERE
After viewing the Talk, if you would like further information please look at this link:- https://chilternsbeacons.org
Up-to-date news (more being added regularly) is available on:- https://chilternsbeacons.org/wp/news-blog
Nov a TWHAS Zoom Talk
Dr Jane Harrison: Early Anglo-Saxons in the Upper Thames Valley
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ no TWHAS talks in December ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marie-Louise Kerr (Curator Without Museum): ‘Oxford's Penicillin’
Think penicillin is just thanks to Fleming? Think again!
Feb
Dr Elaine Jamieson (Reading University): ‘Medieval Castles and the Reuse of Ancient Places’
Was the siting of medieval castles influenced by the remains of landscapes and monuments of the prehistoric and Roman periods?
March
Tim Allen (Oxford Archaeology): `New light on Wallingford's southern suburb: excavations at the former Police Station, Reading Road'.
April no meeting - talk POSTPONED until March 2021
Bill King: The Thames At War
May no meeting - talk given online 14th Oct 2020 - see links below
Dr Edward Peveler (Landscape Heritage Officer, Chilterns Conservation Board): 'Beacons of the Past: Citizen Science and LiDAR shedding light on the history of the Chilterns landscape'
June no meeting - talk POSTPONED until later date
John Smith: The Battle of Britain
July no meeting - talk POSTPONED until Oct 2021
Tim Smith: 'Youth grows pale and spectre thin and dies - a history of tuberculosis'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ no TWHAS talks in August ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sept no meeting - talk POSTPONED until Feb 2021
John Painter (secretary - Friends of Reading Abbey): 'Reading Abbey - 900 years and still going'
Oct TWHAS' first Zoom Talk - 14th October
'Beacons of the Past: Citizen Science and LiDAR shedding light on the history of the Chilterns landscape'
- presented by Dr Edward Peveler (Landscape Heritage Officer, Chilterns Conservation Board)
The results of the UK’s largest ever archaeological LiDAR survey have recently been made publicly available for citizen science analysis. The 1400 km2 survey, covering the Chilterns AONB and its surroundings, records the topography of the landscape in great detail. Any archaeological sites surviving as earthworks, even just a few centimetres high, will be detected, giving us evidence of people living and working in the region from the Neolithic to the 20th Century. The technique is particularly powerful in wooded landscapes, able to show up sites beneath the tree canopy where archaeological survey has traditionally been very difficult; with more than 20% tree coverage, the Chilterns AONB has many secrets to reveal. In this talk Dr Ed Peveler will be introducing this Lottery-funded project, explaining more about the survey, letting us know how we can access the data to do our own archaeological exploring, and showing us some of the exciting results that are already emerging.
Dr Ed Peveler is the Landscape Heritage Officer at the Chilterns Conservation Board, responsible for the technical elements of the Beacons of the Past project, and for the development and delivery of volunteering opportunities such as skills workshops. Prior to joining CCB, Ed completed his AHRC-funded DPhil at the University of Oxford, investigating the process of construction and building materials in Roman Oxfordshire. He also worked as Assistant Director of the University of Oxford excavations at the Roman small town of Dorchester on Thames between 2014 and 2017, and has excavated at sites in Britain, Italy, Albania, Tunisia, and India.
Ed's recorded talk is HERE
After viewing the Talk, if you would like further information please look at this link:- https://chilternsbeacons.org
Up-to-date news (more being added regularly) is available on:- https://chilternsbeacons.org/wp/news-blog
Nov a TWHAS Zoom Talk
Dr Jane Harrison: Early Anglo-Saxons in the Upper Thames Valley
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ no TWHAS talks in December ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Additionally, you may wish to learn about two local archaeological projects which have recently posted updates online.
Click HERE
Click HERE
Katharine Keats-Rohan is the TWHAS Speaker's secretary. If you have suggestions for future talks, please contact Katharine
If other local history societies would like to notify us of their events for possible inclusion (subject to space) in the monthly publication, TWHAS Now, then please send details to the TWHAS Now editor
If other local history societies would like to notify us of their events for possible inclusion (subject to space) in the monthly publication, TWHAS Now, then please send details to the TWHAS Now editor