We have an exciting programme of talks, events, courses and specialist group meetings – watch this space for updates. Talks are held at the Conquest theatre in Bromyard unless otherwise specified – everyone is welcome welcome, members free, guests £6.00. Tea, coffee, snacks and a full bar are always available together with a raffle – a good social evening with an interesting talk. It would be helpful if you can pre-book before the event through the theatre booking system. This saves queuing at the box office before the start of the talk. Even though there is no charge for members, a complete list of those attending is required for fire safety reasons. Members will receive an email with a password allowing free booking. Book online:  https://conquest-theatre.co.uk   or Tel: 01885 488575 – Saturday and Wednesday mornings.

Date	Speaker	History Society Events 2025	Comment
1st March	Rob Walker	‘Stained Glass in Bromyard and the Surrounding Village Churches’  by Rob Walker – tea, coffee and biscuits will be served at half time. £10.00 per person, booking essential before 14th February. Book Here	Local Family and History Centre, Sherford St 14:00 – 16:00
12th March	Clare Wichbold	A 6 week course –  How the vote was won, The suffrage campaign in Herefordshire by Clare Wichbold. Tea, coffee and biscuits will be served at half time. £35.00 per person, booking essential. For further information see here	Local Family and History Centre, Sherford St 14:00 – 16:00
12th March	Chris Wilkinson	The Hill & Evans Vinegar Line and the Worcester Gas Works – the industrial history of the Shrub Hill area, now designated as a regeneration zone. Two chemists founded the world’s largest vinegar works in 1830, later producing 2 million gallons of malt vinegar annually. To aid distribution, in 1872 a railway track linked the Great Filling Hall to Shrub Hill station sidings, crossing Pheasant Street and the canal. This illustrated talk will chart the line from Worcester’s motive power depot to the vinegar works at Lowesmoor with many then & now images and humorous anecdotes scattered throughout the talk. Book Here	Conquest Theatre – 19.30hrs
9th April	Will Motley	Wenlock Abbey/Priory – the whole history including Milnes Gaskell family from the 19th century	Conquest Theatre – 19.30hrs
14th May	James Wright	Historic Building Mythbusting – Go to any ancient building and there will be interesting, exciting, and romantic stories presented to the visitor. They are commonly believed and widely repeated – but are they really true? These stories include those of secret passages linking ancient buildings, spiral staircases in castles giving advantage to right-handed defenders, ship timbers used in the construction of buildings on land, blocked doors in churches which are thought to keep the Devil out and claims to be the oldest pub in the city. James will explain the development of such myths and investigate the underlying truths behind them. Sometimes the realities hiding behind the stories are even more interesting, romantic, and exciting than the myth itself…	Conquest Theatre – 19.30hrs
11th June	Summer programme	Wenlock Priory – Provisional	TBA
9th July	Summer programme	Lord Leyster’s Hospital – Nine hundred years ago the chapel was built. Then in the 1300s the Guilds built a half-timbered building – some of the most important examples of intact medieval architecture in Europe. Guided tour and lunch	TBA
13th August	Summer programme	Violette Svabo Museum – Provisional	TBA
10th September	Richard Willmott	Thomas Traherne, Herefordshire’s greatest writer? An Introduction. – Thomas Traherne lived in Hereford as a boy during the sieges of the Civil War. After studying at Oxford, he became rector of Credenhill and an extraordinarily prolific writer and poet. Only a small amount of his work was published in his lifetime (he died aged 37) and the story of the gradual identification and publication of his work between the 1890s and 1990s is a remarkable one: one work was rescued from a bonfire at a rubbish tip and identified many years later in Canada! The aim of my talk will be to introduce Traherne within his seventeenth-century context and hopefully encourage some of you to delve deeper into his writings.	Conquest Theatre – 19.30hrs
12th September	Summer programme	Gloucester History Festival – Heritage Day. Dozens of events, talks and walks in medieval Gloucester.
8th October	Philip Hart	Great Lakes steamers – provisional	Conquest Theatre – 19.30hrs
10th November	AGM	AGM at the Falcon Hotel – Oak Room. Members will receive agenda and supporting documents by email prior to this.	Falcon Hotel 19:00
12th November	Mike Thexton	Pan Am flight 73 hostage learns from hijacker why life was spared -provisional	Conquest Theatre – 19.30hrs