The group has been going for over seven years with 11 members and before the dreaded virus we used to meet monthly in members’ homes. Everyone takes responsibility for researching and giving a presentation about a topic. In 2018 we moved from the 17th to the 18th century – worldwide history. We do not stick strictly to this period although we find at the end of 2020 most of us think that we still have plenty to go at – those who don’t give us something different.
In normal times we also organise trips and talks by specialists once or twice a year. In 2020 we had planned visits to Southwell Minster and Workhouse and to Bramall Hall – to be re-scheduled, hopefully.
Since April we have been meeting monthly via Zoom. We experimented with the format and have settled on 2 topics per session. Either a presentation or a paper circulated in advance which is discussed. The group is currently full as we were limited by the numbers we could accommodate in our homes. When we are able to meet in person again we will review these arrangements.
Our programme for 2020 and plans so far for 2021 are as follows:
| 2020 | 2021 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Compagnie de la Baie l'Hudson: A Corporate Country Called Rupert's Land’. Part II. | January | The Wives of Hanoverian Monarchs | |
| February | Captain James Cook | Japan in the 18th century | ||
| May | The succession of George I. | February | George Washington | |
| The evolution of two party politics from its origins in the Civil War. | tbc | |||
| Joseph Priestley. A Scientist and Dissenting Clergyman. | March | Freedom of Movement From Earliest Times to the Present | ||
| June | Representation in Parliament and the Power of the People. | The Inheritance of Francis Galton | ||
| The development of the Bow Street Runners. | April | All the countries we invaded and the few we didn’t get round to. | ||
| Captain James Cook Part II. | tbc | |||
| American Tyrant: George III and his responsibility for losing the 13 Colonies in the American War of Independence. | ||||
| July | American Tyrant Part II. | |||
| 'Liberty's Exiles'. What happened to all the Loyalists who had to leave the States after the War of Independence. | ||||
| August | Captain James Cook Part III. | |||
| Transportation | ||||
| September | Voltaire in England | |||
| October | Voltaire moves on…… | |||
| Diarists – Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn | ||||
| November | Erasmus Darwin – a member of the Lunar Society | |||
| The story of the lives of some black people in Georgian England. | ||||
| December | The Ragged Schools | |||
| Punishment Progression: a brief review of offences, and later punishment mainly relating to the 18th Century. |
To contact the History Group 2 coordinator, Helen Boocock, please e-mail, or telephone 01629 734290.