We warmly welcome guests to our talks at £5.00 per person. Students are free.
Membership to the Marlborough History Society is £15.00 per annum. Memberships are renewed in January, either online before or at the first talk of 2026 If you wish to become a member please click here.
For events/talks held at St Peter’s Church, doors open at 7.00 pm
Please note: There are no talks in June, July, August and December
TALK: The talk will tell us about the preparations for this historic flight. It will examine the crossing with a keen aviator’s eye for details of what made this first direct oceanic crossing in June 1919 such an outstanding achievement.
SPEAKER: Cyril Mannion is a former RAF Hercules navigator, a Tornado pilot and Boeing 777 airliner captain. He speaks about the process of flying aeroplanes, specially adapted for non-technical audiences.
MEETING PLACE: The cafe, Weston Library (formerly the New Bodleian), Broad Street, Oxford (Please meet in the cafe by 10.30 am)
LECTURE & VIEWING OF BOOKS: 11.00 am-12 noon led by Nick Baxter.
If you have not heard of this large collection of rare books before, please click here for Ilse Nikolsky’s excellent article about its history. Recently, our own Nick Baxter has been researching some of the more interesting books and their authors, while preparing a talk for the MHS 2027 Programme – our visit will give a first airing to this research and an opportunity to see the books.
We are now ready to take bookings
Please contact John Osborne, email jeo66@btinternet.com or phone 01672 514364, to reserve a place. We are restricted to a group of 20.
There is no entry fee to the Weston Library.
We are planning to come by members’ cars, so please offer to drive if you can, and John will attempt to sort out lifts. Parking is best at Park and Rides, and from there by bus into the City centre.
The rest of the day is up to you – after lunch at a pub or restaurant, there is plenty to enjoy in Oxford, which will be looking its best in Spring. If you sign up for the outing, we will send you some suggestions nearer the time.
TALK: The talk will take members on a fascinating tour of Wiltshire revealing the stories behind many architectural follies of the county which is replete with curious buildings in many styles – Chinese, Japanese, Indian, ultra-modern, pre-historic and constructions which resemble nothing at all.
SPEAKER: Jonathan Holt – In 2019, Jonathan published Wiltshire Follies with Amberley Publishing, the result of numerous explorations and substantial research. He is also the author of books on Dorset, Somerset, Gloucestershire and Bristol, a tour guide and Editor of Follies, the organ of the Folly Fellowship, a charity dedicated to their preservation and enjoyment. Please take a look at the charity website www.follies.org.uk. Continuing the folly theme, he has built a shell house in his garden in Bath.
TALK: The talk is about the ancient but forgotten road from Oxford to Bristol running across the north of Wiltshire, that he discovered on a map from 1675. The route has its origins back in the Iron Age and was used by everyone in the millennia that followed: kings, armies, monks, travellers, and pilgrims. But in the 18th century, it suddenly fell into disuse due to some dodgy dealings and only now is its history and importance being recognised.
David will be covering: the geography that governed the route of the road, how it was used by the Romans, the role it played in the development of Malmesbury as a centre of religion for nearly a thousand years, the importance of Purton as a stopping off point along the route and why the church has both a spire and a tower.
SPEAKER: David Mitchell is an accidental historian who has always been interested in old maps. It was this passion that led to him uncovering the mystery of the North Wessex Way and started his gradual descent into the obsession of history!
TALK: The mediaeval parish churches in and around Marlborough have a lot of charm and much historical and architectural interest. In this lecture we shall visit a selection of local churches, discover some of the chief features of these buildings and spot the different architectural styles that developed over the 500-year period of the Middle Ages.
SPEAKER: John Osborne taught Classical Languages and Ancient History at Marlborough College, where he was Senior Master, and ran a course at the College’s Summer School visiting and studying historic churches in this area. He runs similar tours for the Friends of Wiltshire Churches and is a volunteer guide at Salisbury Cathedral.
TALK: Punch represents the common man fighting his small battles with life. The characters in the traditional show are just the ones that would have beset him 1760 -1830 when the story, as we know it today, was developed. However, his story is much older than that and goes back into the medieval ages.
The conception that he is a Victorian children’s entertainment is entirely misplaced, he actually represents the outlook of the Georgian man in the street, who had the money for the Punch man’s hat. This would have been the same in Marlborough as for those watching the show in London. In the last 60 seconds of the talk Punch arrives for children.
SPEAKER: Alix Booth has been a Professor of Punch and Judy for nearly fifty years and her interest in the history has continued throughout this time. Pelham Puppets will be only briefly mentioned, as marionettes are completely different from the slapstick humour of the glove puppet theatre.
