Buckden Local History Society

A Brief Account of the Society and its Origin

In 1978 a course on the History of Buckden was conducted at the village school by a local professional historian, Sue Edgington, under the auspices of Huntingdon Technical College. The course proved to be very popular with those who attended and the formation of a society was proposed so that talks and other activities could continue the following year. Sue agreed to be Chairman, Les Button, secretary, and Eric Nash, treasurer.

The Society meetings continued to be held at the school for some time but eventually were moved to Buckden Towers in 1984 where they are still held in the beautifully restored Conference Room. The meetings take place on the first Wednesday of the month from September to June inclusive at 7.30p.m. An outing to a place of historical interest is usually arranged for July, there being no indoor meeting. No meeting is held in August.

Speakers are recruited from within a radius of 40 miles or so and range from dedicated amateurs to professionals in a wide range of topics. Although the Society describes itself as a Local History Society it does not confine the topics covered to the area described above. A study of the current programme will illustrate the type of topic covered. For example a talk on "Opium-growing in the Fens" ranged from the Fens to Lancashire to India to Hong Kong and back!

Four members have given talks. Notable, apart from Sue Edgington, are David Thomas, a former Chairman, who speaks on several village and natural history topics and Peter Ibbett, schoolmaster, who speaks on a wide range topics mostly relating to Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire but some further afield.

The Annual General meeting is held in June and has often been followed by a talk by the chairman or former chairman on a subject of her or his own choosing.

The Society is affiliated to the Cambridge Antiquarian Society.

An album of photographs of the village received from various sources is being assembled with financial support from the Parish Council. Views from times past are being accompanied by present-day photographs from similar viewpoints. When possible photographs of areas in the parish where change is imminent are being taken.

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PROGRAMME 2009 - 2010

Meetings will be at 7.30pm in the Conference Room at Buckden Towers unless otherwise stated. Any changes to this programme will be published in the Buckden Roundabout whenever possible. Visitors are always welcome and new members are invited.

2009
September 2nd	THE HISTORY OF BOOT AND SHOE MAKING
	As one of three generations of master shoemakers in North Norfolk, Geof Lee is well qualified to tell us about the history of shoemaking from Roman times up to the present day factory production. His talk will also describe the formation and development of Clark's Shoes.
October 7th	RESEARCHING FAMILY HISTORY (and how to go about it)
	Research into one's family history is becoming increasingly popular, especially now that much of the basic information is readily available from the internet - if you know how to go about it. Rob Gaskell, a professional genealogist, will talk about the Family History Society, how he became involved and will give advice arising from over forty years of pre- and post-internet research into his own family history.
November 4th	THE YMCA AND MORE
	Revd. Ron Ingamells, who retired to Buckden in 2002, will present a brief illustrated history of the YMCA, the world's largest youth organisation, plus his ministry over fifty years with special reference to Eastern Europe in the 70's, Romania in the 90's and a number of visits to Israel, The West Bank and Gaza.
December 2nd	DENNY ABBEY AND THE FARMLAND MUSEUM
	The history of Denny Abbey stretches back to the 12th century. The talk and images presented by Elly Wright, Education Officer at the Farmland Museum, will dip into the past and provide an introduction to all that has taken place here. From Knights Templar to farming folk, the people that have inhabited this site have each shaped it to their desires and needs leaving behind the interesting array of architecture and more that we see today. In addition a rummage through the 'Never had it so good!' 1950's reminiscence box from the museum is bound to bring back a few memories.
2010
January 6th	FROM CESSPITS TO WATER CLOSETS
	A welcome return of former BLHS member Peter Ibbett to present a vivid picture of this significant and most welcome transition in the lives of everyone. His talk will be based upon material from Buckden, St. Neots, Potton and Biggleswade which illustrates the challenge faced by local councils in making the change from wells to piped water and cesspits to sewer pipes.
February 3rd	THE STORY OF THE MARY ROSE
	Ever since the sodden timbers of Henry VIII's warship the Mary Rose re-emerged above the waters of the Solent on 11th October 1982, Brian Sutton has been smitten by the subject. He has, for the past 26 years been an Official Presenter for the Mary Rose Information Group and will tell us the exciting and unique story of the vessel's raising and the further discoveries made at the site since then.
March 3rd	THE HISTORY OF RAF WYTON AND THE PATHFINDER FORCE
	Sqn. Ldr. Kevin Dalley RAF (Retd.) served 43 years with the RAF, including full-time reserve service, of which about 25% was at RAF Wyton. During that time he became interested and learned a great deal about the history of the base and got to know many of the former Pathfinder Force survivors, from whom he has gained a wealth of information. It is a remarkable and well-presented story.
April 7th	THE MANORS OF LYDDINGTON, SPALDWICK AND BUCKDEN
	After a career in industrial research and education, Dr. Rosemary Canadine completed an MSt course in local and regional history at Cambridge in 2003. Her lecture traces the development of each of these medieval residential manors of the Bishop of Lincoln from Domesday until the Reformation. The connections between them soon becomes apparent in this intriguing glimpse of the life-style of the bishops and their retinues and the working lives of the ordinary villagers.
May 5th	HUNTINGDONSHIRE ARCHIVES & LOCAL STUDIES
	Huntingdonshire Archives and Local Studies moved into the new, purpose built Huntingdon Library and Archives in June 2009. Senior Archivist, Lesley Akeroyd, will talk about sources for Local History and how to get the most from a visit to the Archives. She will bring along some examples of records for Buckden.
June 2nd	AGM + VICTORIA - A BRIEF HISTORY
	'I have owned Victoria, for that has always been her name, for exactly 50 of her 74 years. She is a 1936 Austin 12/4 LL London Taxicab and was my first car after I passed the driving test and together we have covered more than 40,000 miles - literally from John O'Groats to Lands End and a bit beyond. For 25 years she lay, almost derelict, in our garage in Buckden. It has taken the past 5 years to restore her to 'show room' condition.' This is her story, to be told by Miles Falla
July	END OF YEAR TRIP
	Details to be announced

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COMMITTEE 2009-2010

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Founded in 1979, the Society aims to promote the study and knowledge of local history in its very widest sense, primarily by means of talks on all manner of topics in any way connected with the subject and will be pleased to promote individual or group research into local history projects. Anyone interested in research is asked to contact the Chairman.

Buckden Local History Society is affiliated to the Cambridge Antiquarian Society.

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SUBSCRIPTIONS