10 September
English Parks and Gardens through the Ages
Tony Squires has written widely on landscape topics and this talk examines some of the major fashions in parks and gardens design, together with the reasons for them.


Quenby Hall was built in 1627.

8 October
The Bowden Charities
The Market Harborough and The Bowdens Charity have an asset value in excess of £10m. As Steward, Jim Jacobs is responsible for the day to day administration of the Charity’s affairs. Jim’s talk will not only trace the origins of the Charity, but will also review some of the recent and ongoing projects with which the Charity is involved. Jim has been active in Market Harborough life since 1969, and been connected with the Charity since 1986.

Saturday 8 November
History in and around Harborough
This is our annual one-day conference on local history and archaeology, highlighting current research.
Venue: The Council Suite, Harborough District Council Offices, Adam and Eve Street, Market Harborough (entrance on corner of building facing Church Square.)

12 November
Story of the Early Posts
Derek Smeathers is a postal historian of almost 50 years, and has a collection of some 5000 items illustrating aspects of the postal services. He is Chairman of the Midland Postal History Society, which has published a number of books about posts in the Midlands over the last 25 years. The Society is at present working on a history of the mail coach era, which will hopefully be published by the time of this talk.


Marston Trussell Postman 1861.
© (Leicestershire Heritage Services).

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diaries from previous years

14 January 2004
Fire Marks and Fire Insurance
An illustrated talk looking at the history of fire insurers and their fire brigades. Phil Morris is an Engineer Surveyor with an international insurance company and pursues his interest of local history with Thrapston History Society. A committee member of the Fire Mark Circle, he keeps the records of all fire marks still on buildings in the UK, and is currently compiling a record of all fire marks held in UK museums.


One of the Fire Marks in the Harborough Museum.

11 February
The Everest of Archaeology
Alan Langley, a member of our Historical Society, is a retired classics teacher with a great admiration for Michael Ventris, the codebreaker who subsequently deciphered Linear B, fifty years ago. (He was actually an architect who became obsessed with this obscure archaeological problem) Linear B was found on Crete, and had baffled scholars for over 50 years until Michael Ventris (who is buried in Welford Cemetery) published the solution to the problem in 1953 – the year that Everest was conquered.

10 March
Annual General Meeting
Please try to attend this meeting which will help us to shape the continuing future of your Society, and provide programme topics which are of interest to the majority of members.

14 April
Housework and Home Remedies
(Cancelled in May 2003)
Fiona Ure, assistant keeper for Home and Family Life at Leicestershire Museums Service, focuses on the domestic chores of the 20th century, which prompted the saying
'A woman’s work is never done'. She also includes some of the age-old remedies which either ‘kill or cure’ a variety of ailments.

12 May
Coales from Market Harborough
This talk will look at the busy and varied lives and work of H G Coales and his daughter, Kathleen. H G Coales played an important role in developing amenities in late 19th century Harborough, and Kathleen was a very talented artist. Throughout the 1920’s and 1930’s they were both prolific authors of children’s fiction. The joint presenters, Steph Mastoris, and our own Chairman, Stephen Barker, will need no introduction to the majority of members.

Summer Excursions (members only)
9 June 7.30pm
Guided Walk of the Centre of Leicester
Derek Seaton will conduct a guided walk of the centre of Leicester taking in the principle buildings of interest and outlining the history of the area. The walk is expected to last about one hour.
The walk will start outside the Town Hall in Town Hall Square at 7.30pm.

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