Events

Speaker: Dr Richard Marks

Bracknell is well known for being one of the ‘new towns’ built after the Second World War to relieve the pressure of housing and industry in London – but the history of Bracknell goes back much further than that. Early hunter gatherers, Iron Age people and Romans have all called Bracknell their home. Hidden in…

Dr Barrie Trinder explains why the main mill at Shrewsbury Flaxmill/Maltings is a landmark in the history of construction. It is the first building in the world to have a structural frame of iron, and is the ancestor of all iron and steel buildings. Completed by 1800, to spin fibre from flax plants into thread…

Our speaker Dr Julia Elton, an engineering historian and honorary member of the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers. John Smeaton is widely regarded as the founder of the British civil engineering profession. His career included pioneering work on lighthouses (most notably the third Eddystone lighthouse), canals, harbours and bridges.   There is no charge to…

Speaker: Nicholas Weedon

Part 1: Before World War 1 Colin Bird will give us the first of his talks about how the railways impacted the Bracknell Forest area. Non-members are welcome for a small fee of £3 to cover hot drink and biscuits.

Dr John Tanner asks how England will choose to remember its coal mining heritage. Once the demand for domestic coal started to fall in the 1950s the number of pits declined sharply. Nevertheless, at the start of the 1980s the National Coal Board still employed some 250,000 workers, but the UK has now moved away…

A talk by local Huntingdonshire historian Bridget Flanagan, and Keith Grimwade. They will describe how the local Geology affected the location and operation of the Watermills. Incidentally one Mill is still in operation, and is owned and operated by the National Trust. It is situated close to the village of Houghton, Huntingdonshire. (PE28 2AZ)

The SIAS Annual General Meeting, which is usually very brief, followed by a light-hearted test of your knowledge of industrial archaeology.   There is no charge to SIAS members, guests are welcome at £3. At Silver Street there is also a free-of-charge Book Exchange and SIAS publications are on sale at reduced price for members.

Why South London's canals failed Speaker: Alan Burkitt-Gray

For 75 years, AWE has proudly played a role of critical national importance: helping deliver the UK’s nuclear deterrent. In 1950, Aldermaston became the site of the UK Government’s Atomic Weapons Programme, initially named ‘High Explosive Research’, under the supervision of British Manhattan Project veteran William Penney. It was originally designated as the Atomic Weapons…

Dartmouth, Devon, was a significant coal bunkering port for steamships from the late 19th century, employing large numbers of tough, competitive workers called coal lumpers who manually loaded coal from barges/hulks into ships' bunkers, a dangerous but well-paid job until mechanization and changing ship types led to its decline around the First World War. For details about how to…