Thatcham Historical Society

Archaeology of the District

Dr Nick Young will present the archaeology of the area starting from the stone age going to the present. Malcolm Langford will be present with a selection of artefacts from his collection. Maps and photographs will show where the items were found, what they looked like and their importance.

Newbury & Thatcham, a comparison

Local historians Sue Broughton, Graeme Stewart, Bill Butler, Alf Wheeler and Dr Nick Young will present a history of the pubs of Thatcham. Associated coaching industry will be looked at as well as some of the trades such as white and black smiths. A connection between a member of the church with a local pub will be discussed and the talk will finish with a quick quiz, “Guess the pub!”

See www.paml.info for more details.

On Monday 29th April 2013, Dr David Peacock gave us a most interesting talk on’ A history of Sandleford Priory,’ which was founded about 12 hundred and was an Augustinian priory for around 150 years. The Augustinian order had a slightly more relaxed attitude to mixing with the larger community and had its share of scandal when one of the canons was sacked for not only living with a female but also pawning priory valuables.

On Monday 25^th March 2013, Phil Wood gave a talk packed with fascinating details on ‘The History of Pubs in Newbury.’

His history began with the Bullock Inn of 1423, which was situated on the west side of Northbrook Street and The Tiger (1438) in Bartholomew Street which had permission to accommodate up to 38 people in its 6 rooms! We learnt that licences were introduced in 1552 and by 1577 there were over 30 pubs in Newbury. By 1692 there were 6 pubs one side of the Market Place alone.

On Monday 11th February 2013, Peter Lavarack, who lived in South Africa as a boy, gave an excellent talk on the Zulu Wars of 1879, providing us with a good insight into the causes and effects of the conflict. He included some fascinating information about the Zulu’s way of life with few roads, no towns, telephones or horsepower, everything needed being carried by manpower. The British, however, were well served with more than 2,500 mules and 27,000 oxen.