All meetings begin at 7.30pm and are at France Lynch Church Rooms unless otherwise stated

 

16 April 2025 – The Origin of Parish Road Names

 

A group of Committe Members will be presenting the findings of their recent research on the origins of road names across the Chalford Parish. Come along and learn why no-one bothered with road names in the 19th century and why this all changed by the 1980s.

We will be covering all areas of the Parish from Chalford Vale to Manor Farm Estate. Sometimes we know the true origins and sometimes we’re just giving you our best theory on it.

Do you know where Silver Street comes from? Come along on the night and tell us!

 

 

21 May 2025 – Fore & Aft – The Purton Ships Graveyard, Paul Barnett

 

Purton on the River Severn is the unlikely resting place of one of Britain’s largest “graveyards” of nautical wrecks.

Paul, the third son of a merchant seaman, was brought up to love and respect the sea and served in both the Merchant and Royal Navies, finishing his career in 1999 as a hydrographic surveyor.

He then embarked on a course of private research into the forgotten shipwrecks of the River Severn that he had first come across in the 1970s as a boy. In this talk he will be detailing the story of the formation, development and eventual destruction of the largest ship graveyard in mainland Britain.  He is recognised as a leading authority on the subject having recently published a book, Lost Ships of the Severn Seas.

18 June 2025 – Gloucestershire Highwaymen, John Putley

 

John will be tracing the origins and history of famous (and infamous) Gloucestershire highwaymen (and possibly women!), explaining how and why they plied their trade and debunking some of the myths that have grown up around them.

 

 

 

16 July 2025 – Guided walk of Old Bussage

 

Meet at 7pm outside Frith Youth Centre