Church Stretton History Group - Events

2022/2023 EVENTS

Please note that, because of speaker illness, we have had to change the advertised programme at very short notice several times this year. We have now prepared a list of reserve talks in case this happens again so, in an emergency, we may present a different topic from that advertised.

The cost for members attending the talks is £2 and for non-members, £4.

Monday December 19th

Members’ Christmas Lunch

1 pm in the URC Hall

This event is open to paid up members only. Numbers will need to be limited so please book a place by emailing Amanda, the Treasurer, at csalhg@gmail.com if you wish to attend the lunch. The price is just £5.00 per person.

The menu will include a delicious vegetable casserole with crusty bread or home made cheese scones followed by a choice of desserts and tea or coffee.

There will also be a historical themed quiz with a prize!

Monday January 16th, 2023

2.00pm at the URC Hall

Researching The People Of The Shrewsbury Flax Mill

Speaker: Penny Ward of the Friends of the Flax Mill Maltings

N.B. This talk was postponed from September 2022, due to the late Queen's funeral.

Ditherington Flax Mill opened in 1797 and is the first iron-framed building in the world, described as "the grandfather of skyscrapers", despite its five-storey height. Its restoration, with another three of the seven other important buildings on the site, was officially opened to the public on September 10th, 2022.

An exhibition, called The Mill, details the development of the site and its role in the industrial revolution. It includes digital and hands-on activities for all ages.

Penny Ward will report on the progress of a research project which the Friends initiated a decade ago. Its object is to build a picture of the lives of the many people and families who worked at the Flax Mill over its 90 years of operation and the community that developed in the area around the site. No personnel records for the Mill survive, and so the project has had to use a wide range of records both in Shropshire Archives and online to tease out the many different stories that are now beginning to emerge.