The local history society of Purley on Thames
There will be an extra meeting on Friday July 17th, as very few of us are going anywhere at the moment.
The meeting will be on Zoom again. The Zoom session will open at 2:30 pm, and the meeting will start at 3:00 pm. Please let Catherine know (chairman@project-purley.net) if you want to join the meeting, and she will send out an email with the link to those who have registered an interest.
Rob Wallace will give a talk on Chalk Caverns and Commandos – Reading underground.
Rain or Shine Theatre Company restarted performances for Summer 2021 with ‘She Stoops to Conquer’ on 23rd July 2021.
This was the first big event in the Barn, but with the audience limited to 50, and the bar service table only. It took some organising!
A few images from the event:
The performance was as good as always.
But setup was a bit of a headache!
2020
18th December 2020, 7:30 pm Murder Mystery Play ‘Family Fortunes’ by Shinfield Players. This replaced the quiz previously advertised, which will be rescheduled to 2021. Details
20th November 2020, 3:00 pm Talk by Ben Viljoen: Purley Hall and the history of its landscape (on Zoom)
16th October 2020, 3:00 pm Talk by Richard Marks: Bomber’s Moon (on Zoom)
18th September 2020, 3:00 pm AGM, followed by talk by Catherine Sampson: Royal Women (on Zoom)
17th July 2020, 3:00 pm Talk by Rob Wallace: Chalk Caverns and Commandos (on Zoom)
19th June 2020, 3:00 pm Talk by Mike Cooper: History of Tilehurst (on Zoom)
22nd May 2020, 3:00 pm Talk by Debbie Kennett: DNA for Beginners (on Zoom)
17th April 2020, 3:00 pm Talk by Catherine Sampson: Purley in Colourised Images (on Zoom)
21st February 2020, 8:00 pm in the Barn Talk by David Downs: Do you know why you’re here?
17th January 2020, 8:00 pm in the Barn Talk by Bill King: Dad’s Underground Army
2019
13th December 2019, 7:30 pm
Christmas Party at the Barn
29th November 2019, 7:30 pm
Rain or Shine Theatre Company: Wind in the Willows
15th November 2019
Mike Cooper: Queues, U-Boats and useless mouths: Food in WW2
18th October 2019
Talk: John Leighfield CBE: Putting Berkshire on the map: From Gough to Google
20th September 2019
Talk: Clive Williams OBE: The Nabobs of Berkshire and their houses
21st June 2019
Barbeque
7th June 2019
Rain or Shine Theatre Company: As You Like It
12th April 2019
Dr David Peacock: Place names of West Berkshire
15th March 2019: AGM and Talk
7:30 pm: AGM
8:00 pm, Corry Starling: Mapledurham Mill
15th February 2019
Debbie Kennett: DNA testing for beginners
18th January 2019
Joy Pibworth: Jane Austen and the Thames Valley Austens
Meetings back in the Barn from November 2021. If we have to go back to Zoom, members who wish to attend should contact Catherine Sampson (chairman@project-purley.net). A link and password to the meeting will be sent out in advance.
Friday 22nd January, 4:00 pm. Dan Allen: The Battle of Maiwand. Note earlier time than usual. (On Zoom, session opens 3:30 pm)
Friday 19th February, 3:00 pm. Dr John Evans: Caversham Court and its History. (On Zoom, session opens 2:30 pm)
Friday 19th March, 3:00 pm. Christine Wootton: It started with a letter from Colditz. (On Zoom, session opens 2:30 pm)
Friday 16th April, 7:30 pm. Simon Wenham: More than 3 men in a boat – the rise and fall of pleasure boating on the Thames. (On Zoom, session opens 7:00 pm)
Friday 14th May (2nd Friday), 7:30 pm. Bill King: The home front in World War Two. (On Zoom, session opens 7:00 pm)
Friday 11th June, 7:30 pm. AGM, followed by a talk by Dan Allen: Women in the Victorian Army at 8:00 pm. (On Zoom, session opens 7:00 pm)
Friday 23rd July, 7:30 pm. Rain or Shine Theatre Company: She Stoops to Conquer. In the Barn, tickets from Rain or Shine website or 0330 660 0541
Friday 17th September, 8:00 pm. Joy Pibworth: Reading in the time of Jane Austen’s school days.
Friday 22nd October, 8:00 pm. West Berkshire Museum Collections
Friday 19th November, 7:30 pm. David Downs: History of Reading Football Club (In the Barn!)
Friday 17th December, 7:30 pm. Project Purley Christmas Party. This year the usual bring-a-dish buffet is bring replaced with a curry night, with a choice of curries, naan bread, vegetable dishes and rice, with desserts or mince pies to follow. Members should still bring their own plates, cutlery, glasses and drinks.
Postponed until February 2022. Rain or Shine Theatre Company: Around the World in 80 days
On Friday December 18th at 7.30pm we are delighted to invite you to a Murder Mystery Play which will take place on Zoom. This replaces the previously announced quiz, which will now be rescheduled for next year.
In a special performance, just for Project Purley’s members, Shinfield Players will perform “Family Fortunes”. Guests are welcome if they will be on the same computer device.
The evening will last for approximately an hour and a half and will include a short break. Obviously there will be a murder and after the crime has been discovered and you have had a chance to ponder the clues, everyone will have the opportunity to direct a question to the cast and to then, finally, to guess the name of the murderer. I am sure there will be an opportunity for an informal natter before and afterwards.
Shinfield Players are kindly giving their services for free and instead, we will be making a donation from funds, via them, of £100 to Blood Bikes, Shinfield Players’ chosen charity of the year. Blood Bikes are a volunteer-run charity who support the NHS by getting blood to the place where it is needed. They have been going for over 50 years and the money I believe will go to the local Berkshire group. Since Covid-19 reared its head, blood bikes have been in more demand than ever, but at the same time overnight their traditional fundraising avenues all but dried up – so they are a very worthy cause.
Please do come along with a festive drink and nibbles, if you would like to.
Meetings on Zoom: Members who wish to attend should contact Catherine Sampson (chairman@project-purley.net). A link and password to the meeting will be sent out in advance.
17th January 2020, 8:00 pm in the Barn Talk by Bill King: Dad’s Underground Army
21st February 2020, 8:00 pm in the Barn Talk by David Downs: Do you know why you’re here?
20th March 2020 AGM and meeting AGM postponed, meeting cancelled due to coronavirus
17th April 2020, 3:00 pm Talk by Catherine Sampson: Purley in Colourised Images (on Zoom, session opens 2:30 pm)
22nd May 2020, 3:00 pm Talk by Debbie Kennett: DNA for Beginners (on Zoom, session opens 2:30 pm)
19th June 2020, 3:00 pm Talk by Mike Cooper: History of Tilehurst (on Zoom, session opens 2:30 pm)
17th July 2020, 3:00 pm Talk by Rob Wallace: Chalk Caverns and Commandos (on Zoom, session opens 2:30 pm)
August: Summer break
18th September, 3:00 pm AGM, followed by talk by Catherine Sampson: Royal Women (on Zoom, session opens 2:30 pm)
16th October, 3:00 pm Talk by Richard Marks: Bomber’s Moon (on Zoom, session opens 2:30 pm)
20th November, 3:00 pm Talk by Ben Viljoen: Purley Hall and the history of its landscape (on Zoom, session opens 2:30 pm)
18th December, 7:30 pm Murder Mystery Play ‘Family Fortunes’ by Shinfield Players. This replaces the quiz previously advertised, which will now be rescheduled to next year. Details
The meeting dates for 2019 are:-
18th January
Talk: Joy Pibworth: Jane Austen and the Thames Valley Austens
15th February
Talk: Debbie Kennett: DNA testing for beginners
15th March: AGM and Talk
AGM: 7:30 pm
Talk: 8:00 pm, Corry Starling: Mapledurham Mill
12th April
Talk: Dr David Peacock: Place names of West Berkshire
7th June
Theatre: Rain or Shine Theatre Company: As You Like It
21st June
Social: Barbeque
20th September
Talk: Clive Williams OBE: The Nabobs of Berkshire and their houses
18th October
Talk: John Leighfield CBE: Putting Berkshire on the map: From Gough to Google
15th November
Talk: Mike Cooper: Queues, U-Boats and useless mouths: Food in WW2
29th November, starts 7:30 pm
Theatre: Rain or Shine Theatre Company: Wind in the Willows
13th December, starts 7:30 pm
Christmas Party at the Barn
The winter production of the Rain or Shine Theatre Company will be held at the Barn on Friday 29th November, 7:30 pm
Tickets from David Downs or online from Rain or Shine direct.
Wine, soft drinks and mince pies will be available to purchase at the bar before the performance and at the interval.
A group of Project Purley members went to Sulgrave Manor on 21st May. The Manor house was the home of George Washington’s great-grandfather. The house is lovely, and has some beautiful features both inside the house and in the garden.
Highlights are the new tapestries in the main bedroom, created by embroiderers in the UK and the USA, and the amazing herb garden.
A few photographs from the trip:
PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF DATE TO 1st AUGUST 2019
Project Purley’s summer outing this year will be a guided tour of the Reading Abbey ruins and the Abbey Quarter, followed by a cream tea. Our guide will be John Painter, who has been Secretary of the Friends of Reading Abbey since 2013, and who has also had a book published on the Abbey, so it is unlikely that any question will go unanswered!
The tour will take approximately 90 minutes, starting at 2:30 pm but for those who would rather not walk for so long, Forbury Gardens will be close by, with many benches available, and the tour group will return there before heading off for the cream tea.
The cost will be £10 per person – please contact Jean Chudleigh (jeanchudleigh@btinternet.com) to book your place.