Lectures & Meetings Programme

Autumn 2024 – Summer 2025

Lectures are held at Ashcroft Church, Ashcroft Road, Cirencester GL7 1RA unless indicated otherwise. 

See Location details above.

Lectures start promptly at 7.30pm.

Lectures are free to members and students in full-time education.

Non-members – £3

Wednesday 25th September 2024

Garden Visiting – A Very British Tradition

Margie Hoffnung

Horticulturalist, garden historian and Conservation Officer for The Gardens Trust, Margie Hoffnung takes a light-hearted look at the many aspects of gardens through the ages which might tempt people to visit them, taking in everything from classic English parklands by Capability Brown and Repton, to gnomes, hermits, giant veg, flower shows and lawn mower racing.

Wednesday 30th October 2024

John Nevil Maskelyne – Gloucestershire’s Master of Magic and Mystery

Andy Meller

Born in Cheltenham in 1839, John Nevil Maskelyne was a magician, showman, author and inventor who is honoured to this day by the Magic Circle, which presents an annual Maskelyne Award for services to British magic. Andy Meller will delve into the life of this fascinating man and will include one or two magic tricks along the way.

Wednesday 27th November 2024

From Romans to the Medieval –

New archaeological sites in Gloucestershire revealed by Public Access Archaeology

Tony Roberts

Through his company, Archeoscan, Tony Roberts provides opportunities for public involvement in archaeology, with the most popular activity being the chance to participate in excavations at exciting sites in the Cotswolds. Tony will give us an update about his recent excavations in the area.

Wednesday 22nd January 2025

My Life on the River Severn

Chris Witts

Chris Witts talks about his experiences working on the river Severn. He joined John Harker Ltd as a lad of 16 and soon found it was a rough life on the oil tanker barges, working night and day, having to grab sleep when you could. His work took him along the Bristol Channel down to Swansea and as far inland as Worcester, with smaller barges working between Avonmouth and Stourport-on-Severn.

Wednesday 26th February 2025

Along the Line: My Life in Archaeology

Phil Harding

The Annual Croome Lecture – PARISH CHURCH, 7.30pm

 Phil Harding, known for his television work in programmes such as Time Team, will talk about the highlights of his 50-year career in archaeology.  

Wednesday 26th March 2025

Men Behaving Badly

Ian Mackintosh

Ian Mackintosh will lead us through 500 years of misdemeanours, from selling rotten meat to infringements on the common and collective action in times of hardship, also exploring how these offences were processed through different courts.

Wednesday 23rd April 2025

Casting Stones at Napier’s Bones

Malcolm J Watkins

A joint meeting with Cirencester Science and Technology Society at the Ashcroft Centre

In the late 16th and 17th centuries the advancement of mathematical thinking and ideas was phenomenal, with many new ideas and techniques being published and invented. This illustrated talk explores the story from Napier’s Bones to the Pascaline (the first commercial mechanical calculator) looking at slide rules and other tools used.

You do not need to be mathematically minded to enjoy this talk!

Wednesday 28th May 2025

                   Annual General Meeting followed by

Archaeology of the ‘Missing Link’

Alex Thomson

Alex Thomson of Cotswold Archaeology will take us through the latest discoveries on the route of the A417 ‘missing link’. The site has unearthed a wealth of remarkable artefacts spanning various historical periods, from the Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age to the Roman eras, and even artefacts from the Second World War.

Officers & Committee 2024-2025

Chair                                             Anne Buffoni          

Vice Chair                                    Aileen Anderson    

Minutes Secretary                      Karen Mogridge

Treasurer                                      Lynton Mogridge

Membership Secretary              Karen Mogridge

Programme Secretary                Alison Wagstaff           

Social Media Secretary               Sylvia Warman

Website Manager                        Martin Ling

Committee Members                  Andrew Chapple

                                                        Martin Graebe

Honorary Editor/Archivist          David Viner

Honorary Examiner                    Philip Twentyman

The Society is a registered charity – No 287289

CAHS Subscription Rates:

Single membership £11.00    (£10 by standing order)

Joint membership £17.00    (£15 by standing order)

Lectures are free to members and students in full-time education.

Non-members – £3

 Visitors are always welcome.