Meetings by Zoom

Herefordshire FHS are also holding Free Zoom Meetings, see here https://www.herefordshirefhs.org.uk/meetings/

Zoom Meetings at 7-30pm (Meeting open from 7pm)

Researching your Rural Ancestors handout

2025 Zoom

Tuesday 14th January – Clare O’Grady – Researching your Rural Ancestors

Until well into the 19th century, England and Wales was predominantly rural in nature. As a result, most of us will find our roots in the English and Welsh countryside. But where can we find out more about the lives that our rural ancestors led?

This talk will introduce you to some of the main sources for rural life including estate records, farm diaries, manorial records and records produced by unions and societies.

Tuesday 11th February – John Vigar – Churches in Retirement

What happens to Anglican churches when they are no longer needed for their original purpose? Some are demolished; others are converted to houses, offices or shops. Yet there are a few that are so precious that none of these solutions is deemed suitable.

Fifty years ago they would have been shut up and left to decay. The same might be true today had not a charity, The Friends of Friendless Churches, been established in 1957. It hoped struggling churches to keep their doors open and lobbied Parliament to establish a mechanism whereby important buildings could be saved. This led to the establishment of The Churches Conservation Trust in 1969.

Tuesday 11th March – Ian Waller – What Happened to Lucy

Before 1927 and legal adoption what happened to the unwanted child? Even after 1927 children were exploited, although supposedly cared for by institutions and well caring organisations. This talk looks at the plight of adoptees, foundlings, orphans and the Empire children (Child Migrants), essentially through the 19th & 20th centuries.

There are No Zoom Meetings during the Summer Months of April – August

Tuesday 9^th September – Kelly Cornwell

Transported to Tasmania – Exploring English and Australian records to help you discover more about your female convict ancestors; demonstrated via the case study of a young girl from Shoreditch, her conviction, transportation and ensuing escapades in Tasmania.

Tuesday 14^th October – TBC

Tuesday 11^th November – Addressing the Past – Helen Baggott
Using the chance discovery of a WWI address book, this talk will reveal which addressee lived in Hampton Court, where you could see the Professor and a family whose history casts a dark cloud over our pasts