Programme
All events are held in the Chapel, Carmel Street, Great Chesterford CB10 1PH
September 2025
The Empress and the English Doctor
Smallpox was feared in the 18th century. A new innovation, inoculation, offered hope, but one problem remained: convincing people to accept the treatment. In Russia, Catherine the Great took a momentous decision: to be inoculated herself to set an example in her empire. In 1768, she summoned the Quaker physician Thomas Dimsdale from England to […]
March 2025
Kut: The personal experiences of siege and captivity of Dr. Arthur Cane
By the start of WW1 oil had become a critical strategic commodity powering the Royal Navy’s dreadnaughts and Britain was dependant on oil from the Persian Gulf. Britain had mobilised a large army in India and quickly moved a force of British and Indian regiments to the Persian Gulf in order to defend those vital […]
February 2025
Finding Homes for Graves: Recent Excavations at Great Chesterford. A Talk by Charlotte Lockwood
Yesterday’s field of beans becomes tomorrow’s housing estate. Yet lying beneath was a hitherto undiscovered Saxon settlement. Charlotte Lockwood, the lead archaeologist, said ‘”This is one of the most important Saxon sites in East Anglia. Not only is it filling in the historic jigsaw of Great Chesterford, but also adds considerably to our knowledge of […]
January 2025
2025 AGM/2024 Village Dig ReviewExpired
CLHAS members are invited to attend a brief AGM and vote on matters which affect you. Visitors are also welcome to hear Colin Day and Laura Blythe report on our 2024 village dig. All are welcome to refreshments and a drink afterwards.
November 2024
Middle Saxon Village Development in CambridgeExpired
Richard Mortimer will give a talk about the development of Cambridgeshire villages in the middle Saxon period (650 -850 AD), including why to the north the majority of village names end in ‘ham’, while in the south they more often end in ‘ton’.
October 2024
The Polish SOE at Audley EndExpired
Denise Hall will give a talk on how during WW2 Polish members of the Special Operations Executive were trained at Audley End and how they were sent back into Poland to face overwhelming odds against successfully accomplishing their missions.
September 2024
The Place Names of Saffron WaldenExpired
A talk by Malcolm White
June 2024
2024 Village Dig – Looking for SaxonsExpired
This Year we are digging three test pits in a riverside location on 29 and 30 June. We are hoping we might find some evidence of earlier occupation of the site and in particular by the Saxons – the field opposite on the other side of the river is currently being professionally excavated and there […]
March 2024
The Spy Who LovedExpired
Claire Mulley makes a welcome return to tell us the secrets and lives of one of Britain’s bravest wartime heroines.
February 2024
Beneath the Choir Stalls of King’s CollegeExpired
Alison Dixon will reveal some surprising revelations from under these famous choir stalls
January 2024
Annual General Meeting/D Day and BeyondExpired
Meeting will start with a brief AGM followed by a talk entitled D Day and Beyond by Local Historian Paul Hunt
November 2023
The Russians Are Coming with Richard GibbonsExpired
Some aspects of the Cold War from a Soviet perspective, and cold war hysteria in the west. Please note, this will be a ZOOM presentation.
October 2023
The Pargeting of Saffron Walden with Anna KettleExpired
The findings of a research project by Anna Kettle, a working pargeter and Master’s degree student
September 2023
Excavation of a Roman villa estate at Priors Hall, CorbyExpired
The uncovering of a unique example of an extremely well-preserved Romano-British temple that had been converted into a tile manufactory (and a lot more besides!) with Paddy Lambert.
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