Current Events - Speaker season
NON-MEMBERS are welcome to attend our meetings, but please be aware that we rely entirely on subscriptions and voluntary contributions to cover our expenses. We therefore request that a donation of at least £3.00 is made for each non-member attendance at the meeting, or the non-member can join while at the meeting. Details of our subscription rates are on our Join Us page.
If you like what you find at our meetings, please apply for membership of our Society.
The larger our membership the more influence we can bring over matters of concern.
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Information on our speaker season appears below. The talks take place at St Marks Church Hall, Lincoln Road, PE1 2SN.
9 March 2020 7.30pm - The Light Project in Peterborough and Homelessness
in Peterborough with Steve Pettican, Chief Executive
There’s no doubt that housing has slipped well down the political agenda over the past forty years. With most people being reasonably housed, and faced with ever growing requirements to fund the NHS, pensions, and social care, governments have been relieved to accept the willingness of so many private investors to enter the housing market as landlords. Yet, such investors cannot be expected to assume the same degree of concern for social factors that is required of local authorities and housing associations. Chronic problems of insecure tenancies, unaffordability and poor quality have resulted, particularly in those parts of the country that have experienced high demand. In Peterborough, the City Council recorded 2,355 instances of people presenting as homeless during 2018-19, including those facing eviction or having no option but to share with friends or family.
In November 2018, 31 people were recorded as sleeping rough on our streets. It was to address these most acute aspects of housing need that the Light Project was established in 2009. It now provides an information, advice and support centre (Garden House), with links to GPs and specialist support workers, and a Winter Night Shelter, supported by fifteen local churches.
Our speaker, Steve Pettican, has been Chief Executive Officer of the Light Project since April 2019. He has local roots, having been educated at the King’s School, and has over twenty years’ experience of working with community and social projects, including six and a half years with the City Council.
20 April 2020 7.30pm - Victorian Crime and Punishment with
Dr Liz Davies, Curator of St Neots Museum
The Victorian passion for reform left its mark in every part of public life, with the criminal justice system being no exception. Many of the changes made stemmed from the widespread fear of the so-called “criminal underclass”, as exemplified in the pages of Oliver Twist.
Out went transportation to the colonies and capital punishment for crimes other than murder. In came effective police forces, penal servitude, new model prisons and separate reformatories for young offenders. In fact, some of these reforms had already begun before Victoria’s accession.
British society was characterised in the early nineteenth century as being rowdy and outspoken, but by the end it had become generally inhibited, orderly and respectable. How far, then, had the reforms to policing and criminal justice contributed to these changes in behaviour?
To guide us through these choppy and often murky waters, we welcome PCS member Dr Liz Davies. Born in New Zealand, Dr Davies graduated in History from Aberystwyth University, going on to train as a social history curator. She is particularly interested in the history of working people and everyday life. Prior to taking up her current post at St Neots, she worked in museums at Aylesbury and Stevenage, as well as at our own city museum.
11 May 2020 7.30pm - Oliver Cromwell with Stuart Orme, Curator of the
Cromwell Museum in Huntingdon
On the outbreak of the Civil War in 1642, Oliver Cromwell, aged 43, was an obscure country gentleman and back bench MP, showing no obvious signs of future greatness. Yet, within three years, and despite lacking any military experience, he had become one of the foremost generals of the Parliamentary Army. By 1653, rising far above the ranks of his contemporaries, he had assumed the office of Lord Protector, and, as “our chief of men”, was widely considered to be king in all but name.
What then was the background to Cromwell’s impressive public career? Are there clues from his private life to explain how he gained the resilience and strength of character to overcome the many challenges and setbacks he had to face? At a less exalted level, is it true that he wanted to ban Christmas, and did he really demand to have his portrait painted “warts and all”?
Our speaker, Stuart Orme, will be able to set out for us these and other facets of Cromwell’s remarkable life. Stuart is a long-term friend and supporter of the Society, who will be familiar to members from his previous roles with Peterborough Museum, Vivacity, and Peterborough Cathedral. Since February 2018, he has served as Curator of the Cromwell Museum in Huntingdon, in which capacity he kindly hosted a successful summer visit from the Society in July of last year.
Previous speakers
Our previous speakers and their subjects can be found here.
Completed talks
9 September 2019 7.30pm - The Horrell Family of Peterborough with Marcus Horrell
Many members of longstanding will remember receiving daily deliveries of Horrell’s locally produced milk in what now seems like a bygone age. Horrell’s dairy was indeed a major local institution, as evidenced by the fact that one of their milk bottles can still command a premium price on e-bay!
However, the Horrell family have also made a major contribution to life in Peterborough in many different ways unrelated to our diet. They have long been prominent in local government, both in city and county, in local health provision through the Robert Horrell Cancer Centre, and in many other charitable and public service fields.
In this talk, Marcus Horrell, a member of the Society for many years, will set out for us the story of his family and how they came to play their part in such a wide range of activities.
14 October 2019 7.30pm - The Emergence of the English with Professor Susan Oosthuizen
This will be held at the John Clare Theatre, Central Library, Broadway and not at our usual venue.
What happened to Britain after the withdrawal of Roman government in the year 410? Did Saxons, Jutes and Angles fill a vacuum to become the first English? If so, what became of the existing inhabitants and their well-established way of life? It's a fascinating subject of special relevance to us in the Nene Valley where the Roman presence was so strong.
The two centuries after 410 used to be seen as the darkest of the Dark Ages. Not any more. In exploring this period, we are fortunate to have the guidance of Susan Oosthuizen, Professor of Medieval Archaeology at Cambridge University. Professor Oosthuizen’s research has focused on the development of the English rural landscape between 400 and 1300 AD, including the transformation of the landscapes of Roman Britain into the fields and pastures of the Middle Ages. Her publications include: "The Anglo-Saxon Fenland" (2017) and "The Emergence of the English: Rethinking the Evidence" (2019) which is the theme of this talk.
Refreshments will be available after this meeting, for which donations are requested of £3.00 per person.
11 November 2019 7.30pm - Annual General Meeting followed by
The Role and Duties of the Lord Lieutenant with Julie Spence
Until 1921, Lord Lieutenants had the right to call upon all able-bodied men in their counties to turn out to defend the realm. This was the remaining element of their original role in Tudor times of leading and organising the local militia forces on behalf of the monarch. Nowadays, their activities centre on upholding the dignity of the Crown and include helping to organise royal visits (and acting as escort), presenting medals, liaison with local units of the armed forces, and chairing the local advisory committee for the selection of magistrates.
Julie Spence was already well known and respected throughout the county when she was appointed as Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire in 2017. Her police career of thirty-two years began with the Avon and Somerset force where she rose to the rank of superintendent, then moving to Thames Valley as an Assistant Chief Constable. She then served as Deputy Chief Constable (2004-5) and Chief Constable for Cambridgeshire (2005-10), thus gaining an unrivalled knowledge of all parts of our county. In recognition of her service, she was appointed OBE and received the Queen’s Police Medal. Since retiring from the force, she has taken on a wide range of public service and charitable roles.
9 December 2019 7.30pm - The Bells of Henry Penn
The Voice of the City
Michael Lee has spent many years researching the life and works of the nationally renowned Peterborow bellfounder Henry Penn (1685-1729) whose foundry was sited near the present Magistrates’ Court. He is justifiably proud of the naming of the footpath beside the river as Henry Penn Walk, of the plaque placed there, and especially, most recently, of the fine Stephen Broadbent designed commemorative work, ‘Voice of the City’ on Lower Bridge Street. The City Council’s enthusiasm for the subject has also extended to the naming of another footpath route as Foundry Walk. Michael says, “Tonight as you leave you will be offered a small historic gift. Looking forward to meeting you again”.
Also of interest regarding Henry Penn, in the late 1980s when the society was known as The Peterborough Society, we recognised his significance and importance to the city and area with a plaque, which was sponsored by the Fotheringhay church bellringers which can be viewed here. The Fotheringhay bellringers subsequently funded a second plaque in 2012 which can be found along the Henry Penn walk. All of our plaques can be viewed on our Peterborough Plaques pages.
13 January 2020 7.30pm - Three hundred years of the Spalding Gentlemen’s Society
with Tom Grimes, Chairman of Trustees
In the course of his Tour of Great Britain, Daniel Defoe recorded that “the town of Spalding is not large, but pretty well built and well inhabited”, but he was nevertheless glad to leave on account of the “horrid” fen country air!
Spalding must indeed have been “well inhabited” for it to have initiated in 1710 (close to the time of Defoe’s visit) its Gentlemen’s Society, “for the supporting of mutual benevolence and their improvement in the liberal sciences and in polite learning”. The leading light in its early years was Maurice Johnson of Ayscoughfee Hall, a successful lawyer, who had forged many contacts with leading figures in London society. Aristocratic patronage was obtained and an impressive museum collection amassed, so that the Society earned a reputation well beyond the local area. Its roll-call of members is amazing and begins with Sir Isaac Newton and Sir Hans Sloane.
The Society’s title relates perhaps not to the exclusion of women (which may have been taken for granted) but to its membership being limited to men with, in their own opinion, sufficient knowledge, leisure and refinement to benefit from membership. Women were only formally admitted as full members in 2006, although it is recorded that they had made many valuable contributions to the work of the Society during the preceding three centuries.
The Society is based at its own museum, purpose built in 1911. Its Chairman, Tom Grimes has kindly undertaken to enlighten us about its long history and many achievements, its museum collection, and its extensive programme of lectures.
Members may remember that one of our 2014 summer visits was to the Spalding Gentleman’s Society Museum, which proved very popular and was ‘sold out’ regards bookings.
10 February 2020 7.30pm - The Great Fen Project with Kate Carver, Development Manager
The draining and conversion of the fens for arable production which began in the seventeenth century resulted in the loss of 99% of the original fenland landscape. Within our area two historic remnants were saved, Holme Fen, the site of the famous Holme Posts, and Woodwalton Fen, bought by Charles Rothschild in 1910, but neither of these had sufficient size to enable the conservation and restoration of the full range of fenland nature.
The Great Fen Project, launched in 2001, had the aim of restoring the natural fenland landscape to a much larger extent of 3,700 hectares, incorporating both of the original reserves. Aside from nature conservation, the Project was also expected to have important roles in flood alleviation, in conserving peatland soil, in providing facilities for outdoor leisure and recreation and in presenting the fenland heritage to a wider audience.
The full extent of the Project’s ambitions may only be fulfilled after fifty or even one hundred years from its launch, but with the twenty-year milestone fast approaching, now is a good time to review its substantial record of achievement and to look forward to the next stages of its development. It is our pleasure to welcome Kate Carver, the Great Fen’s Development Manager, to guide us through these aspects of the Project.
Summer visits
Our summer visits for 2019 are now completed. Below is for information purposes only. They are initially publicised to members only, and only then released to the public if spaces remain to be filled. So to ensure you do not miss out on these or any other activities we may get involved in, become a member now.
For details on our very modest subscription rates and how to join please visit our Join Us page. The larger our membership the more influence we can bring over matters of concern
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Guided tour in Oundle - afternoon of Tuesday 25 JuneThis is now fully booked We will divide into two groups each led by an experienced town guide. Starting at the Old Town Hall town, we will progress westwards taking in the noteworthy buildings en route including Oundle Museum which has won various awards, including Best Volunteer Project, 2018, at the Northants Heritage Awards. The rich history of Oundle includes many exhibits from the Roman, Saxon and Medieval periods. At the end of the tour tea and scones will be provided at a separate location. |
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Cromwell Museum, Huntingdon, afternoon of Wednesday 17 JulyCompleted. Another get-yourself-there trip and various public car parking options available not too far from the location. We will divide into two groups. One will receive a guided tour of the Museum from the curator, Stuart Orme, whilst the other will have a tour of the old Town Hall nearby. The groups will then swap guides so that we all have a complete experience. The 2 buildings will be visited in the course of about one hour. Refreshments are not provided but there are many cafes, restaurants and pubs close by for us to visit before returning home. |
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Treasures of Thorney - afternoon of Thursday 1 AugustThis is now fully booked. Our guide will be Dorothy Halfhide and includes viewing of Thorney Heritage Museum, especially opened for us. A talk from Dorothy on the history of this remarkable HQ of the Duke of Bedford's Thorney estate and model village and current issues. Then a presentation by Paul Sharman, Chief Exec. of the North Level Internal Drainage Board on managing fenland waters. Then a walk to Thorney Abbey followed by a talk on the history of the Abbey. Optional walk close to Abbey to view the Abbey fields and The Green area. |
Committee Meetings
Committee meetings are normally arranged on the first Monday of each month throughout the year, except January and May which are on the second Monday.
Summaries of the society's talks and accounts of its visits appear in our Annual Report. The contents of our most recent Annual Reports are listed here To obtain a copy please write or email our Secretary.