Programme for 2026
Unless otherwise stated, our meetings begin at 7.30pm at Wesley Hall, School Rd, Elmswell, IP30 9EE – where there’s ample free on-site parking and at the adjacent Tavern.
8 January: Members’ Evening – Three short talks, being a selection of members’ own researches, i.e. “Growing up on the Ickworth Estate”, “The History of Postcards”, and “Memories of 1950-60s Woolpit”. Due to cold and icy conditions, this was postponed to 12th February – see below.
12 February: Members’ Evening – Three short talks, being a selection of members’ own researches, i.e. “Growing up on the Ickworth Estate”, “The History of Postcards”, and “Memories of 1950-60s Woolpit”.
12 March: Roy Clare, “Suffolk Connections with Charles Darwin’s Voyage on the Beagle”
9 April: Mark Lawrence, “Hadleigh Guildhall”
14 May: Richard Brice of The Sutton Hoo Ship’s Company, “Project to Construct a Replica (full-size) Anglo-Saxon Longboat“ – buried in the 7th century, re-born in the 21st.
11 June: 7pm, AGM – then at 7.30pm, Terry O’Donoghue’s “History of West Suffolk Hospital“.
SATURDAY, 11 July: 2-4pm – Exhibition on “History of English Women’s Football since WW1“.
10 September: Annual subs due. £12pp (Sept-June) to join or re-join as Member & £4 at each attendance (£16 on first visit), or £6pp as a non-member Visitor. As we cannot take debit/credit cards, exact cash or cheque (payable to “Elmswell History Group”) would be much appreciated.
Speaker Darren Dordoy, “Stowmarket’s 1871 Gun Cotton Explosion“. As Stowmarket’s Mayor and Chairman of the town’s History Group, Darren is very well placed to give us full illustrated details about this catastrophic event in Stowmarket’s Victorian history and its aftermath.
8 October: Grant Bage, “Ipswich Football Legend, Sir Alf Ramsey“
12 November: Taff Gillingham, “Suffolk Regiment’s POWs in WW2“
10 December: Katie Howson, Singer & Musician: Performance of “Traditional Music of Suffolk Pubs“