Meetings are held in Blechingley Village Hall, behind Lawrences the antiques dealer, in the High Street (postcode RH1 4PA) on the second Thursday of the month at 8pm unless otherwise noted.

Free Car Parking available on site.

 

You may attend any meeting as a guest for £2, but why not consider joining the society for just £8 per season

Audio recordings and copies of the Parish Magazine articles for these talks are available – please use the Contact Us page to request copies

2023/2024 Season:

 

We are very pleased to present a complete programme for the forthcoming season - details below.

 

We hope you will agree that there is once again a good mix of subjects and speakers. 

This season we will as always be covering topics specific to Blechingley's history, including the Risbridger family, the Drew family, local hospitals and post WW2 farming in the area. In addition we hope to look at neighbouring areas including Chaldon, Nutfield, Gatton Park and East Surrey Museum.

Our first meeting has the intriguing title 'Corsets and Cameras: 19th Century Costume for dating old photographs which will be of interest to anyone who has been researching their family history. 

 

The committee remain conscious that COVID has not gone away entirely, meaning the format of the meetings may be slightly different to previous years and could also result in postponement and/or cancellation at short notice.

2019 - 2020

Date

 

Speaker

 

Subject

 

 

 

 

9th November 2023

 

 

Jane Lewis. Surrey History Centre

 

"Corsets and Cameras" 19th Century Costume for Dating Old Photographs

 

 

14th December 2023

 

 

Venue advised

to Members

 

Christmas Party 6pm at Local Historic House

 

 

 

11th January 2024

 

 

 

 

Annie Risbridger Hind

 

 

 

"The Risbridgers in Bletchingley"   

 

 

 

8th February 2024

 

 

 

 

Peter Connelly (Curator)

 

 

East Surrey Museum

 

 

14th March 2024

 

 

 

 

Bob Evans

 

 

East Grinstead: 'Weird, Wealden and Wonderful'

 

 

11th April 2024

 

 

 

 

Chaldon History Group

 

 

 

Medieval Chaldon

 

 

 

9th May 2024

 

 

 

 

Roger Packham

 

 

 

 

The Bourne Society and its Villages

 

 

 

 

13th June 2024

 

 

John Berge

 

 

Bletchingley Hospitals

 

 

 

 

11th July 2024

 

 

Bob Evans

 

Martello Towers - Effective Deterrent or Romantic Folly?

 

 

 

12th September 2024

 

 

Alan Mortlock

 

History of Gatton Park with a nod to Capability Brown

 

SUNDAY

 

13th October 2024 NOON

 

 

Venue to be announced

Annual General Meeting and Visit to Local Historic House (at NOON)

2020 - 2021

October 2021

Annual General Meeting and Visit to Local Historic House 

 

September 2021

Three Hundred Years of Prime Ministers 1721-2021

Bob Evans

 

August 2021

No meeting

 

November 2020 - July 2021 

All meetings postponed

 

Next meeting: AGM on Sunday 13th October at 12 noon. Venue will be advised to members. At our AGM, the annual report is presented together with the accounts and next season's programme. It is open to members so if you would like to join us for the new season, please let us know via the contact form and we can pass on details.

 

2021 - 2022

October 2022

Annual General Meeting and Visit to Local Historic House

 

September 2022

Anne of Cleves: Flanders Mare or Bletchingley Beloved?

- Bob Evans

 

August 2022 

No meeting

 

July 2022

Village Anecdotes - Various Speakers

 

June 2022

"Herbal Leys, Hedges and Herbivores" - Conservation Initiatives at Sandhills Farm - isit led by Chris Mighall

 

May 2022

1921: A Book, A Bell and a Memorial - Daphne Constable

 

April 2022

The Conservation Areas of Tandridge District - Bob Evans

 

March 2022

Public Art in Surrey - Bill O'Brien

 

February 2022

The Downlands Trust - Conserving Our Chalk Grassland 

- Peter Wakeham

 

January 2022

Postponed

 

December 2021

Christmas Party - postponed

 

November 2021

Merstham High Street - Chris Green

Previous seasons

 

Listed here are our more recent talks. 

2022 - 2023

October 2023

Annual General Meeting and visit to St Mary's Church

 

September 2023

Gazettes, Chronicles, Standards and Expresses - Bletchingley through old newspapers - Roger Packham  

 

August 2023

No Meeting

 

July 2022

Bletchingley Village Anecdotes (part 2) 

-Led by Richard Fowler

 

June 2023

New Towns: Past, Present and Future

- Bob Evans

 

 

May 2023

Brewer Street Farmhouse

- Chris French

 

April 2023

Desmond Tutu in Bletchingley

- Various Spreakers

 

March 2023

The Grange (and Book Launch)

- Dave MacLeave

 

February 2023

Titsey: medieval Knights, Bishops and Bankers to the King

-Stephanie Allen

 

January 2023

Old London Bridge: 600 Years of Residence and Retail

- Chris Green

 

December 2022

Christmas Party

 

November 2022

"Biggin on the Bump" - The Story of RAF Biggin Hill

- Bob Ogley

 

 

October 2020

Annual General Meeting - held virtually

 

April - September 2020

All meetings postponed

 

March 2020

Tales of the Caves: the Mines and Quarries between Reigate and Godstone - Peter Burgess

 

February 2020 

Fuelling The War - Bletchingley's Secret Pipeline -

Tim Whittle

 

January 2020

Merstham in Old Picture Postcards - Liz Bonsall

 

December 2019

Christmas Party at Tollsworth Manor

 

November 2019

The History of Tollsworth Manor - Gordon Gillett