| Status: | Active, open to new members |
| Group admin: | Local and Social History group |
| When: | On Fridays 10:30 am-12:00 pm 3rd Friday of month |
| Venue: | St Ives Free Church |
| Cost: | £2 charge per session to cover hall costs |
As a group we study a monthly theme about local or social history, and then meet to share what we have found out. It's up to members to decide for themselves whether and how much they study a particular topic, and how they share this at the meeting.
Meetings are held on the 3rd Friday of each month. Members usually arrive 10.15 - 10.30. We meet in the Hall on the ground floor of St Ives Free Church (Market Hill, St Ives PE27 5AL). We tend to finish by noon. There is a £2 charge per session to cover hall costs.
The Group Leader, Marian Land, can be contacted via the blue envelope link.
At the end of each meeting there is a brief discussion about next month's topic and suggestions for research. A reminder email is sent out to members the week before each meeting.
The programme for 2026 is:
| January | Houses and Homes e.g. Hemingford Grey Manor House/Wimpole Hall/Anglesey Abbey/ Peckover House/Abbots Ripton Hall |
| February | The Evolution of St Ives Civic Society – John Holmes |
| March | Health e.g. Addenbrookes/Hinchingbrooke/Papworth/Public Health/Dr Grove |
| April | Members’ Meeting 15 min slots for members to talk about a local or social topic in which they are interested |
| May | Fictional Cambridgeshire Films, novels TV shows that have featured Cambs e.g. Chariots of Fire/P.D.James/Grantchester etc |
| June | Artists along the Ouse e.g. Fraser Family/Dendy Sadler/Richard Bolton/Stephen Lewis |
| July | Guided Walk around Holywell with Peter Cooper |
| August | NO MEETING |
| September | The Port on the River The role of the river in the life of St Ives |
| October | Samuel Pepys |
| November | The Church Brasses of Cambridgeshire |
| December | Christmas Social |
Topics since we started
Topics since we started
| 2012 | April | St. Ives Union Workhouse |
| - | May | The Duke and Duchess of Manchester |
| - | June | Railways |
| - | July | Crime and Punishment |
| - | August | Local Disasters |
| - | September | Health |
| - | October | Markets and Fairs |
| - | November | The Great War |
| - | December | Social |
| 2013 | January | The Civil War |
| - | February | Queen Victoria |
| - | March | Witches and Folklore |
| - | April | Watermen -life on rivers and canals |
| - | May | Non-conformists |
| - | June | Education |
| - | July | Visit to Kimbolton Castle |
| - | August | NO MEETING |
| - | September | WW2 and the Forces |
| - | October | The History of Shopping |
| - | November | Charities and Philanthropy |
| - | December | The History of Christmas |
| 2014 | January | The Artist Communities of the villages |
| - | February | Visit to the Pathfinder Museum, RAF Wyton |
| - | March | Empire - the Rise and Fall of the British Empire |
| - | April | The Abdication - Edward and Mrs Simpson |
| - | May | Video simulation of a train journey from St. Ives to Cambridge. Mike Wass |
| - | June | Visit to the photo exhibition at Fenstanton -Jean Ding |
| - | July | The Causes of WW1 |
| - | August | NO MEETING |
| - | September | Holywell-cum-Needingworth - talk by Peter Cooper |
| - | October | Revolutions and their impact on England (French, Russian) |
| - | November | The History of Drink - Licensing and abstinence |
| - | December | A Dickensian Christmas |
| 2015 | January | The Pathfinders-talk by Tim Dutton |
| - | February | Revolting peasants - the Peasants Revolt and Popular Protests |
| - | March | Gladstone and Disraeli - contrasting Politics and Personalities |
| - | April | Inspirational Women |
| - | May | The Magna Carta (800th Anniversary on June 19th) |
| - | June | The Battle of Waterloo - talk by Mike Wass |
| - | July | Talk on Bluntisham - Marian Land |
| - | August | NO MEETING |
| - | September | Inspirational Men/50th Anniversary of Churchill's death |
| - | October | The Gunpowder Plot 1605 |
| - | November | The Armistice -to what extent was WW2 a continuation of WW1? |
| - | December | Social-Christmas memories |
| 2016 | January | Frozen St. Ives |
| - | February | Verdun (February to December 1916) talk by Stan Fairclough |
| - | March | Local Industries |
| - | April | Shakespeare |
| - | May | General Strike,Working Peoples' Rights |
| - | June | Queen's 90th Birthday |
| - | July | Local Sport |
| - | August | NO MEETING |
| - | September | Fires - the Great Fire of London and Local Fires |
| - | October | Local Government |
| - | November | The Home Front in WW2 talk by Stan Fairclough |
| - | December | Christmas Social |
| 2017 | January | Women Gardeners and WW1 - talk by Dr. Anne Meredith |
| - | February | Suffragettes |
| - | March | The 1947 Floods |
| - | April | The Evolution of the Pub |
| - | May | Members' Meeting |
| - | June | Guided Walk around Needingworth with Peter Cooper followed by lunch at The Queen's Head. |
| - | July | Youth Activities |
| - | August | NO MEETING at Free Church - visit to Hemingford Manor |
| - | September | Children's authors |
| - | October | The Cinema |
| - | November | The Third Battle of Ypres - Passchendaele |
| - | December | Christmas Social |
| 2018 | January | Domestic Service |
| - | February | Maps |
| - | March | Monasteries and Religious Houses |
| - | April | WW2 Airfields in East Anglia |
| - | May | France 1968 |
| - | June | Guided Walk around Holywell with Peter Cooper followed by lunch at the Old Ferryboat |
| - | July | National Health Service |
| - | August | NO MEETING at the Free Church - visit to the Pepys Library in Cambridge |
| - | September | Samuel Pepys |
| - | October | Airships |
| - | November | The War Memorials of Huntingdonshire - talk by Marian Land |
| - | December | Christmas Social |
| 2019 | January | Public Parks and Gardens |
| - | February | Members' Meeting |
| - | March | Life in a Country Parsonage |
| - | April | May Day Customs |
| - | May | Oliver Cromwell |
| - | June | Visit to the Cromwell Museum, Huntingdon |
| - | July | Windmills and Watermills |
| - | August | Visit to Bourn Windmill |
| - | September | Evacuees |
| - | October | Spas and Spa visiting |
| - | November | How to research military history |
| - | December | Christmas Social |
| 2020 | January | Talk on War artists |
| - | February | Local newspapers |
| - | March | Talk on the History of Public Transport in St. Ives (Talk postponed) |
| - | April - November | No meetings - topics covered in newsletters |
| - | April | VE and VJ Days |
| - | May | Watermen - life on the canals and rivers |
| - | June | My favourite museum |
| - | July | The Browns of Houghton |
| - | August | no newsletter |
| - | September | the Battle of Britain |
| - | October | Witches and Folklore |
| - | November | Markets and Fairs |
| 2021 | September | The Census |
| - | October | Talk on the History of Public Transport in St. Ives by John Holmes |
| - | November | Markets and Fairs |
| - | December | Meeting cancelled |
| 2022 | January | Planning meeting |
| - | February | Meeting cancelled |
| - | March | Places of Worship in St. Ives |
| - | April | NO MEETING [Good Friday] |
| - | May | Royal Jubilees |
| - | June | Local Crafts |
| - | July | Behind the scenes visit to the Norris Museum |
| - | August | NO MEETING |
| - | September | Members' Meeting |
| - | October | Local Industries |
| - | November | Lost Schools of St. Ives and the villages |
| - | December | Mini AGM and Christmas Social |
| 2023 | January | The Big Freeze. The winter of 1963 |
| - | February | Skating |
| - | March | Castles of Eastern England part 1 |
| - | April | Coronations |
| - | May | Local Disasters |
| - | June | Needingworth Fire Walk with Peter Cooper |
| - | July | Castles of Eastern England part 2 |
| - | August | NO MEETING |
| - | September | Who were they? (St. Ives street names) |
| - | October | Inspirational Men and Women |
| - | November | Tax avoidance and Evasion. A talk by Colin Saunderson |
| - | December | Mini AGM and Christmas Social |
| 2024 | January | Buried Treasure to include the Muddy Hoard |
| - | February | The History of Local Nature Reserves |
| - | March | The Bridges of Cambridgeshire |
| - | April | Members Meeting |
| - | May | D Day. The 80th Anniversary |
| - | June | D Day themed guided tour of the American Cemetery, Madingley |
| - | July | Fenland Saints and Sanctuaries and St. Ivo |
| - | August | NO MEETING |
| - | September | Mapping. A talk by Peter Cooper |
| - | October | The pubs of St. Ives |
| - | November | Bluntisham Rectory. A talk by Liz Eddy |
| - | December | Mini AGM and Christmas Social |
Our Group's Forthcoming Topics
Our Group's Posts
-
Christmas Social 2025
As usual we began the meeting with a mini AGM to look at the group's finances. Then we discussed a programme for 2026 before completing the Village Sign Picture Quiz we started earlier… More...
-
John Thang Harradine
1814-1881: A Needingworth farmer transported to Australia. A talk by Peter Cooper. More...
