Thoroton Society Events
Lectures, unless otherwise stated, are held at Nottingham Mechanics, 3 North Sherwood Street, NOTTINGHAM NG1 4EZ. Lectures start at 2:30 pm.
This venue is fully accessible and has facilities for disabled people. A bookstall is available from 2:00 pm.
Saturday 12 October 2024
Myles Thoroton Hildyard Lecture: 'RNLI 2000 - Two centuries of saving lives at sea'.
Denis Readhead, RNLI Community Presenter
Saturday 2 November 2024
Annual Lunch
Belgrave Rooms (Nottingham Masonic), NG14 6NU.
12:30 for 1:00 pm.
Cost £30 per person.
Saturday 9 November 2024
Nottinghamshire History Lecture: '"Open to the world": Nottingham Castle Museum and the British Empire’.
Frances Potts, University of Nottingham
Saturday 14 December 2024
Neville Hoskins Lecture: ‘Cinemas in Nottingham’
Graham Woodward, Local Historian
Graham is the chairman of Nottingham Civic Society. He has been photographing Nottingham’s buildings and architecture since the late 1970s and has over 10,000 images of the city. He has written a range of historical articles about Nottingham’s railways, canals, police stations etc, and published three pictorial-guide books about Wollaton and one on the Nottingham Canal. He presents around 15 talks a year on a range of subjects, Nottingham related – the list is available on his website at www.gwoodward.co.uk/talks.html – and he is a guide on a series of walks for the Civic Society.
The talk is about Nottingham’s cinemas and looks at the early development of moving pictures, how and why cinemas came into being and their development in Nottingham, which has had 57 cinemas over the last 120 years. The talk looks at the most popular ones, their architecture, and their significance both locally and nationally. It also includes some film of Nottingham shot in 1902. Regrettably, it is bring your own popcorn or choc ices!
Saturday 11 January 2025
Maurice Barley Lecture: ‘Nottinghamshire timber-framed buildings’
Jason Mordan, Conservation, Nottinghamshire County Council
Timber Frame Buildings of Nottinghamshire is a passion that Jason learned from Graham Beaumont, his mentor, and has attempted to summarise in the short book(let) of the same title.
Nottinghamshire was at the forefront of dendrochronological investigations of oak-framed historic buildings, one of the first laboratories focused on ‘tree-ring dating’ began at the University of Nottingham. Early successful dates help unlock and, in some cases, re-write our interpretation of oak-frame crafts and vernacular architecture.
This short talk is an introduction to some of these dated (and occasionally undated) timber-frame buildings.
Saturday 8 February 2025
Norah Witham Lecture: ‘Nottinghamshire surveyed: mapping and documenting estates in the county before 1700’
Steph Mastoris, retired museum collections specialist
In the century and a half before 1700, a surprisingly large amount of land throughout Nottinghamshire was documented by the rising profession of estate surveyors. This work created not only detailed texts describing these estates, but also a fascinating body of manuscript maps. In this lecture, Steph Mastoris will discuss some of the reasons why these surveys were commissioned as well and illustrating the range of their cartography. This research is leading to a forthcoming volume in our Record Series.
Steph has recently stepped down from working at Amgueddfa Cymru - the National Museum of Wales. He started his career in museums here in Nottingham 46 years ago, and ever since has been researching the history and topography of the county. Steph has written a number of articles for the Transactions, as well as editing two volumes for the Record Series.
Saturday 8 March 2025
Rosalys Coope Lecture: ‘Restoring a Georgian town-house garden’
Martin Stott, Trustee, Bromley House Library
Saturday 26 April 2025
Spring Meeting & AGM
Thomas Cranmer Centre at St Thomas's Church, Aslockton. At 2:00 pm.
Entry to the AGM is free, there will be a modest charge for afternoon tea.
Thursday 1st May 2025
Gainsborough Old Hall
Saturday 14th June 2025
Bletchley Park
Tuesday 15th July 2025
Lincoln and Lincoln Castle