Evening Talks
Talks are held at 8.00 pm in St Mary’s Parish Rooms, Museum Street, Saffron Walden.
members £1: guests welcome, £3: young people under 16 free.
Programme for 2019
11 November
The Battle of Rorke’s Drift
Speaker : Paul Fairhurst
In the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879, the Zulu Army inflicted a major defeat on the British force at Isandlwana, and immediately moved on to attack Rorke’s Drift. Our speaker, a recent Mayor of Saffron Walden, will seek to give a personal perspective on these two battles with some feelings for the times.
9 December
Members Christmas Party
From 6p.m. to 7.30 p.m.
Museum Society Members Only
Still not too late to join the Museum Society – see page here for how to join
13 January2020
The Essex Regiment during World War One.
Speaker: Peter Layzell
10 February
On Portraiture.
Speaker: Benjamin Sullivan
9 March
TBA
20 April
Bird Migration.
Speaker: Liz Huxley
11 May
All Fired Up.
Speaker: Mick Ford of Essex Fire Museum
8 June
Market Towns 1750 to the Present.
Speaker: Tony Kirby
Talks from earlier in 2019
14 January
Cambridge Science Festival- 25 Years of engaging the Public with Science.
Speaker : Dr Lucinda Spokes
Dr Stokes will describe the role and development of this, the UK’s largest free science festival showcasing over 250 events in March 2019. Cambridge University researchers and students will open their laboratories and lecture halls holding talks exhibitions and demonstrations for over 30,000 visitors.
11 February
DNA, Surnames and Genealogy
Speaker: Mark Carroll
Biochemistry lecturer at a leading London medical school and passionate family historian
Will traditional methods of family history and genealogy research, with their emphasis on documentary evidence and surnames,soon be replaced by DNA analysis? Mark uses examples drawn from family history research and DNA analysis to illustrate the concepts involved.
11 March
The University Museum of Zoology Cambridge-Past, Present and Future.
Speakers ; Dr Roz Wade and Matt Lowe
The Talk discussed the history of the collection, which contains over 2 million items, the recent redevelopment of the Museum and the programme of education which the Museum runs
8 April
Essex Diary-the wildlife of Essex through the year.
Speaker : Liz Huxley
Using her own photography Liz Huxley discussed the many faces of Essex wildlife through the seasons.
13 May
The Woman who Saved the Children
Speaker; Claire Mulley
Eglantyne Jebb, founder of Save the Children and pioneer of
children’s rights, was perhaps an unlikely children’s champion. In
1919, she launched Save the Children in London; 5 years later she
drafted the statement of children’s human rights, now evolved into
the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
10 June
Launched on 1st April 2015 by Her Majesty the Queen, the Georgian Papers programme is a project to make the historic manuscripts relating to the Georgian Monarchy more widely available to the public by digitizing them! The Georgian Papers section of the Royal Archive comprises 425,000 items and were at the start of the project stored, uncatalogued, in cardboard boxes, unlabelled except for the few saying “miscellaneous”.
9 September
Taking away the Walls.
Speaker : James Lumbard Saffron Walden Museum
14 October
Church Graffiti.
Speaker: Anthea Hawdon
Since the churches of Essex were built, their parishioners and visitors have been leaving their marks on the walls. This talk covers the variety of graffiti found in churches, from medieval to World War 2, from gossip to magic and a lot of places in between. If you’re interested in a new source for local history research or how to keep evil spirits away, this talk has something for you!
Other Events run by the Museum Service
As well as the events that are run by the Museum Society, the Museum Service runs events especially during half term and summer school holidays. A full Listing can be found on the Museum Events page
Exhibition
See the Current Exhibition page