Meetings | History of Bath Research Group

There will be an allocation of 15 minutes at the beginning of each meeting for "notes and queries" from members. The objective is to allow members to do the following:

Give a brief discourse on an item of research that they feel could be of interest to members but which doesn't merit a full talk. The maximum length of each contribution will be 5 minutes.
Allow members to pose queries that would help them with their research and where members may be able to contribute.

Programme

Title: Roman Bath

Venue: St Mary's Bathwick Church Hall

10-Oct-2022
07:30 PM

Speaker: Peter Davenport

Title: Bath Waterworks

Venue: St Mary's Bathwick Church Hall

14-Nov-2022
07:30 PM

Speaker: Drew Westerman
Synopsis: A Potted History of the Bath City Waterworks: As seen through the Bath City Waterworks records held at the Bath Record Office. From 2018-2020 the Bath Record Office, with funding from the Wellcome Trust, catalogued historic records relating to the Bath City Waterworks, dating from 1772-1974. Nearly 3700 items were sorted, identified and listed, with the resulting catalogue of waterworks records being made available publicly for the first time. This talk will provide a potted history of the Waterworks as revealed by the records, or as much of one as time allows, with examples of the many varied and fascinating documents that can be found therein.

Title: Lower Weston (including Locksbrook & Newbridge) - 1850-1911

Venue: St Mary's Bathwick Church Hall

09-Jan-2023
07:30 PM

Speaker: Richard Williams
Synopsis: Following on from Oldfield Park and continuing the study of Bath's industrial suburbs in the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries. The westerly expansion of Bath north of the river saw the development of Lower Weston, Locksbrook and Newbridge. This talk looks at the development of this suburb, some of the industries that supported its growth, and the occupations of the people who lived in the new housing.

Title: Claver Morris (1659-1727): a Somerset Doctor and His Travels

Venue: St Mary's Bathwick Church Hall

13-Feb-2023
07:30 PM

Speaker: Paul Hyland
Synopsis: Claver Morris is probably best known for the house that he built (for £807) in the Liberty at Wells, in 1702. By then, he was already one of the most eminent physicians in Somerset, travelling throughout the county to treat the families of the gentry in their homes and on their trips to Bath. We can learn about his patients (rich and poor) and Claver’s medical practices from the meticulous daily accounts and diaries that he kept over a period of forty years. These manuscripts (containing half a million words, and a cast of thousands) reveal a man of many talents: hugely knowledgeable and immensely enterprising, sociable and loving towards family and friends. They also reveal much about his troubles and intrigues, and his engagement with the political and religious turmoils that beset the West Country and the nation at the turn of the eighteenth century. Queries about the contents of the diaries (e.g., of names and places) will be welcome.

Title: St Alphege (953-1012): Son of Bath; Prophet For Our Time

Venue: St Mary's Bathwick Church Hall

13-Mar-2023
07:30 PM

Speaker: Dr Giles Mercer

Title: The Failure of the Old Bath Bank 1841

Venue: Bruce lives in Australia and this meeting will be held at St Mary's Church Hall, Bath, but with a live Zoom feed.

17-Apr-2023
07:30 PM

Speaker: Bruce Land

Title: Walk at Newton St Loe Village

Venue: St Mary's Bathwick Church Hall

15-May-2023
07:30 PM

Speaker: Nick Mould

Title: Guided Walk Around Sydney Gardens

Venue: St Mary's Bathwick Church Hall

12-Jun-2023
07:30 PM

Speaker: Kirsten Elliot

Meetings Programme

10-September-2022 - Our regular meetings take place at our usual venue, St Mary's Church Hall, Bathwick, with two walks planned for the summer months of 2023 - Please see individual meetings for more information.

There will be an allocation of 15 minutes at the beginning of each meeting for "notes and queries" from members. The objective is to allow members to do the following:

Programme

Title: Roman Bath

Venue: St Mary's Bathwick Church Hall

Speaker: Peter Davenport

Title: Bath Waterworks

Venue: St Mary's Bathwick Church Hall

Speaker: Drew Westerman

Title: Lower Weston (including Locksbrook & Newbridge) - 1850-1911

Venue: St Mary's Bathwick Church Hall

Speaker: Richard Williams

Title: Claver Morris (1659-1727): a Somerset Doctor and His Travels

Venue: St Mary's Bathwick Church Hall

Speaker: Paul Hyland

Title: St Alphege (953-1012): Son of Bath; Prophet For Our Time

Venue: St Mary's Bathwick Church Hall

Speaker: Dr Giles Mercer

Title: The Failure of the Old Bath Bank 1841

Venue: Bruce lives in Australia and this meeting will be held at St Mary's Church Hall, Bath, but with a live Zoom feed.

Speaker: Bruce Land

Title: Walk at Newton St Loe Village

Venue: St Mary's Bathwick Church Hall

Speaker: Nick Mould

Title: Guided Walk Around Sydney Gardens

Venue: St Mary's Bathwick Church Hall

Speaker: Kirsten Elliot