Shady Rock Clent - A History in House Deeds. A Presentation by Linda Newey, BA Dip Gen QA Linda has an impressive pedigree - BA DipGen QA, of Four Oaks Genealogy, AGRA member, Pharos tutor and advanced programme mentor and (of course!) editor of  our quarterly journal The Midland Ancestors. Lindas talk traces the history […]

The Friends of Key Hill Cemetery and Warstone Lane Cemetery Speakers: Jacqui Fielding and Richard Beardall The Friends of Key Hill Cemetery and Warstone Lane Cemetery  who formed in 2004, are a group of volunteers working to preserve, research, inform and promote these important historic and interesting cemeteries in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter, Hockley. Jacqui will […]

Lunatick Astronomy Presenter Andrew Lound The Lunar Society was one of the most influential groups in the 18th century, no aspect of science and industry was overlooked at their monthly dinner parties. Although the development of the steam engine and coinage production became the main focus for Matthew Boulton, he had developed a passion for […]

Lost Industries and Businesses of Birmingham Presenter Keith Clenton Most photographs used in this presentation come from The Birmingham Lives Carl Chinn Archive. Keith will bring to us the reality that despite the ability of Birmingham people to adapt to innovation, for a variety of reasons there was a decline in manufacturing resulting in the […]

Where Does My Family Come From ? Unlocking the Secrets of DNA Testing Presenter - Karen Evans Adverts for DNA testing kits are constantly on the TV - but what do you actually get? This talk covers understanding how the test works in very general terms, getting the most from the test (what the results […]

The Role of Women in Medieval Heraldry - The Peplow Memorial Lecture Speaker: Dr. Paul A. Fox Early heraldry at a superficial level appears to have been a very masculine affair, but women played a much more important role than has been generally recognised.  Moreover, the frequency with which maternal arms (or elements thereof) were inherited […]

Whose Ancestor is it Anyway? - Ethics in Family History Presenters - Ann Simcock and Margaret Roberts "I am only researching my family tree, where does ethics come into it?" What information do I share?  How do I share information? Should I share information?”   Margaret and Ann discuss various scenarios you may encounter on your […]

In Memoriam - Records Of Commemoration Presenter Doreen Hopwood As family historians, we follow our ancestors from the cradle to the grave and this presentation explores the many ways in which the memory of our ancestors has been kept alive.  It explains how to locate their final resting places and discusses the changes in funeral […]

Madness, Mania and Melancholia: The Mental Health of our Ancestors Presenter Dr Janet Few The history of mental ill-health is poorly understood and many of those who were labelled as ‘idiots’, ‘imbeciles’ or ‘lunatics’ in the past would have a very different diagnosis today. This presentation looks at the history of reactions to and the […]