The History Group always welcomes all U3A members. Our usual meeting place which is Central Methodist Church is not open at present for group meetings due to Covid. I am in contact with Kim at the John Godber Centre hoping that she can manage to include our group there on the 15th September from 2 to 4.00 pm. Watch for information either by email or telephone.
A list of meeting dates for the group with details of speakers and visits is available here on the website and copies can be picked up at meetings.
I have had an enquiry about the Public Hall which was built 1875; the date is set in stone on the building. Often a query means something bad is likely to happen. I am crossing everything I can hoping this does not mean that it will be demolished. Sometimes it seems that if any building in Hucknall is over 100 years old it needs to be flattened!
This week through the post I have received a book from a man called Peter Watts which is an account of his and his wife’s families. Peter is linked with a lot of local families by the surnames of Watts, Coupe, Count, Barke, Rhodes and Smith of Broomhill; the most famous of whom was Elizabeth, housekeeper to Queen Victoria, at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. The book has been well researched and written, illustrated with maps, documents, photographs, etc. with quite a good part covering Hucknall and the local area. I am to take it to Hucknall Library after reading it myself.
Bye for now, Maureen
MEETING DATES 2021
Meeting dates: the third Wednesday of the month: for this year only we include December.
Usual venue for indoor meetings: Central Methodist Church.
Time: 2.00 pm prompt but watch for other alternative venues.
September 15th 2021 Robert Mee is coming to talk to us on Bradshaws and an early railway Tour. (He says it is the famous railway timetable and a mystery tour.)
October 20th 2021 Visit to Sharpes Pottery and The Magic Attic. Leave Hucknall 12.15pm: Leave Sharpes 4.30pm, Return Hucknall 5.30pm (ish) Cost £11.
November 17th 2021 Visit to Richard lll & Leicester Cathedral. Leave Hucknall at 10.30am. Leave Leicester 4.00pm. Return Hucknall 5.30pm (ish)
December 15th 2021 Friends of Bennerley Viaduct. (Kieran Lee) Coming to talk about this historic monument past and future.
MEETING DATES 2022
January 19th 2022 John Tedstone coming to tell us about the U3A High Street project. Plus a members Hucknall High Street project.
February 16th 2022 Malcolm Darroch is coming to talk about ‘When the Balloon went up’. (He says it is a fascinating story.)
March 16th 2022 Peter Godley from the Nottingham Historical & Archaeology Society is coming to tell us about ‘Archaeology in Nottingham’. Images, maps, etc on slides and artefacts from some of the digs will be on show.
April 20th 2022 Visit to Cromford mill. We will have a guided tour of the buildings. Plus the Arkwright Experience. Leave Hucknall 12 noon. Leave Cromford 4.30pm. Arrive Hucknall 5.30pm (ish) Cost £16.
May 18th 2022 Stephen Flinders is coming to tell us about ‘My Kind of Paris’. He says it is: What you may or may not know about Paris and what Paris has to do with Nottingham born dancer Dorothy Frettingham.
June 15th 2022 Much delayed visit to Doddington Hall & Gardens. Leave Hucknall 9.30 am. Leave Doddington 4.00pm. Return Hucknall 5.30pm (ish) Cost £20 Price cut to the bone.
No meeting July or August – Holidays
September 21st 2022 Denis Hill is coming to talk about Victorian Housing Conditions which is a century or so before most of the bureaucracy and health and safety rules came into being. It would cover the lifetimes of our great grandparents.
October 19th 2022 Visit to Derby Museum and Art Gallery. We will have a talk about Joseph Wright of Derby (Famous artist) then a self guided tour of the museum. Leave Hucknall 1.00pm. Leave Derby 5.00pm. Arrive Hucknall 5.45pm (ish) Cost £10
November 16th 2022 Trevor Lee is coming to talk to us. He usually provides us with mind pictures of entertainers; sometimes even their voices. Lots of reminiscing at this meeting.