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 of Talks for 2020
The Programme of talks is suspended for the duration of the Covid-19 restrictions, but will resume at some future time when that proves possible. The following list is therefore provisional.
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
14 September
The Art at Audley End House.
Speaker: Dr Peter Moore, English Heritage
12 October
John Ray, Father of Natural History.
Speaker: Jennifer Rowland
Events held earlier this year
13 January2020
The Essex Regiment during World War One.
Speaker: Peter Layzell
The Essex Regiment provided some 30 battalions to the British army in World War 1 and saw action in the Somme, Gallipoli, Egypt, and Palestine. Peter Layzell has made a long study of the Regiment’s achievements.
This talk by the manager of the Essex Regiment Family History Website is drawn from testimonies and newspaper accounts following the Regiment through the Great War including the soldiers daily routine, trench life and medical treatment.
10 February
On Portraiture.
Speaker: Benjamin Sullivan
Our speaker is one of this country’s leading portrait painters. He will be talking about his work in the context of 20th century portraiture.
His work is to be found in numerous public and private collections, including the National Portrait Gallery, the Royal Scottish Academy, Parliament House, Edinburgh, and several Oxford and Cambridge Colleges.
9 March
1,568 Sawdust Hearts
Speaker Tracey Fernandes
Soldiers wounded in the 1st World War were encouraged to decorate heart shaped bags filled with sawdust as a therapy. In 2018, a project to mark the centenary of that war was launched to provide one heart for each day of the War-hence 1568 Sawdust Hearts. 20 of these were made by volunteers in and around Saffron Walden and are now on display in the Museum. The speaker will tell us the full story.
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