…caring about our town: past, present and future
Tales of a House Detective: A talk by Marion Miller (originally scheduled for May 2024) See p15 of the Summer newsletter Winston Churchill once said, “We shape our buildings; thereafter, they shape us.” Come and hear Marian’s tales in a profusely illustrated talk about the people who lived in some of the buildings she has […]
Illustrated by photographs from the SWOP website Mike Dewey will describe Christmas as it was before the commercialisation of today. After 'setting the scene' he will pursue two main themes - Shopping and Entertainment - as they were locally in the period 1940 to 1970. The talk will conclude with a short photo-quiz.
ARTIST AND ART HISTORIAN Cally Trench has beguiled audiences at Wycombe Museum before with her well-researched and thought-provoking Sunday afternoon explorations of artworks in the museum collection. The latest object to receive her attention is a 17th-century painting which was understood in 1934 to be a portrait of Sir Richard Browne - a Roundhead commander in the […]
It was 2008 when Society members David Scott and Ian Simmons released their book entitled “High Wycombe’s Contribution to Aviation”, covering the furniture industry's work on the wooden Mosquitto, Chobham's Flying Circus visiting Wycombe, how BroomWade came to occupy an aeroplane factory and many other topics. On 11th March 2025 we will welcome Dave Scott back to talk […]
On Tuesday 8th April, a talk entitled “The Enumerator Strikes Back” promises to provide a revelation of the practices and processes of the UK census since its inception in 1801. The speaker will be Dave Annal, a senior researcher from “Lifelines Research”, an organisation which supports people around the world researching their family histories. In 2019 Dave was awarded a Fellowship of the […]
How did a modest gentleman from High Wycombe rise to challenge and change politics in the English-speaking world across three centuries? In her talk Dr Beth Rogers explores why John Hampden came to personify popular opposition to King Charles 1's arbitrary taxes in the mid-17th century, his transition from hard-working local MP to brave Colonel […]
Following the High Wycombe Society’s AGM, Kate Ashbrook, long-serving General Secretary of the Open Spaces Society, Britain’s oldest conservation body, will give a talk entitled “160 years of campaigning for open spaces” The organisation’s early battles saved commons in and around London from enclosure and encroachment, with victories at Hampstead Heath, Wimbledon Common and Epping Forest. In 1895 […]
All welcome: Admission Free There will be plenty of water in the Wye so the restored mill should be running and grinding locally grown wheat into quality wholemeal flour that will be for sale. Explore the mill and see it grinding wheat. Meet the millers, enjoy tea, cake and other refreshments and several local interest […]
In this first event of the High Wycombe Society’s Autumn programme, John Shaw will outline the history of Chiltern Rangers from its inception through to the diverse range of projects it currently undertakes in and about High Wycombe, not to mention plans on the horizon. Chiltern Rangers mission is to enhance the Chilterns’ habitats through conservation, education and community engagement. […]
All welcome: Admission Free There will be plenty of water in the Wye so the restored mill should be running and grinding locally grown wheat into quality wholemeal flour that will be for sale. Explore the mill and see it grinding wheat. Meet the millers, enjoy tea, cake and other refreshments and several local interest […]
John Leighfield, affectionately known to local historians as “the Map Man”, will give a talk about the history of mapping from prehistoric times up until the 21st century, richly illustrated with key historical maps showing High Wycombe. From the earliest primitive maps of Britain to the apps available today, via individual mapmakers such as Saxton and Speed, and organisations […]
Steve Strutt will take us through the history of hospitals in Wycombe from the 1100’s to the 1930s Wycombe has a long history of hospitals, infirmaries, and maternity homes dating back to medieval times. Steve will guide us through these institutions, beginning with how religious beliefs created the early hospitals. Then he will explore how […]