The popular speaker Dr Jill Eyers, geologist and archaeologist, gave on 6th June on the Chiltern Landscape and Archaeology. Residents and visitors to the area appreciate the beauty of the Chilterns, although not all realise the sequence of natural and human activity which led to their current form. The first geological levels contributing to the Chilterns’ […]

Chiltern Open Air Museum – a walk through time It’s not often that you can walk through thousands of years in the course of a day, but this is the wonder of the Chiltern Open Air Museum – forty-five acres of land with 37 rescued buildings that span 2,000 years of Chiltern architecture.  The history

The landscape historian Deborah Hayter spoke to the Henley Archaeological & Historical Group at its latest meeting on 2nd May on the Lost Villages of Oxfordshire. There are estimated to be around 150 of these lost villages in the county, mostly located in agricultural areas outside the Chilterns, hence there are few in the Henley area.

The Henley Archaeological & Historical Group welcomed again to its April meeting Dr Nicola Tallis, who spoke on the subject of her recently-completed thesis: ‘All the Queens’ Jewels 1445-1548’ – the significance of the jewellery owned by the ten queen consorts of this dramatic period of English history, covering the Wars of the Roses and

St Mary’s Church Illuminated Sometimes you don’t notice the wonder of something familiar until it is pointed out. The Society’s recent trip to St. Mary’s felt like this. Forty-five members entered a church that has for eight centuries been the most significant landmark in Henley and the feeling was akin to being introduced to one’s

Left to right: architect Caroline Stimpson, Vivienne Greenwood, Mayor Michelle Thomas, Jason Thorley (General Manager), and Leanne Silavant, both of the Relais. Another masterpiece! You may have seen them around the town, at the top of Gravel Hill, on Riverside, Greys Hill, outside the Chantry House, and against the Henley’s bridge. Funded by Henley Town

On 6th December Archaeologist Dr Gabor Thomas of Reading University gave the Henley Archaeological & Historical Group an insight into recent archaeological research on the Early Mediaeval River Thames, and specifically the excavation of the Anglo-Saxon monastery at Cookham. He concentrated on the Middle Thames – from roughly the Goring Gap to the tidal Thames

Does the Gaol mark the spot? Undeterred by the weather forecast, a sizeable group of HA&HG members and non-members gathered on Wednesday 5 October to explore Reading Abbey.  Led by John Painter, an accredited guide and long-time supporter of the Friends of Reading Abbey, the group briefly examined the display in the Reading Museum.  This