BLETCHINGLEY CONSERVATION AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY

  • Do you want to know more about the village you now live in?

 

  • Do you want to know more about how the village used to be?

 

  • Do you want a say in conserving the village?

 

  • Do you want to meet like-minded neighbours?...

A scale model of the Prince Albert Public House on the corner of Outwood Lane and the High Street (now sadly closed).

 

Latest News:

 

June 2022: Did you grow up in Bletchingley? We would like to hear from you as our next meeting will be devoted to people like you. Come and make new friends or maybe meet up with some that you haven't seen since school - or that dance at the Village Hall! If you want to share some of your memories please get in touch.  14th July is the date for your diary - see our WHAT'S ON page for more information

 

December 2021: death of local curate

Christmas this year saw the very sad announcement of the death of an old friend of the village. Archbishop Desmond Tutu was appointed as Assistant Curate at St Mary's in 1965. He is very fondly remembered by a number of local residents. For some more detail about his life here see our People page. 

 

December 2021: Cancellation of Christmas Party

We regret that we have decided to cancel the party planned for this month. This is in the light of increasing levels of COVID cases locally. 

We may be able to organise an alternative event in the Spring but this will be dependant on how the current situation develops.

We hope that you are all able to enjoy a Happy Christmas and that we will see you for the next talk in January on Public Art in Surrey. 

 

 

October 2021: BIG NEWS!

The new programme for the forthcoming season has been published. See our WHAT'S ON page for full details

 

 

August 2021

All being well we will be re-starting our meetings in September.

Bob Evans will be our first guest speaker on the 9th September at 8pm at the Village Hall

when he will be looking at the local connections to the office of Prime
Minister over the last 300 years. Not one but two of our local MPs went on to be Prime Minister but there are lots of other less obvious connections that Bob will be entertaining us with too. See below re meeting arrangements 

 

 

May 26th 2021: The Surrey County Archaeological Unit has recorded Extensive Urban Surveys for the county. The report detailing the archaeological research carried out, and the history of the development of the village, can be found here.

 

April 28th 2021: Website maintenance has been completed and all current content should be available. Pages should now display correctly on mobile phones (let us know if you are having problems). 

 

March 2021: A new page on Wartime Bletchingley has been added, containing information on the village in World War II in particular, collected from past talks, magazine articles and society archives. Here you will find information on air raids and secret factories, reminiscences and much more. 

The newly published papers of Lt.Col Tom Mitchell can also be found here

 

 

Meetings have restarted  in the Village Hall!  

See Latest News below for more details

Meetings

Held in the Village Hall, behind Lawrences the antiques dealer, in the High Street (postcode RH1 4PA) on the second Thursday of the month at 8pm. Free car parking on site.

See our WHAT'S ON page for our latest programme

Come along to any individual meeting for £2 on the door or why not join as a member at £8 for the whole season - see our Contacts Page.

 

Coronavirus Covid-19 Update:

We keep a close eye on the ever changing COVID-19 official guidance and advice.

This means that we may have to postpone or adapt meetings at short notice.

We will always try and notify members - usually via this site, a Facebook message or e-mail to members. Please make sure we have your up to date contact details in order to avoid a wasted journey for you.

 

This also means that our meetings at the Village Hall might look a little different to those held in the past.

The Village Hall Committee have their own requirements and there will be common courtesies to keep everyone as safe as possible. Social distancing and good ventilation will be encouraged and you may be asked to keep face masks on when moving around the hall. We are hoping to offer refreshments as near to normal as possible.