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Programme 2026
2026, Wednesday 7th January
Raby Castle
Senior Guide to the Castle
A knowledgeable Senior Guides will provide an introduction to Raby Castle, the Nevilles and Vanes and the rooms linked to both families’ heritage. The talk will also provide examples of the impressive range of art, objects and furniture found in the collection, such as Raby’s Meissen birds and Greek Slave statue. Today, Raby is the seat of the 12th Lord and Lady Barnard and their new development, ‘The Rising’, highlights the changes that they are bringing to Raby now and for the future.
2026, Wednesday 4th February
Amelia and the Industrial Age
Marion Moverley
The talk will follow a Yorkshire girl, born in 1829, through her experiences to her death in 1907. She was born into a merchant family, made her own way in life, married twice and made it into the twentieth century and the modern age. Amelia’s life illustrates the progress made in industry and society by women over her lifetime.
2026, Wednesday 4th March
Henry on tour – the Summer Progresses of Henry VIII
Professor Kate Giles (University of York)
Every summer, Henry VIII, his Queen(s), Privy Council and courtiers left the heat, noise and plague of the city for their summer progress, enjoying the hunting and feasting opportunities of the provinces, but also forging key relationships, networks and loyalties to the Crown. Researchers from Historic Royal Palaces and the universities of York and Newcastle have been plotting Henry’s progresses and exploring their impacts on people and places. Professor Kate Giles will reflect on what the project has revealed and share some of its discoveries, including details of Henry’s 1541 progress to York.
See Talk Notes Below for details
2026, Wednesday 1st April
Elizabeth Montagu: a bluestocking in Richmondshire
Professor Tony Pollard
Elizabeth Montagu, née Robinson (1718-1800) is best-known as the hostess of a literary salon in London, nicknamed ‘The Bluestockings’. She is less well-known as a Yorkshirewoman who spent most summers of her childhood in Wensleydale and, in 1742, married Edward Montagu, the owner of estates at Allerthorpe and Eryholme. Drawing on her lively correspondence, this talk explores her involvement in Richmondshire society, her patronage of the Robinson alms-houses at Burneston and her relationships with tenants, especially after Edward died in 1775.
2026, Wednesday 6th May
China’s Ancient Poems for the Modern Era
Tim Clissold
The rejuvenation of China is the most important geopolitical event of our lifetime, yet Westerners understand so little about traditional Chinese thought and how it effects modern society. As early as the seventh century, China’s poets were writing about modern day concerns such as wealth inequality, tax evasion, substance abuse, the plight of refugees – even environmental issues. What can their lines teach us about Chinese society today? Tim Clissold will discuss his book, Cloud Chamber.
2026, Thursday 14th May
Raby Castle - Visit
2026, Wednesday 3rd June
Left behind: the lead-mining families divided by migration from Swaledale into Lancashire
Professor Philip Batman
The population of Swaledale plummeted during the second half of the 19th century as its lead-mining industry fell into terminal decline. The population of Burnley in East Lancashire, however, soared during this period as its cotton mills boomed. The focus of this talk is on chain migration from Swaledale to Burnley and, in particular, on those families who left relatives behind in the dale to weather the economic storm.
2026, Thursday 16th July
Saltaire and Salt Mill - Visit
2026, Wednesday 2nd September
Addingham Environment Group – saving the planet
Professor Rick Battarbee
Addingham is a West Yorkshire village of 3,000 residents set within a predominantly agricultural landscape. The Environment Group was set up by the village Civic Society in 2016. Its principal aim is to protect and enhance (in some cases restore) the natural environment of the village and surrounding countryside for the enjoyment and wellbeing of both residents and visitors. Rick Battarbee, Emeritus Professor of Environmental Change at UCL, will look back at what has been achieved.
2026, Wednesday 7th October
The James Smithson story: American culture’s unlikely debt to a British scientist
David Glover
How can we connect the illegitimate son of an old Stanwick St. John family with Washington DC? This is the extraordinary story of a North Riding-born aristocrat’s bastard who became a minor, yet significant, British scientist. Comparative mystery surrounds our subject; he was born in France and died in Italy, yet his remains eventually crossed the Atlantic in 1904. His unlooked-for legacy would result in the creation in the US capital of the largest Museum complex in the world.
2026, Wednesday 4th November EVENT CANCELLED
Thorp Perrow through the seasons
2026, New: Wednesday October 21st
Heritage Open Days Lecture ‘Richmond Racecourse Grandstand past and present’.
Richmond School Upper Hall 7.00 pm for 7.30 pm.
Friday 11th December - Richmond Town Hall
AGM - Starting at 7:30pm
Lecture Notes
Amelia and the Industrial Age
February’s lecture was given by Marion Moverley, a Methodist local preacher who has retained strong links with Richmond Methodist Church, such that her talk allowed Marion to renew many old friendships.
The talk followed the life of Amelia, whose life, through birth and marriage, connected her with many key aspects of the Industrial Age. Amelia was born into a Quaker family of West Riding textile mill owners and traders.
Her second marriage connected her to the Pease family of Darlington, the prominent 19th-century Quaker industrialist dynasty, most famous of whom was Edward Pease, who financed the Stockton and Darlington railway in 1825.
Amelia was even connected by marriage to Sir Isaac Pitman, originator of Pitman shorthand. Amelia would have experienced so many major changes in her lifetime, changes that she herself was closely associated with. It was this that made her life story so interesting.
Marion’s lecture was extremely well researched and delivered – research that took her all over the country as Amelia herself moved between the West Riding and Darlington, before moving to the south coast.
Marion herself is an adult education tutor who gives talks on a wide range of social, local and family history topics around the Yorkshire Dales and Vale of York, as well as having taught adult education courses for the Universities of York and Leeds.
As well as Amelia and the Industrial Age, Marion offers a very wide range of talks to groups such as W.I.s, Civic Societies and Local History groups.
The full range of Marion's talks can be found on her own Simdif site
Raby Castle
An informative and entertaining talk by a Senior Guide from Raby Castle.
Raby, situated near to Staindrop in County Durham, is one of England’s finest castles.
Remarkably, it has been privately owned by two families, the Nevilles and the Vanes, since it was first built in the 14th century.
The talk touched on the history of the families, for example how Charles Neville was forced to flee into exile in 1569 after supporting the Catholic Rising of the North against Queen Elizabeth I.
Lord and Lady Barnard, the current owners of Raby, have sought to maintain and continue to transform Raby since they inherited the seat in 2016. Their new development, ‘The Rising’, highlights their ambitious plans for Raby.
The talk also touched on the rooms and the impressive range of objects linked to both families’ heritage. Raby offers a wonderful day out, with the castle, a 5-acre walled garden, a 200- acre deer park and places to eat and shop.
As a follow-up to the talk, the Civic Society is organised a group visit to Raby Castle on Thursday 14th May.
For more information about visit the Raby Castle Website