Talks 2025/26

3rd March — Lord Petre – The Post of Lord Lieutenant

Unfortunately Students at the Anglo will not be taking on the challenge of the Essay Competition Prize this year on the 3rd March 2026.

However Lord Petre has stepped in to help and agreed to give his talk ‘The Post of Lord Lieutenant’.’ . As usual the Hall will be open from 7.30pm for tea etc followed at 8.00pm by the talk. After there will be a short time for questions.

7th April — David Williams: Mind the Gap

There are many metro systems around the World yet the ‘Tube’ in London
was the first.  The city was choked with traffic in the mid-19th
century and despite some objections and doubts an underground railway
system was seen as the only way to ease the problems.    So the
world’s first subterranean railway line went from Paddington to
Farringdon.  For passengers it was a dirty, smelly and uncomfortable
experience yet thousands of Londoners wanted to see what it was like
right from the start.  Despite the engineering and financial
difficulties, this is the story of how ‘The Tube’ went on to become
one of the great transport revolutions in history and MIND THE GAP is
a familiar safety announcement which is still heard at many stations.
The PowerPoint presentation and talk by City of London Guide and
Lecturer  David Williams  reveals some of the people, events, triumphs
and disasters over the past 163 years and why this first underground
railway system has expanded to  become so necessary to  London’s
reputation as a world-class city.

TALKS PROGRAMME 2026/27

(£5 Entry for non-members)

6th May 2025 – ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

2nd June 2026 — Brian Sandford: The History of Shoebury

7th July — Dennis Eraut: The First Emperor of China and his Terracotta Army

4th August — Tony Tuckwell: Education of the Victorian Poor

1st September — Richard Pusey: A History of Ihgatestone and Ingatestone Hall

6th October — john Miners: Horse Hair Tales

3rd November — Julian Whybra Billerica to Billericay 1620-1655

1st December — Stephen Bloomfield: Brandy Lace and Tea

Doors open at 7.30pm as usual followed by talk at 8pm.

8.45 approx Christmas Social — please bring seasonal food. Drinks — soft and alcoholic — will be provided iced by the Society.

2027

January — NO MEETING

2nd February — Richard Bale: Hadrians Wall

2nd March — Anglo European school History Prize

6th April — Nick Dobson: “I do like to be beside the seaside”

4th May AGM

A Service offered by Essex Record Office to aid researchers

ERO offer an in-house search service, wherein researchers can request archival material to be examined and reported on. This can be ideal for those keen to access historical Essex records that cannot otherwise visit the archives in person. This service can assist with: Genealogical enquiries We can search our records to help you with your family history, utilising our parish register collection, marriage license bonds, poor law records, estate records, hospital records, school records, manorial court rolls, or any other records which hold details of your ancestors. ERO also has access to services like Ancestry and FindMyPast and so can cross-reference with national indices such as the 1841-1921 census returns and civil registration birth/marriage/death entries. See our guide on starting your Family History for more details. House history We can search our records for information on the history of properties within Essex. The ERO holds a large collection of pre-1946 building plans, as well as historic maps, pre-registration deeds, electoral registers, and sale catalogues. See our guide on starting your House History for more details. Transcribing Handwriting We can transcribe wills, deeds, or any other documents from our collection comprised of antiquated script, or otherwise mystifying handwriting. Please note however that we do not offer a translation service so cannot transcribe documents in Latin or any other language. Any other historical interests If you have interests in other aspects of Essex history, not included in the above categories, there may still be interesting material we can search for you, so please do get in touch for a discussion. If you are interested in a search, email  ero.searchservice@essex.gov.uk and they can send a request form over to you. Searches are currently charged at a rate of £43.75 per hour. Once searches are complete, you will be contacted to make payment either over the phone, or you may wish to pay in advance with a cheque or postal order. Thery will then email over a written report, outlining everything that was compiled and examined, along with all the information was collected from them*. Where appropriate there can also include photographs of documents. We advise all researchers to first have a look over our online catalogue Essex Archives Onlineto identify material of potential interest. You can then include the relevant document references on the application form. NB *It is always worth remembering that we cannot guarantee positive information from a search, and it may well be that search results are minimal or negative.