Enstone History Society
Enstone History Society runs a series of events throughout the year. Currently, the membership stands at around 65 but new members are always welcome. The annual subscription is £15.00 per person. The treasurer would be grateful if members could pay by Bacs or give money or cheque to a member of the committee as soon as possible. For those paying by Bacs, details of our bank account are: account Enstone History Society, sort code 20-03-84; account number 23443361
Please contact either John Pritchard or Julia Boardman if you would like to join. There are six committee members who run the society.
Committee Members:
- John Pritchard – 01608 678175 – email: Chairman
- Anne Francis – 01608 678820 – email: Secretary
- Julia Boardman – 01608 677627 – email: Treasurer
- Carol Geare – Newsletter Editor
- Brian Pennington
- Pam Foxhall
For the History Society Newsletter click here: Newsletter January 2023
Click here for a link to The Oxfordshire Local History Association (OHLA)
Meetings unless otherwise advised will be at St Kenelm’s church starting at 6.30 for 7pm. Members can bring guests for a payment of £6 which includes a drink and sandwiches.
Programme for 2023:
- 5th January: Christmas party at The Manor House, Church Enstone.
- 15th March: The Mau Mau – Recollections and Reflections on Imperialism: Anthony Benn.
- 5th April: After the Gold Rush – a Californian gold-mining adventure: Jeremy Burton.
- 17th May: Medieval Coronations: Nicola Coldstream.
- 14th June: The History Society’s Antiques Show (details to be advised)
- 17th July: Traditional picnic at St. Kenelm’s church.
- 14th September: Church visit – venue to be advised: Nicola Coldstream.
- 4th October: Speakers from Gagingwell, Radford and Enstone will speak about items of interest in their local areas (date and details to be advised).
- 15th November: Manors and Communities from the Middle Ages to the Present Day:Anthony Gross.
We look forward to seeing you all at our various events in 2023.
2022 Looking Back
During the latter half of 2022 ,the Society enjoyed a variety of meetings and events. On a hot and thundery afternoon in September, Nicola Coldstream guided a group of members around three churches in the Stowe area: Broadwell, Lower Oddington and Bledington giving us knowledgeable insights into their history and decorative features from unusual barrel topped tombs to wall paintings and ornate doorways. In the following months, evening talks in St Kenelm’s included Hannah Bourne Taylor talking movingly about her book Fledgling and ffiona Perigrinor giving us insight into the remarkable life of Eleanor of Aquitaine and the part played by troubadours in courtly life. Gerald Skinner also gave us a second talk about the Russian/Ukraine war, this time taking us through the Russian view of things and the mind set of Putin.
2022 Christmas Party
This was held on January 5 at the Chairman’s house and attracted over thirty members and partners. In the beautifully decorated and candle-lit surroundings, an excellent evening was enjoyed with wine and a superb spread of canapés created by Tony Warburton. However the Chairman would like to point out that there were a number of no-shows which meant, as the Society has to pay for wines and food ahead of an event and charge members accordingly, (an extremely modest amount for such an evening as this), the Society will be out of pocket. Perhaps all members could make it a New Year’s resolution to advise the Chairman or another Committee member if they find that they are unable to attend an event having previously indicated that they would do so. This would be much appreciated and assist with our planning.