All enquiries to Mr Geoff Bisson geoff.bisson51@gmail.com tel. 01823 353749 M 07888 641 587

All talks start at 7.30pm on Wednesdays and take place in the Birchall Hall, Queen's College, Trull Road, Taunton, TA1 4QS unless otherwise stated. Tea, coffee and biscuits are available for which a donation is welcome. There is free car parking on site.

Associate Membership: £10 per year. Talks free to national HA members and students, visitors £3.

 

Taunton Deane Programme 2026-27

 

Wednesday 23 September 2026

** 12.30pm at The White Horse, Bradford on Tone –TIME & VENUE CHANGE**

An introduction to Somerset Archives

(Preceded by a pub lunch and the branch AGM)

Esther Hoyle – Head of Somerset Archives and Local Studies at the South West Heritage Trust

The talk provides a brief introduction to the history of the Somerset Archives service. It provides an overview of the main groups of records we hold (including church records, the records of the very rich and of the very poor) and includes a few examples of stories from the archives.

To ensure a spot, please contact Geoff Bisson to book. Attendees pay for their own lunches.

 

Wednesday 14 October 2026

John Buchan: the Extraordinary Man Behind The Thirty-Nine Steps

Marcus Paul (Speaker and Author)

In the talk, illustrated by 50 or more slides, I look at a life moving from the slums of the Gorbals (where his father was minister) to grandee - with his elevation to the peerage, friendship with George V and two Prime Ministers, and his worldwide popularity as a novelist. It includes the major role he played in three wars (Boer, WW1, start of WW2) as well as both his physical adventurousness as a mountaineer and his intellectual brilliance as historian, biographer and critic.

 

Wednesday 11 November 2026

Hidden Kingdoms: Exploring South-West Britain in the post-Roman Period

Professor Stephen Rippon, University of Exeter

This paper will explore how landscape and society across South-West England (Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Gloucestershire, and Wiltshire) was transformed in the three centuries after Britain ceased to be part of the Roman Empire. In most parts of this region a substantial Romano-British population survived, and the social elite maintained some links with the Mediterranean. However, rather than a single, homogenous region/culture there were subtle but distinct variations in social structure that are still evident in out landscape and place-names of today.

 

Wednesday 9 December 2026

The Great Escape: How Great was it?

Prof Andrew Hopper, Kellogg Oxford

The Great Escape was so named due to the number of prisoners who crawled out from tunnel Harry on 23rd March 1944. Getting out of the prison camp was one thing, crossing occupied Europe to reach a friendly border was quite another altogether. Over 600 men were involved in the preparation of the escape - the talents and skill levels they brought were absolutely outstanding. Most people have seen the Hollywood film - and it's very watchable - but does it detract too much from the reality? One of the escapees was from Taunton.

Wednesday 13 January 2027

The Memory and Legacy of the Crusades in the West

Professor Jonathan Phillips, Royal Holloway, University of London

This paper briefly outlines the reach of the medieval crusading movement, from campaigns in the Holy Land, such as that of Richard the Lionheart, and many diverse theatres of holy war, including Iberia, the Baltic, the Cathar heretics and later against the Ottoman Turks. After the end of the crusading movement in the sixteenth century we can plot the negative views of the Enlightenment, and then, in the nineteenth century, a revival of interest in the subject through cultural means, such as the novels of Sir Walter Scott, coupled with the return of Western Europeans to the Middle East which served as an active prompt to the memory of the medieval era. Crusading imagery featured prominently in World War One and, in a myriad of different forms, has continued to do so down to the present day.

Wednesday 10 February 2027

The East India Company: the Corporation that changed the World

Professor John McAleer University of Southampton)

The East India Company played a crucial role in creating the British Empire in Asia. From its modest origins as a small Elizabethan trading venture, it grew into a global empire which brokered Britain’s relations with Asia for nearly 250 years. It is a story of wealth, power, and the pursuit of fortune. But it is also one of conflict, conquest, and piracy on the high seas; politics, intrigue, and ruthlessness on land. The Company’s activities are an early example of globalisation in action. By introducing a whole host of coveted commodities to British consumers, the scale and impact of its operations changed the lives of millions of people around the world. In Britain, it affected what we eat, what we drink, the clothes we wear, and the language we speak. And in India, the Company laid the foundations of the British Empire in the subcontinent.

 

Wednesday 10 March 2027

The Terror and the French Revolution

Emeritus Professor William Doyle, University of Bristol

The French Revolution is best remembered for its most notorious and horrifying episode, the Terror. In British minds it has largely been defined by Charles Dickens's 'A Tale of Two Cities' as a story of brutal social revenge. But on closer examination its nature is far less clear, nor was it unique in the war-torn 1790s. This talk will explore the Terror's ambiguities, to assess why and how it happened, who its victims were (and were not), how it came to an end, and why it remains controversial among historians.