Speaker: Deborah Hayter The talk discusses the reasons for the increasing struggle by many parishes during the 18th century to pay the poor rate to growing numbers of poor people, and the variety of schemes they adopted to try to ‘balance the books’. Deborah is a tutor at Oxford University’s Department for Continuing Education, specialising […]

Speaker: Mark Davies The talk details the early history of this famous and competitive event, highlighting the unusual alliance of Town & Gown in the crucial role played by the Thames' watermen and boatbuilders in equipping and training the early Oxford crews. Mark is a local author and guide specialising in the history of non-university […]

Speaker: Hubert Zawadzki The talk describes the turbulent and complex history of Poland from its medieval origins to the present day. Dr Zawadzki, a former history teacher at Abingdon School and a member of Wolfson College Oxford, is the joint author of A Concise History of Poland and has appeared on BBC programmes involving Poland. […]

Speaker: Tom Crook The talk discusses the notorious ‘Great Stink’ of summer 1858 in London, its causes and the approach adopted to combat the problem. Tom is a Senior Lecturer in Modern British History at Oxford Brookes University. Non-members welcome – a donation of £2.50 towards the meeting costs would be appreciated

Speaker: Sarah Somerville Sarah is the Visitor Services Officer at Shaw House, a Grade I listed Elizabethan manor house situated on the northern edge of Newbury and managed by West Berkshire Council as a visitor attraction and conference centre. As well as guiding tours of the house, Sarah manages events held at Shaw House and […]