From being Staffordshire husbandmen, the Gilbert family worked its way up to producing two brothers, nephews of an ancestress, who were Thomas Gilbert (1720-98) and John Gilbert (1724-95),  prominent entrepreneurs of the early Industrial Revolution.   As well as with important parliamentary reform, they were involved with pioneering mining and canal engineering on a large and […]

This illustrated talk looks at the influence of the Victorians on Christmas as we know it today. The Victorians repackaged older traditions and customs that suited their new sensibilities, ideas and concerns. It is said the Victorians:‘mixed the ingredients of the English Christmas to create an extremely rich plum pudding’. Many of these changes took […]

From Chisel to Cloud, The Past and Future of Family History. A thought-provoking journey through thousands of years of development of family history record keeping and record preservation. Not all technology over the millennia has changed and, surprisingly, the future is not entirely digital. You’ll see your own family history research and documentation in a new […]

Heraldry Heraldry can be admired, or enjoyed, (or even disliked) at a distance, but it can be much more fun with a measure of participation. Quote from Ralph Brocklebanks publication "How to Do Heraldry".

Birchfield Harriers - The first 50 years 1877 - 1927 Since 1877 Birchfield Harriers, the club "of the people, for the people" has been the home of thousands of aspiring athletes, with almost 100 Harriers having represented their countries at the Olympic Games. A presentation by Ruth Lockley and Stuart Paul. Stuart and Ruth are part […]

Heraldry Heraldry can be admired, or enjoyed, (or even disliked) at a distance, but it can be much more fun with a measure of participation. Quote from Ralph Brocklebanks publication "How to Do Heraldry".

The curious case of Mr. Herbert Mowle Kendal A presentation by Paul Handford MBE. This talk, snowed off from last year, is about a Mr Kendal, a civilian volunteer ambulance driver who was killed in Action in May 1918 whilst driving his ambulance in support of the French Army. Paul discovered his  death was not […]

Heraldry Heraldry can be admired, or enjoyed, (or even disliked) at a distance, but it can be much more fun with a measure of participation. Quote from Ralph Brocklebanks publication "How to Do Heraldry".

Heraldry Heraldry can be admired, or enjoyed, (or even disliked) at a distance, but it can be much more fun with a measure of participation. Quote from Ralph Brocklebanks publication "How to Do Heraldry".

Corals Birmingham photo archive Our speaker writes “Back in 2013 we began working on something special. In partnership with the Library of Birmingham we developed Corals, a web platform designed to deliver its collections to digital audiences. Since then we’ve been busy growing Corals to enable other organisations to join us. In this talk we’ll […]

Heraldry Heraldry can be admired, or enjoyed, (or even disliked) at a distance, but it can be much more fun with a measure of participation. Quote from Ralph Brocklebanks publication "How to Do Heraldry".

Winterbourne House Archives An Edwardian historic house and garden nestled in a leafy corner of Birmingham, just minutes from the city centre, Winterbourne House was built in 1904 as the family home for John and Margaret Nettlefold. It was inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement of Edwardian times. Under the ownership of a number of families […]