Guest Speaker – Anthony Poulton Smith – Explores the History of Watling Street

Members of the Local History Society were pleased to welcome guest speaker Anthony Poulton Smith to our recent coffee morning meeting.

Anthony delivered an engaging and thought-provoking talk on the history of Watling Street — one of Britain’s most famous historic routes. Long believed to have been a Roman road, Watling Street has traditionally been associated with the Roman occupation of Britain and the network of straight, engineered roads for which they are well known.

However, during his talk, Anthony revealed evidence suggesting that the route may in fact have Anglo-Saxon origins, challenging the commonly held assumption of its purely Roman beginnings. His presentation offered fresh insights into how our understanding of early transport routes continues to evolve through ongoing research and historical interpretation.

The subject sparked great interest among those attending, and the talk was thoroughly enjoyed by all. As always, it was wonderful to see members gathered together for another informative and friendly morning of local history discussion.

We would like to thank Anthony Poulton Smith for sharing his knowledge and expertise with us.

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The Annual Membership is due in January – £10 per person. We hope to keep the subscriptions at this level for at least next year.

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Christmas Chairman’s notes from Winter Magazine 2025

Christmas is now on us, the year has been one of the warmest this century and it’s been great, I’ve never wore shorts so much, if fact I was still wearing them in October. Mind you, we haven’t met January yet and winter. The short days are with us and makes us very reflective on what has gone on during the past year. Members of our Society have passed away including my own son. Life is very precious as we get older, so we hang onto memories but strive to carry on daily life.

We had a great day out at Chester for the winter market, all thanks to Pam for organising the trip. The October Open Day went down well, our theme was mining with new articles that were donated to the society. We met many new people. Many thanks to all that attended.

Even though I tried to step-down within the society earlier in the year, I’m standing firm as Chairman for the moment. I want to thank all of our members for the support throughout the year. We’ve had some great speakers throughout the year and look forward to welcoming more in the new year. Every month we are getting more members joining and coming to the Coffee Mornings, it’s a great opportunity to catch up with everyone. Also thanks to the Committee for their help over the year and their dedication to the society and our members.

Winter Magazine is now available to members as part of their membership. Non-Members can buy the magazine for £2 from a member of the committee.

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Our Christmas Social – Coffee Morning was a great success. The room was packed with Christmas spirit. There was mince pies with tea and coffee, for the cost of £3 per person. Plus we had raffle with some great prizes. Thank you Tim Rooney for the entertainment. A good time was had by us all. Happy Christmas everyone

On 27th November, our society enjoyed a delightful day trip to the beautiful historic city of Chester. We were fortunate with the weather, which was kind enough to allow everyone plenty of time to explore both the Continental Market and the city centre. For those visiting Chester for the first time, the city made a strong impression with its elegant streets and distinctive character.

Although not everyone managed to walk the city walls or visit the riverside, what we did see more than justified the journey. The Continental Market, while similar to others found around the country, was pleasantly uncrowded, making it an enjoyable place to browse.

From the comments shared at the end of the day, it was clear that our members thoroughly enjoyed the trip. Sincere thanks go to Pam for organising such a successful outing, and to our coach driver – Gary, for getting us there and back safely and comfortably.