Author: Jane Painter
March 31, 2026|Reports
“Country Seats and Sporting Feats” – Dr Margaret Roberts
Over sixty members of Wickham History Society zoomed in on Tuesday 24th February to hear Dr Margaret Roberts talk on the importance of sport in the use and design of country houses and estates. Margaret lives in Cheshire so this was a great example of how useful our two Zoom meetings each year are to…
Find Out More »February 28, 2026|Reports
“The Forgotten Spy” – Dr Nick Barratt
Dr Nick Barratt joined over sixty Wickham History Society members on Zoom for the society’s first talk of 2026 on 27 January. Last year Nick spoke to us on Magna Carta — this year he jumped forward seven hundred years to talk about his great-uncle. Not many of us have a great-uncle who was a…
Find Out More »December 31, 2025|Reports
“A Magic Lantern Show: Victorian Humour” – Alan Brindle
Our final meeting of the year was a joint event with the Wickham Society, held on Tuesday 9th December. Over sixty members from both societies came together to enjoy a Magic Lantern show – the Victorian predecessor of PowerPoint. Magic lantern slides are transparent images (painted, printed, or photographic) on glass plates, projected using a…
Find Out More »September 30, 2025|Reports
“The Story of Wickham Common and the Purlieu” – Geoff Phillpotts
For the first meeting of the autumn programme, we met at Park Place Pastoral Centre on Winchester Road where 101 members and visitors came to hear Geoff Phillpotts, the Chair of the Society, talk on the history of Wickham Common and the Purlieu. Wickham Common is a 73 acre public open space, managed by Hampshire…
Find Out More »May 31, 2025|Reports
“Meon Valley Railway” – Alan Wallbank & Martin Rogers
Seventy seven members and visitors came to see Alan Wallbank’s film about the Meon Valley Railway and hear a short follow up talk from Society Treasurer Martin Rogers on the ‘cost’ of the Meon Valley Railway at our AGM on 27th May. Alan approached the Society in 2019 when he was researching his film and…
Find Out More »May 31, 2025|News
Wickham History Society: Annual Report 2024 – 2025
Membership is now 147 (124 2023/4) and 629 people have attended our nine meetings, including 40 visitors. Meetings have remained very well attended again this year with the average attendance being 71. Five summer visits were laid on in 2024 to accommodate the increased interest. These included two guided walks around Portsmouth, a visit to…
Find Out More »April 30, 2025|Reports
“Southampton: Gateway to the Empire” – Andrew Negus
Andrew Negus returned to speak to 82 of us for his second talk on the history of Southampton. This covered the period from medieval Southampton to the early twentieth century, fitting in Jane Austen, the king of the pixies and origins of Southampton Football Club. From listening to Andrew’s previous talks, it was fascinating to…
Find Out More »March 31, 2025|Reports
“Kings Theatre Portsmouth: Then and Now” – Dave Allport
We heard the history of this fine Edwardian Theatre, including its restoration and the famous names who have appeared through its first hundred years. See our website and the March parish magazine for the meeting report. Our first ‘non-virtual’ talk of the year by Dave Allport, theatre guide, actor and backstage grafter, was the perfect…
Find Out More »February 28, 2025|Reports
“1216 and all that: The real story of the Magna Carta” – Nick Barratt
Dr. Nick Barratt joined us on Zoom for Wickham History Society’s second talk of 2025 where sixty five members and guests heard from the leading medievalist on the background to Magna Carta – the genesis of the parliamentary system and a fundamental influence on many other constitutions around the world. People were asking why 1216?…
Find Out More »January 31, 2025|Reports
“Put that light out: The Searchlight Girls of WW2″ – Dr Imogen Corrigan
Wickham History Society’s first talk of 2025 was a virtual one. Imogen Corrigan joined 78 of us from Kent on January 28th to talk about the role of women in the armed forces in the twentieth century and particularly the all female 93rd (Searchlight) Regiment Royal Artillery. Imogen speaks from great experience as she, possibly…
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