400 Years of Stroudwater Textiles
2027-04-14 19:30 - 21:00 (Europe/London) | The Conquest Theatre, 6 Tenbury Rd, Bromyard HR7 4LL, United Kingdom
A focus on the development of mills along the valleys, including details about the cloth-making process.A talk by Ian MacKintosh & Ann Taylor.

The Buildings Archaeologist - provisional
2027-05-12 19:30 - 21:00 | The Conquest Theatre, 6 Tenbury Rd, Bromyard HR7 4LL, United Kingdom
To be confirmed – A talk by James Wright
Visit any settlement in the land and there will be ancient buildings hidden in plain sight. Behind a Victorian façade is a Tudor house. Underneath a Georgian frontage is a mediaeval cottage. What is now a modern farm may once have been a castle. We know relatively little about the ancient buildings that surround us, yet buildings archaeology can offer us so many clues for discovering the secrets of hidden historic houses.
This talk looks at the ways in which ancient buildings have been studied and conserved, the puzzling ways that some buildings became listed whereas others were overlooked, and how we can really understand the age and development of a structure. With over a quarter of a century of field experience, James Wright uses case studies drawn from his career to explain the fascinating, enigmatic, and surprising world of The Buildings Archaeologist.

Dunkirk Woollen Mill & Gigg Mill weaving shed – Provisional date
2027-06-09 08:00 - 17:00 | Meeting time & place TBC
Dunkirk Mill Museum is part of a large mill site (now residential accommodation), reached by an attractive walk from the Egypt Mill complex in Nailsworth down the former railway track, past the restored mill pond.
The museum, which has achieved Full Accreditation from Arts Council England, offers a wonderful opportunity to see a massive working waterwheel directly powering historic textile machinery. The overshot wheel, twelve feet wide and thirteen feet in diameter, was installed in the mill in 1855 as part of the last major re-building programme carried out during its time as a woollen mill. It was made and installed by James Ferrabee of Stroud, having a mainly cast iron frame with forty steel buckets. The wheel is operated regularly on opening days (subject to water supply), and the sight of the wheel starting to move in a powerful cascade of water is unforgettable.
An early 19th-century mechanical cloth-shearing machine known as a cross-cutter is on display. This machine spent its working life at Wallbridge Mill, down the valley near Stroud. The museum also houses an exhibition showing the historic development of the Dunkirk Mills site during the 18th and 19th centuries.
At the museum, the waterwheel will run and the guides will demonstrate all the intricate machinery that was used to finish the cloth after it left the loom. However, please be aware that our ability to run the waterwheel depends on the level of water in the Nailsworth Stream. During periods of very low rainfall, the waterwheel may be out of action.

Caerleon Roman Fortress, baths, museum and amphitheatre
2027-07-14 08:00 - 17:00 | Meeting time & place TBC
The luxury and bloodshed of life in a Roman fortress . . .
Life was hard for a Roman legionary in first-century Wales. When he wasn’t cooped up in his barracks or being barked at by a centurion he was out risking his life in skirmishes with ancient Britons.
But here in Isca, one of just three permanent legionary fortresses in Britain, there were compensations. He could always hang out with his friends at the fortress baths – or take a stroll to the amphitheatre to watch the gladiators.
Inside a modern covered building in today’s Caerleon you can still explore the remains of the immense natatio, or open-air swimming pool, that once held more than 80,000 gallons of water. Thanks to the wonders of film projection you’ll glimpse a Roman soldier still diving the depths today.
You can also see the cramped rooms where the men slept and stored their weapons – the only Roman legionary barracks still on view in Europe.
And you can walk through the great north entrance into the most complete Roman amphitheatre in Britain and imagine the din of 6,000 people baying for blood.

Save the date.......
2027-08-11 08:00 - 17:00 | Meeting time & place TBC

Herefordshire's Remarkable Timber Framing: What makes it so Special?
2027-09-08 19:30 - 21:00 | The Conquest Theatre, 6 Tenbury Rd, Bromyard HR7 4LL, United Kingdom
An explanation of the characteristics of the county’s buildings and define just what makes them special by Duncan James.

Save the date
2027-10-13 19:30 - 21:00 | The Conquest Theatre, 6 Tenbury Rd, Bromyard HR7 4LL, United Kingdom
Talk at Conquest – TBC

Save the date
2027-11-10 19:30 - 21:00 | The Conquest Theatre, 6 Tenbury Rd, Bromyard HR7 4LL, United Kingdom
Talk at the Conquest – subject tbc
