Chairman: David Cliffe
Secretary: Jo Alexander-Jones
Treasurer: Dr. David Lewis
Membership Secretary: Ann Smith
Newsletter Editor: Jo Alexander-Jones
Journal Editor: Dr. Jonathan Brown
Website Manager: Dave Osborne
If you have an interest in local history either as a researcher or resident and would like to discover more about your locality, then the BLHA is here to help you.
As well as running our own events such as Talks, Study days or even walkabout trips we also publicise Local History Societies events and talks.
We also provide a common meeting ground for individual members, the various local history societies and groups within the county, and the professionals working in archives, museums, and education.
100 years of Reading University – a centenary walk
We are offering members the chance to join a free 2-hour leisurely walk of the Whiteknights campus on Saturday, June 27th from 10:30. BLHA committee members, Johnathan Brown and Margaret Simons, will offer the opportunity for you to explore the history of the Whiteknights estate and will talk about how its role evolved as the home of Reading University.
The University campus is easily accessed by bus, and parking is available.
If you are interested, please book your place by emailing our membership secretary, Ann Smith. Details will be sent nearer the time. We look forward to seeing you there.
(image courtesy of Reading University)
Speakers List and Talks
We have a list of Speakers and Talks from Member Societies and other associated individuals. Take a look at the wide variety of talks on Local History in Berkshire.
Diary Dates
Take a look at the Diary Dates to find out about events provided by the BLHA and its Member Societies. The list is updated fairly often so check back often to keep up to date with what is going on!
Journals
Take a look at our Journal contents lists and find out what has been included in past Journals. Even better, why not download and read the full content of each Journal that we have ever published!
Membership
There are three types of membership:
individual, family and corporate.
Join the Berkshire Local History Association and share your love of Berkshire’s past! Members receive:
Regular newsletters with news, events, and local history updates.
The annual Berkshire Old & New journal of articles and research.
Access to our speakers’ list and
events diary across the county.
Invitations to member events
and the Annual General Meeting
Opportunities for grants, publishing support, and networking with fellow enthusiasts.
Our Latest Newsletter
You can learn about the BLHA by reading the Latest Newsletter, or maybe read some of our past Newsletters, which are full of information on the BLHA as well as articles from our Member Societies, Book Reviews and more.
In this edition, we have:
Chairman’s Corner
A word from the Editor
News, updates, and announcements from the Berkshire Local History Association
Forthcoming events and recent activities, including member walks, heritage fairs, talks, and exhibitions
Featured articles and special projects celebrating Berkshire’s rich history and heritage
Updates from archives, libraries, and museums across the county
Book reviews, research notes, and insights from local and family historians
News, reports, and activities from Berkshire’s local history and family history societies
Book Reviews
The Hidden History of Wargrave Hall
At the BLHA AGM in March of 2023, Margaret Simons was asked by Peter Halman of the Wargrave Local History Society if she would review a recent publication from the Wargrave Local History Society.
Margaret writes, “I have over the years enjoyed many walks along the river Thames and have also taken the odd river cruise too. One of the things that always fascinates me and in which I take a great amount of interest are the riverside residences.”
Book for Sale
Living in Tudor Windsor: the Records of the Sixteenth-Century Town
Edited by David Lewis
Windsor’s documentary archive, dating from the late twelfth century, was destroyed in the late seventeenth century, long obscuring the town’s early history.
New archival research has now uncovered overlooked material that allows much of this ‘lost’ past to be recovered, particularly revealing Windsor’s turbulent development between c. 1510–60 through transcriptions of key historic sources, including the important but neglected castle water conduit.
Tracing the town’s transition from the medieval to early modern period—when it briefly flourished as an international centre of pilgrimage before the Reformation—this volume shows how economic reorientation in this era shaped Windsor’s later identity and offers rich insights for local and family historians, Tudor and ecclesiastical scholars, and a wider readership interested in the interaction of national policy and local life.
Committee Members
If you would like to contact any of the committee members, please click the button below, which will take you to our contact form