Talks
The HLHS runs a monthly series of 8 evening talks each year on a variety of topics. Invited speakers give a talk in Hexham on a topic of historical interest.
The general format for the year’s talks are that the first two talks for January and February (in the depths of winter!) will be “online” and broadcast over the internet using Zoom. The remaining talks will be “physical”, and presented by the speaker in Trinity Methodist Church Hall in Hexham. We may need to alter this general format as circumstances dictate, but the details for each talk will clarify the arrangements.
All talks are completely free for HLHS members. Non-members may attend the physical talks for a small payment.
HLHS Members who receive HLHS announcements by email will automatically receive the talk details (and an invitation to the Zoom talk, if appropriate) a few days before the event. Tips for using Zoom are available here. If you’d like to join the HLHS, details are here.
If you would like to see the range of fascinating talks that have been given in previous years, please click here.
Evening Talks 2023
11 April 2023 Ad Gefrin – Reawakening Northumbria’s Golden Age Dr Chris Ferguson
Dr Ferguson, an expert in archaeology and Early Medieval Northumbria, will describe the establishment of a state-of -the-art museum and visitor destination celebrating the hidden history of the 7th Century Anglo-Saxon Royal Court of Northumbria discovered at Yeavering, near Wooler.
7:30pm, Trinity Methodist Church Hall, Beaumont Street, Hexham. Click here for directions to Trinity Hall
9 May 2023 Tom Corfe Memorial Lecture Living in Houses: A Personal History of English Domestic Architecture Professor Ruth Dalton
Professor Ruth Dalton of Northumbria University will talk about the history of houses in England, dating from 1600s to the 1980s with particular emphasis on two houses in Hexham.
7:30pm, Trinity Methodist Church Hall, Beaumont Street, Hexham. Click here for directions to Trinity Hall
12 September 2023 Two Members Talks 1. Four men and a window – stories behind the completion of Hexham Abbey’s great West Window Chris Britton 2. The Lobley Family of Hexham Dr Christine Seal
Chris will trace the history of the Abbey’s stained glass west window and explain how the lives of three of the four men involved in its creation were profoundly affected by World War 1.
Christine will talk about the Lobley family who ran a wool-stapler business in 1870s Hexham, played a prominent role in the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel circuit and as accomplished musicians gave concerts around the county.
7:30pm, Trinity Methodist Church Hall, Beaumont Street, Hexham. Click here for directions to Trinity Hall
10 October 2023 Vindolanda Uncovered – The Early Forts and Foundation of a Frontier and its Changing People Dr Andrew Birtley
Recent results of the excavations at the site of Vindolanda have continued to produce a wonderful array of artefacts, evidence and buildings from the earliest occupation of our landscape by Roman soldiers and their support communities. This talk draws together some of the finest examples and discoveries from the recent excavations and contextualises them to show just what we do and don’t know about the daily lives of our early Roman invaders.
7:30pm, Trinity Methodist Church Hall, Beaumont Street, Hexham. Click here for directions to Trinity Hall
14 November 2023 Chopwood, Props and Raff – Hexhamshire’s Woodland over the last 400 years Ian Hancock
The broadleaved woodland around Hexham and Hexhamshire today is termed as ancient semi-natural, descended from woods at least 400 years ago. Management regimes have changed over the years in response to farming practice and industrial need. Ian will discuss the historically important woods in the area, and what documentary sources and the woods modern appearance tell us about how they have been exploited over the centuries.
7:30pm, Trinity Methodist Church Hall, Beaumont Street, Hexham. Click here for directions to Trinity Hall
The talk will be preceded by the HLHS AGM.
Talks You’ve Missed in 2023
10 January 2023 Durham River Wear Assemblage Gary Bankhead
Between 2008 – 2019 archaeological investigations in the river bed near the 12th century Elvet Bridge in Durham revealed some 13,000 objects. Gary Bankhead, of Durham University, will talk about their discovery and what the objects, like medieval pilgrim badges and Victorian dentures, tell us about contemporary life.
Online via ZOOM
14 February 2023 The Noodles – Northumberland’s Yeomanry Cavalry in the Great War John Sadler
Major Charles Beck (‘Butcha’) Hornby DSO JP was a cavalryman from Hexham, who on 22 August 1914 whilst commanding ‘C’ Squadron of the Dragoon Guards became the first Allied serviceman to kill a German in the Great War. John Sadler will tell his story along with others in the Northern Cavalry.
Online via ZOOM
14 March 2023 1715 Northumbrian Jacobites – Paying Due Regard to Acomb, Corbridge, Haydon Bridge, Hexham and Hexhamshire Francis Morgan-Grant
The battle of Preston was the final action of the 1715 Jacobite Rising leading to executions and transportations. This talk will concentrate on the Northumbrian Jacobites who turned on their captors to gain their freedom.
7:30pm, Trinity Methodist Church Hall, Beaumont Street, Hexham. Click here for directions to Trinity Hall
