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Talks and events

Terrific Transport: free drop-in family activities

Tuesday 30 May to Thursday 1 June, 9.30am to 5pm, at Surrey History Centre,130 Goldsworth Road, Woking, GU21 6ND

Come along to find out about the history of Surrey transport and make a paper car, rocking boat and plenty more.

Suitable for ages 2 to 10. Parents and guardians must supervise children.

Free parking onsite, via Kingsway Road. Buggy friendly and baby change facilities available. Donations welcome.

Surrey History Trust Annual General Meeting (AGM) talk

Monday 19 June, 7pm to 9pm, at Surrey History Centre, 130 Goldsworth Road, Woking, GU21 6ND

Surrey History Trust AGM followed by a talk by Michael More-Molyneux, Lord-Lieutenant of Surrey: The Role of the Lord Lieutenant and its Responsibilities.

Refreshments from 6.30pm, AGM and talk 7pm to 9pm.

Magna Carta, Runnymede and All That

Wednesday 21 June, 5.30pm to 6.45pm on Zoom

One of the most famous events in English history took place on an obscure Thameside Surrey meadow in June 1215 when an angry King John was forced by his equally angry barons to accept limits on his power. This illustrated talk explores the background to Magna Carta, what happened afterwards and the later histories of the great charter and the place where it happened.

Surrey Record Society Annual General Meeting (AGM) talk on Lucy Broadwood

Tuesday 3 July, 7pm to 9pm, at Surrey History Centre,130 Goldsworth Road, Woking, GU21 6ND

Surrey Record Society AGM, followed by a talk by Irene Shettle, The Lost Lady Found: The Life and Work of Lucy Broadwood.

Refreshments from 6.30pm, AGM and talk 7pm to 9pm.

Pirates: free drop-in family activities

Tuesday 22 to Thursday 24 August and Tuesday 29 to Thursday 31 August, 9.30am to 5pm, at Surrey History Centre, 130 Goldsworth Road, Woking, GU21 6ND

Come along to find out about the history of pirates, and make a hat, treasure map and feathery parrot friend.

Suitable for ages 2 to 10. Parents and guardians must supervise children.

Free parking onsite, via Kingsway Road. Buggy friendly and baby change facilities available. Donations welcome.

George III's Illnesses and His Doctors

Saturday 14 October, 2pm to 3.30pm, at Surrey History Centre, 130 Goldsworth Road, Woking, GU21 6ND

A talk by Mike Ramscar based on his recent book exploring the 'madness' of George III and the links between his doctors and the county of Surrey.

Displays at Surrey History Centre

Royal Surrey through the ages

Tuesday 2 to Wednesday 31 May, during normal opening hours, at Surrey History Centre foyer, 130 Goldsworth Road, Woking GU21 6ND

Throughout May, Surrey Heritage celebrates the coronation of Charles III with a display of wonderful images from our collections that tell the stories of previous celebrations in Surrey, from the coronations of Queen Victoria in 1838 through to Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.

Also on display is 'Royal Surrey through the ages' which explores and celebrates the many facets of the relationship between royalty and the county of Surrey. Visitors to Surrey History Centre can collect a free accompanying illustrated booklet.

Recorded talks to purchase

If you missed one of our online talks, why not purchase the talk recording to view in your own time?

The talks available are:

  • Aladdin's Cave: Some Major Family and Estate Archives in Surrey History Centre
  • A Burden on the Parish: sources for the history of Poor Relief in Surrey
  • A 'great' amongst Victorian architects? Royal Holloway's W H Crossland
  • Artists, Antiquaries and Collectors: illustrations of Georgian Surrey collected by Robert Barclay of Bury Hill, Dorking, circa.1800 to 1825
  • Bananas: How a Surrey Garden Played a Pivotal Role in the History of the World's Favourite Fruit
  • Corsets and Cameras
  • Fashion and Folly
  • From Punishment to Pride: LGBTQ+ archives at Surrey History Centre
  • Gertrude Jekyll, Gardener and Craftswoman
  • In the Shadow of the Great War: Surrey 1914 to 1918
  • James Henry Pullen (1835 to 1916) and the Royal Earlswood Asylum for Idiots, Redhill
  • John Evelyn in Surrey
  • Land of my Father's Fathers: Tracing your Welsh ancestors
  • Let the Road Rise to Meet You: Tracing Your Irish Ancestors
  • Netherne circa. 1955: A Surrey Psychiatric Hospital in Focus
  • Out of Sight, Out of Mind? Sources for the History of Surrey's Mental Hospitals, 1700 to circa.1990
  • Planting Ideas: Sources for the History of Gardening in Surrey.
  • Portrait of a Surrey town between the wars: the photographic archive of Sidney Francis
  • Reflections on the Lewis Carroll archives, on the 150th anniversary of 'Alice through the Looking Glass'
  • Richard III: A Drama in Three Acts
  • Sir William More of Loseley
  • The Book That Changed My Life
  • The Changing Face of Nursing: Black Nurses in Surrey Hospitals
  • The Gentleman's Magazine: A Panorama of Georgian Surrey for Family and Local Historians
  • The Most Wretched Man in the World: The Life and Loves of the 5th Viscount Midleton
  • The Portable Antiquities Scheme in Surrey
  • To the Manor Born: An Introduction to Manorial Records for Family Historians
  • What did you do after the war, Grandad? – 1918 to 1925: de-mob, jobs, pensions, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the British Legion
  • Where there's a will
  • Who Do You Think They Were? Discovering the lives and experiences of our ancestors

Most talk descriptions can be found on our Talks and Tours page. Each talk consists of a 45 minute to an hour illustrated presentation followed by questions asked during the live talk. You can also email us with any questions you may have after the talk and we will pass them on to the speaker to answer. Price £5. To purchase a recording please visit the Surrey Heritage Shop. Please note talks may contain references to historical legal terminology, sexual practices and crimes, used in the historical context but which some viewers may find offensive.

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