How did the Underground manage during the years of the Blitz: what damage was done, how people sheltered from air raids and what uses were found for all those abandoned stations.
Thursday November 14th
The Underground at War -
Chris Green.
Not a story of the French Resistance but a look into how the Underground managed during the years of the Blitz.
Thursday January 9th 2025
My Family and Local houses - Dame Sarah Goad
Thursday February 13th 2025
New stories and pictures from Blechingley and the Grange - Dave McCleave
Thursday March 13th 2025
The Romans in Blechingley
Peter Connelly - East Surrey Museum
Thursday April 10th 2025
Planting Ideas - Sources for the history of gardening in Surrey.
Julian Pooley - Surrey History Centre
(joint meeting with Horticultural Society)
Thursday May 8th 2025
From D-Day to VE Day -
Daphne Constable and Bill O'Brien.
How was the final year of the war seen in the Parish magazine and in the experiences of some villagers?
Thursday June 12th 2025
Upstairs, Downstairs - Victorian Life
Judith Hill
Thursday July 10th 2025
Godstone
Roger Packham
Thursday September 11th 2025
Lost Railways of Surrey
Bill O'Brien
Sun October 12th 2025
12 Noon: AGM
Subscriptions are Due!
Venue to be announced
Audio recordings and copies of the Parish Magazine articles for most of these talks are available – please use the Contact Us page to request copies
2024/2025 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 of course be covering topics specific to Blechingley's history, including the local houses and families, the Romans in Blechingley and VE day 1945 as celebrated here in the village. There are many other subjects covered including sources for the history of gardening, Victorian life and a revised and updated edition of Dave McCleave's book on Blechingley and the Grange.
2019 - 2020
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
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 £3, but why not consider joining the society for just £8 per season
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 - visit 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
2023 - 2024
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 2023
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 Speakers
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 2024
Annual General Meeting and visit to Tollsworth Manor
September 2024
History of Gatton Park with a nod to Capability Brown - Alan Mortlock
August 2024
No Meeting
July 2024
Martello Towers: Effective Deterrent or Romantic Folly? - Bob Evans
June 2024
Blechingley's Hospitals, from Isolation to the Workhouse - John Berge
May 2024
The Bourne Society and Its Villages
- Roger Packham
April 2024
Mediaeval Chaldon
- Chaldon History Group
March 2024
East Grinstead - Weird, Wealden and Wonderful - Bob Evans
February 2024
East Surrey Museum
- Peter Connelly (Curator)
January 2024
The Risbridgers in Blechingley
- Annie Risbridger Hind
December 2023
Christmas Party
November 2023
"Corsets and Cameras" C19th costume for dating old photographs
- Jane Lewis, Surrey History Centre
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
Thursday December 12th 6 - 8 pm
Historical Society Christmas Party at a local house, open to members.
Carriages at 8!
Next Meeting:
Thursday Nov 14th at 8pm: The Underground at War
Chris Green, who has spoken to us in the past about Merstham and old London Bridge, turns his attention to 'The Tube'. How did the Underground manage during the years of the Blitz: what damage was done, how did people shelter from air raids and what uses were found for all those abandoned stations?
Programme 2024 - 2025
All Meetings are at 8pm unless otherwise noted
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