All meetings begin at 7.30pm and are at France Lynch Church Rooms unless otherwise stated
Programme for 2026/27
3 October (Saturday) – Local History Exhibition and drop-in afternoon. 2 – 4.30 p.m.
Our first general local history exhibition and drop-in afternoon is on Saturday 3 October. We will be showcasing some of the work and research we’ve done for previous presentations but not had space to share, having more time to talk to you – our members – than we normally have on a Wednesday night, and hoping to get people to share memories of growing up in Chalford Parish in the period from about 1948 up to the building of the Manor Farm Estate in the early 1980s. We will have photos, post cards and documents for you to look at and share your knowledge of.
There will be display boards covering our research into the Starry Hill graveyard, local schools and Manor Farm Estate, a continuous running slide show and of course maps to ponder over.
The session will start at 2 p.m. and run till around 4.30. The idea is that you can drop in for all or any of the afternoon and stay to chat and have a cup of tea / coffee and a piece of cake while you do so. These afternoons have been a big success in Eastcombe where they’ve now become a regular thing, so let’s prove we can do the same in Chalford.
Admission is free and we hope as many of you as possible will come down and see us during the afternoon.
21 October – Bisley’s Edwardian Photographer, Frederick Major – Howard Beard
A Frederick Major photo of Eastcombe
Well-known local historian and author, Howard Beard, will be talking about Frederick Major, one of two Edwardian photographers based in Bisley.
His patch was mainly the village itself and surrounding parishes, plus Stroud. He was active up until at least the end of World War One. Especially notable was his excellent coverage of the Great Snow of 1916.
A short AGM will precede Howard’s talk.
18 November – Pictures from the Mike Mills Collection and More
20 January – Schools of Chalford Parish 1939 onwards
17 February – The Chalford Railcar – Mike Fenton
17 March – Exploring the Chalford Baptist Graveyard
21 April – The History of Brimscombe Mill – Sharon Mansell
19 May – Sapperton, ‘A quiet corner of Gloucestershire’ – Alan Pilbeam
