All enquiries to Mrs A Wagstaff 020 8777 7742 aj60@dial.pipex.com 

Entry to meetings is free for HA members and £2 for visitors.

Associate membership of the branch is £14 for 2025/2026 or £24 with our monthly news bulletin, the Beckenham Historian.

All meetings take place at 7.30 p.m. in Christ Church Hall, Fairfield Road, Beckenham, BR3 3LE unless otherwise stated. Tea and coffee is served from 7.15 p.m.

There is a public car park nearby. For public transport routes and a local map, please see the branch website www.beckenham-historical-association.org/

 

 

Beckenham & Bromley Branch Programme 2025 - 2026  

 

 

2025

Thursday 18 September, 7.15 p.m. for AGM, 7.45 p.m. for talk

Annual General Meeting followed by

The Last Years of the ‘Big House’ - the estate manager of Tullamaine Castle, Co. Tipperary, Ireland, 1966-1977

Mr. Peter Longley

 

Wednesday 15 October, 12:30 p.m.

Guided tour of The Musical Museum, Brentford

Numbers limited, pre-booking by 26 September essential

 

Thursday 16 October

Routes of Resistance – France, Britain and Legacies of the Second World War

Dr. Andrew Smith

 

Thursday 13 November

Fish and Chip Supper followed by

George and Emily Eden: Pride, Privilege, Empire and the Whigs

Dr. Brigid Allen

Pre-booking by 6th November for supper essential

 

Thursday 4 December

The Abdication of Edward VIII: Myths, Spies, Lawyers, Editors and an Archbishop

Mr. Adrian Philip

The evening will begin with light Christmas refreshments

 

Monday 8 December,2.45 p.m.

Guided tour of Goldsmiths’ Hall

Numbers limited, pre-booking by 21 November essential

 

 

2026

 

Thursday 22 January

The Army that Never Was: D-Day and the Great Deception

Mr. Taylor Downing

 

Wednesday 11 February, 11 a.m.

Visit to Bromley and Sheppard’s Colleges

Numbers limited, pre-booking by 23 January essential

 

Thursday 26 February

‘God’s great book in folio’: science and the sacred in late medieval and early modern Europe

Dr. Helen Parish

 

Thursday 12 March

Why Wellington Won and Napoleon Lost – the Battle of Waterloo

Professor Michael Clarke

 

Thursday 26 March 12.30 p.m.

Visit to Stephens House and Gardens, Finchley

Numbers limited, pre-booking by 13 March essential

 

Thursday 23 April

How did the Mongols reshape the 13^th century Middle East?

Professor Nicholas Morton

This is a hybrid talk which will be broadcast by the speaker from home in the church hall and on Zoom. Pre-booking for Zoom link essential

 

Thursday 30 April, 6.30 for 7 p.m.      

Annual Dinner at Lugana Restaurant, Beckenham

Pre-booking by 17 April essential

 

Saturday 9 May, 10.50 a.m.

Spring London Walk

The Penge Trail Led by Kate Boyle

Explore the one square mile of Penge! For hundreds of years this London suburb was a detached part of Battersea. We will follow the 2021 Pavement Plaques trail to uncover the famous people and buildings associated with Penge. Prepare to be surprised!

Numbers limited, pre-booking essential

 

Thursday 21 May

John and Charles Wesley – their life and times

Reverend Dr. Jonathan Dean

 

Saturday 6 June, 9 a.m.

All Day Coach Outing to Knebworth House

Pre-booking essential

 

Thursday 18 June

Mining Communities and The Miners’ Strike, 1984-1985

Professor Robert Gildea

 

Wednesday 15 July, 2.30 p.m.

Branch Anniversary Tea at the Bromley Court Hotel

Pre-booking by 3 July essential