Launch of Rotherwas Munitions Factory Project exhibition
2026-02-14 10:30 - 13:00 (Europe/London) | The Local History Centre, 5 Sherford St, Bromyard, HR7 4DL, United Kingdom
The Rotherwas Munitions Factory Project exhibition is in place ready for the launch next Saturday 14th February. 10.30am – 1pm. All welcome, refreshments available. Free entry.
Rotherwas Together is the Herefordshire-based voluntary organisation dedicated to researching stories and raising awareness of the munitions factory ROF Rotherwas, the Royal Ordnance Factory built during the First World War. The factory was used for filling shells, with the first ones rolling off the production line in November 1916. The munitions site closed after the Second World War and became home to many businesses from the 1960s onwards and is now the Hereford Enterprise Zone.
Various smaller exhibitions have been held across Herefordshire and beyond, but an exciting partnership for 2026 sees a new venture where all the Rotherwas exhibitions are brought together in one venue. Working with Bromyard & District Local History Society, the exhibition will be hosted at Bromyard Local History Centre between 14th February and 23rd May 2026.
The exhibition includes stories of some of the brave women who worked at the munitions factory during both wars, and how the factory came about in the first place. It explains about the uniforms and protective clothing which was used during the First World War, and how the name ‘canary girls’ given to the women came about. There is also the remarkable story of the Rotherwas women’s football team, who played in front of big crowds during the First World War.
Alongside the stories are original artefacts and a recreation of a First World War factory uniform. Information will be available about how to trace your own ancestors who may have worked at Rotherwas, and there will be several talks about the history of the munitions in Herefordshire.

What and when were the Iron Age hillforts of Herefordshire?
2026-03-11 19:30 | The Conquest Theatre, 6 Tenbury Rd, Bromyard HR7 4LL, United Kingdom
A talk by Dr Keith Ray – The literature on the Iron Age in Britain is replete with descriptions of the form and the excavation of hilltop or hillslope enclosures commonly known as ‘hillforts.’ Areas in – or close to – the upland areas of Britain sometimes have particularly dense distributions of these kinds of site encircled by banks and ditches of sometimes intricate form. Herefordshire, in an area transitional between the uplands to the west and the lowland to the east possesses an especially high concentration. But can we regard them as a single class of site, with similar purposes? And how can we account for such a wide variation – in size, immediate location, number of ramparts, and complication of entranceways as we see today? This talk explores these questions in reference to over twenty-five years of the speaker’s engagement with these striking Herefordshire monuments.

Ocean Liners of the 1960S and 1970s
2026-04-08 19:30 | The Conquest Theatre, 6 Tenbury Rd, Bromyard HR7 4LL, United Kingdom
A talk by Anthony Lunn. A nostalgic return to the days when passenger ships looked like ships and passengers had cabins not staterooms. Most of the images are of ships engaged on long distance voyages and not seven night cruises

The People of the Peasants’ Revolt
2026-05-13 19:30 | The Conquest Theatre, 6 Tenbury Rd, Bromyard HR7 4LL, United Kingdom
A talk by Matt Lewis – In the summer of 1381, the first well documented popular rising in England shook the political foundations of a nation. A teenage king sought to deal with a populace pushed beyond what they could tolerate. What sparked the Peasants’ Revolt? Why is the name it has been given misleading? What can those wrapped up in the revolt, as rebels and victims, tell us about medieval England? The people of the Peasants’ Revolt are waiting to tell their stories. Part of the Herefordshire Histories Festival

Redditch Needle Museum
2026-06-10 00:00 | Meeting time & place TBC
Forge Mill Needle Museum in Redditch is an unusual and fascinating place to visit. This historic site illustrates the rich heritage of the needle and fishing tackle industries. Models and recreated scenes provide a vivid illustration of how needles were once made, and how Redditch once produced 90% of the world’s needles.
On the same site, just a very short walk from Forge Mill Museum, are the ruins of Bordesley Abbey – a medieval Cistercian Abbey which has been extensively excavated.
Bordesley Abbey Visitor Centre, which is set in an original reconstructed 16th century barn, tells the extraordinary story of the Abbey from its development in the 12th century to its destruction in 1538 by Henry VIII during the dissolution.
One of the most unique museums in Worcestershire and the West Midlands, the museum also has an excellent coffee bar and a superb gift shop selling souvenirs and a good selection of the finest quality needles, many of which are locally produced. We also stock unusual needles and offer a mail order service

Snodhill Castle – guided tour
2026-07-08 00:00 - 23:59 | Meeting time & place TBC
Snodhill must be the biggest, oldest castle no-one’s heard of. Its size, scale and obvious elan point to a significance far greater than its scant written records do. This much, however, we think we know:
In 2021 we discovered Stone and Bronze age evidence that showed that the ‘Snodhill’ (possible meaning ‘Cleared hill’) was occupied for thousands of years before the Normans arrived. It is also possible that Snodhill is a very rare pre-Norman castle built around 1050 to guard the fertile Dore Valley and its prosperous Saxon villages at Wilmastone, Dorstone, Peterchurch and Mynydd-brith.
What we know for certain is that the castle was built around 1068 by Norman Superknight William Fitz Osbern, 1st Earl of Hereford, who was campaigning to assert Norman control along the Welsh Marches (he built all the early Norman castles from Chepstow to Wigmore).
Fitz Osbern granted the castle to his loyal knight Hugh l’Asne who held it until his death in 1101, when the castle passed to Robert de Chandos (who had married l’Asne’s daughter).

Summer programme Museum of the Jewellery Quarter - Provisional
2026-08-13 08:00 - 17:00 | To be confirmed
Ask anyone in the city what Birmingham is famous for and jewellery-making will be at the top of the list. With a world-wide reputation for the highest quality precious metals and gemstones, the region has for centuries been the go-to place for those looking for the very best treasures.
The Museum of the Jewellery Quarter captures the vital role the industry has played as it shines a spotlight on a perfectly preserved workshop and offers a glimpse of working life in Birmingham’s renowned Jewellery Quarter.
When the proprietors of the Smith & Pepper jewellery manufacturing firm retired in 1981 they simply ceased trading and locked the door, unaware they would be leaving a time capsule for future generations. Today, it stands as a remarkable museum, telling the story of the region’s unique heritage.

Curses to Claimants: a history of Tichborne family
2026-09-09 19:30 | The Conquest Theatre, 6 Tenbury Rd, Bromyard HR7 4LL, United Kingdom
A talk by Will Motley. This talk will tell the history of one of the oldest English families, the Tichbornes of Hampshire, who have lived at Tichborne near Winchester since before the Norman Conquest and still live there now. Their story includes a twelfth century curse that came true in the 18th century; Catholic martyrs; a plot to kill Queen Elizabeth I; members of the family fighting on both sides of the Civil War and one who signed the death warrant for Charles I; an unfortunate Tichborne who was accused by Titus Oates and sent to the Tower of London; a long running trial in the 19th century concerning a butcher from Wapping who claimed to be the missing heir to the Tichborne title and fortune – and nearly got away with it.
Image: The Tichborne Dole (1671) by Gillis van Tilborch – Sir Henry Tichborne is depicted centre left with his wife and children

Medieval Church Chests in Herefordshire and their Conservation
2026-10-14 19:30 | The Conquest Theatre, 6 Tenbury Rd, Bromyard HR7 4LL, United Kingdom
A talk by Rachel Sycamore.
Chests were very important items of medieval furniture, with many extant in churches today. Rachel Sycamore provides an insight into the different types of church chests, what they were used for, and what they meant to people in medieval society. She also shares a few of her conservation journeys in preserving church chests for the future.
Rachel Sycamore, a local Furniture Restorer and Conservator, and Furniture Adviser to the Hereford Diocese, recorded many church chests in Herefordshire and Worcestershire as part of her Masters Degree over three years. She continues to restore domestic furniture in her Malvern workshop, but her passion lies in conserving church chests in Herefordshire and the surrounding counties, whilst continuing to record them around England.
Everyone welcome, free to members, guests £7

Last of the Great Lake’s Steamers
2026-11-11 19:30 | The Conquest Theatre, 6 Tenbury Rd, Bromyard HR7 4LL, United Kingdom
A talk by Philip Hart
The Edwardian Era saw the production of thousands of elegant passenger steams ships, the Titanic being one of the best-known. These vessels sailed worldwide and were the main mode of transportation across The Canadian Great Lakes up until the creation of the railways and the Trans-Canadian Highway.
Today, the only one still floating, The Keewatin, sits in the restored Victorian boatyard, located at The Great Lakes Museum, Kingston, Ontario. This is the story of her travels, and how she came to be saved, restored, and to become the main attraction at the museum.
