Heritage Forum members’ programmes
Events/meetings organised by members of the Forum during 2018 and 2019
Barns Green and Itchingfield Local History Society
Programme of meetings to be added.
Beeding and Bramber Local History Society
Meetings are usually held at 7:45pm in Beeding and Bramber Village Hall on the first Wednesday of the month. The talks cover a wide range of subjects relating to the history and natural history of the local area and Sussex in general.
Visitors are welcome for a £3 entrance fee.
Wednesday 6 March 2019
AGM followed by “The Truleigh Hill Landscape Project” by Philip Paulo
Wednesday 3 April 2019
“An Anglo-Saxon execution burial and other discoveries from the Rampion cable route” by Matt Pope and Garrett Sheehan
Wednesday 1 May 2019
“the first Brexit- how Britain became an island and its effect on Neanderthal, Mesolithic and Neolithic men” by Bob Turner
Wednesday 4 September 2019
“The Women’s Land Army” by Ian Everest
Wednesday 2 October 2019
“Littlehampton ships and boats on postcards: sail, steam and The Black Rabbit” by Tony Pratt
Wednesday 6 November 2019
“An archaeological childhood in Sussex” by Dr Janet Pennington
Billingshurst Local History Society
Meetings are held at the Billingshurst Community Centre at 7.30 pm. Everyone welcome. Visitors £3 Annual sub £15.
Thursday 14 March 2019
“Cast Iron Firebacks” by Jeremy Hodgkinson
Thursday 11 April 2019
“A virtual tour of Sussex Churches” by Kevin Gordon
Cowfold Village History Society
Meetings now take place in The Allmond Centre at 7:45pm for 8:00pm.
Everyone welcome. Members free and non-members £3.50 including refreshments.
Friday 22 February 2019
Rupert Toovey Valuation evening and CVHS 10th Anniversary. This meeting is being held in the Village Hall and the cost for non-members is £5.00.
Friday 12 April 2019
AGM followed by “The 50 Gems of Sussex” by Kevin Newman
Friday 20 September 2019
“Cowfold in WW2” by Michael Burt
Friday 22 November 2019
“The What-ifs of History” by Mark Perry-Nash
Henfield History Group
Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of the month at 8 pm (doors open from 7.40 pm) in the Free Church Hall, High Street, Henfield, BN5 9HP (via the side entrance in Coopers Way).
Everyone welcome. Admission £3 Non-Members (Members by Subscription)
Enquiries to Maureen Fletcher, Tel. 01273-492194.
Tuesday 12th March 2019
“Lost Ships Found-the adventure of maritime archeology” presented by
Ian Friel, who uses historical evidence to identify shipwrecks and tell their
story.
Tuesday 9th April 2019
AGM followed by “30 Plus Years of Collecting Postcards” presented by Alan Barwick.
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Horsham District Archaeology Group
The Group meets regularly to carry out research into the history of Horsham and the surrounding West Sussex/Surrey countryside. New members are always welcome, with or without archaeological experience.
For further information on these events please contact horshamarch@hotmail.co.uk or 01903 872309
Horsham Society
The Society publishes articles in its own newsletter and has also contributed articles to the West Sussex County Times since February 2008.
Parham House and Gardens
Parham House & Gardens is closed from October 15th 2018 until Easter Sunday 2019
Rudgwick Preservation Society
Meetings are held in Rudgwick Village Hall at 7:30pm.
All welcome (Free for members and £2 entry for non-members).
Rusper Chronicle
2018 programme of meetings to be added.
Shipley Local History Society
Meetings are held in the Andrew Hall, commencing at 7.30 pm.
Membership dues remain at £10.00 per person for the entire season. Visitors are always welcome at £3.00 per person.
Thursday 21 February 2019
“Sussex in the Napoleonic wars” by Helen Poole
Thursday 11 April 2019
“The Women’s Land Army in Sussex” by Ian Everest
Thursday 20 June 2019 @ 6 pm
Summer evening walk hosted by Derek and Gina Larcombe followed by the annual social evening. Full details to be published in the Spring.
August 2019
Summer visit to a local place of historical interest is being planned. Full details to be published in the Spring.
Southwater Local History Group
Our meetings are held at 7.30pm on the first Monday of each month in the Beeson House, Lintot Square. Everyone Welcome . Non Members £3 please.
Steyning History Society
Visitors are welcome at all our meetings, for a small entrance fee of £3.00. The annual membership fee is £10 per person (and the Society year runs from September through to May).
The meetings are held in the Saxon Room, Steyning Centre, Fletcher’s Croft, Steyning, commencing 7.45 pm and running until approximately 9.30 pm with a refreshment break in the middle; we ask for a £1 donation per person at each meeting towards tea, coffee and cake, in the interval.
Wednesday 13 March 2019
“Kipling’s Rottingdean years 1897- 1902” by Peter Crowhurst
Wednesday 10 April 2019
“Two Victorian Love Stories: Millais and Effie Gray, Parnell and Kitty O’Shea” by Ian and Mary Ivatt
Wednesday 8 May 2019
Annual General Meeting followed by “The Great Escape” by Sarah Green
West Grinstead Local History Group
Public meetings with a guest speaker are held on the third Tuesday of alternate months (January, March, May, July, September and November), commencing at 7:30pm, and take place in Partridge Green Village Hall, High Street, Partridge Green RH13 8HP unless otherwise stated. Members £3.50, non-members £5.00.
Museum Events
Christ’s Hospital Museum
Welcome to 460 Years of History!
The Museum has a remarkable collection of some 35,000 artefacts and archives dating from 1552 to present day. Paintings, photographs, prints, china, sculpture, costume, social history, books, medals, coins, ephemera and much more chart the history of our unique school from its founding and 350 years in London, through its time at Hertford and finally Horsham since 1902. We are staffed by a small team of curators and volunteers who regularly respond to numerous research and family history enquiries, donations, conservation and exhibitions on and off site, learning sessions for pupils across all academic departments, tours for staff, public visitors and Verrio tours.
Extensive displays occupying what used to be the old isolation wards for the Infirmary or “Sicker” allow you to explore the school’s illustrious history, boasting patronage from all British monarchs dating back to Edward VI, links with important historical figures such as Samuel Pepys, Isaac Newton, Captain Cook, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Charles Lamb, Edmund Blunden and Barnes Wallis. Yet perhaps the most interesting areas celebrate the day-to-day life at Christ’s Hospital for its many generations of pupils and staff. Where else at CH can you marvel at a perfectly preserved 1902 Nurse’s Kitchen, a “Lav End” or observe how the uniform and customs at the school have changed, yet equally some remain unchanged for over four and a half centuries?
If you’ve no idea what a “Beadle” did and you’ve never seen the “Punishment Bands” for Hertford girls, or indeed realised the devastating impact two World Wars had on CH in the 20th century or the harsh reality of life for pupils in the past….then you need to visit the Museum!
Our opening times are: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10am – 4pm
View by prior arrangement: 247444; chmuseum@christs-hospital.org.uk
Christ’s Hospital in the 20th Century
29 April 2017 – 29 March 2018 -extended by popular demand until 29 March 2019.
The 20th Century saw dramatic change for Christ’s Hospital as it moved from its small London site of some 350 years to its current extensive grounds in Sussex. This exhibition explores the art, artefacts and stories behind the school, reflecting the huge social, economic and cultural changes that went on in this period.
While such a display cannot be considered a definitive guide to Christ’s Hospital in the 20th Century, it serves to highlight a modern take on the collections it holds. With so much history around us, and such rich collections, the last 100 years can easily be overlooked. The exhibition showcases recent acquisitions from this transformative era including fine art, social history, costume, photos, ephemera and personal artefacts reflecting the everyday life of pupils and staff.
While acknowledging the impact on Christ’s Hospital of two World Wars, the focus is more on the remarkable historic collections that illustrate the school’s key developments and on-going Old Blue achievements.
What was valued by the staff and pupils at Christ’s Hospital in the 1920’s? How were the school’s main events documented in the 1960’s? Why do we collect a loud hailer and which famous celebrities are associated with Christ’s Hospital in this century? The exhibition celebrates and commemorates the scope and diversity of a truly unique, and at times quirky collection, that boasts some 40,000 objects.
Christ’s Hospital in the 20th Century invites us to consider art works by two of the most significant Modern British artists of that era: Keith Vaughan (1912–77; pupil here 1921-29) and Frank Brangwyn (1867-1956; commissioned to paint the Chapel murals 1912-23) beside the work of lesser known artists Donald Towner (1903-85; art teacher here during WWII) and Nell Todd (1909-76; Head of Art here 1950-69). Equally accomplished drawings by Philip Youngman Carter (1904-69; pupil here 1916-21) of the First World War poet Edmund Blunden (1896-1974; pupil here 1909-14) make an insightful comparison with the battlefield pen and ink sketches by Second World War poet Keith Douglas (1920-44; pupil here 1931-38).
This exhibition offers a rare and intriguing opportunity to enjoy a range of objects across varied disciplines – what is often not seen and in storage – is revealed and not to be missed in this remarkable gathering!
Contact Christ’s Hospital Museum for more information:
chmuseum@christs-hospital.org.uk 01403 247444
Henfield Museum and Friends 
Henfield Museum
Horsham Museum and Art Gallery 
Frederick Du Cane Godman
This event runs from 18th February 2019 to 20th April 2019
Marking the centenary of world renowned collector and scientist
His home South Lodge caught world attention 10 years ago when the world’s finance ministers descended to sort out the ‘crash’ of 2008, yet the former owner, Frederick DuCane Godman, is virtually unknown today outside specialist areas. In his day, though, he corresponded with scientific greats such as Darwin, collected the finest Islamic pottery in the world and sponsored major expeditions to discover lost civilisations. Today he lies in Cowfold cemetery under a simple decorative cross. However, his legacy in research and collecting lives on as last year The British Museum opened a major permanent exhibition on Islamic culture, The Albukhary Foundation Gallery of the Islamic World which features his pottery. In the hall of the Natural History Museum there is a bronze plaque recording his generosity and a medal is awarded in his name each year for new ornithological work. It is fitting that in the Year of Culture, Horsham Museum & Art Gallery is holding a small temporary exhibition on him and his collections, a prelude to a larger exhibition in 2020.
With the help of the British Museum we will be showcasing specially taken photographs of some of his outstanding Islamic pottery. These will be complementing images from an unbound copy of his privately printed book on Islamic tiles that will adorn the room. They will feature alongside paintings of the family who lived at South Lodge, the home he had built in the 1880s, and where, throughout his life, he displayed his growing collection of ceramics.
The Museum is delighted to announce that a world authority on Islamic pottery, Dr Venetia Porter, of The British Museum will be speaking at The Capitol on 2 April at 2pm – 3.30pm on The Godman Collection at the British Museum, as part of the Museum’s Year of Culture events. Tickets for this special event are priced at £5 and are available from the Capitol box office on http://www.thecapitolhorsham.com/ or 01403 750220.
Frederick was a man who was much respected in Victorian and Edwardian society gaining fellowships and recognition for his work from leading scientific and cultural societies. He was a Trustee of the British Museum, a Member of the Royal Institute, awarded an honorary degree by Oxford University, President of the Royal Entomological Society, Vice-President and Fellow of the Zoological Society, on the board and Fellow of the Royal Geographic and Geological Societies, Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, Secretary and later President of the British Ornithological Union, Honorary member of the American Ornithological Union and a Fellow of the Linnean Society.
He was a founding member of the British Ornithological Union and an avid collector of specimens as well as the art of the illustrator. On display will be prints from the John Gould bird books; he owned the original watercolours from the publications, which were dispersed around the world in 1994 following the death of his unmarried daughters who played a notable role, as Frederick did, in local society.
One of Fredrick’s finest achievements was the publication of the monumental multi-volume Biologia Centrali-Americana, 63 volumes of detailed research on the natural history and archaeology of Central America. Without his financial support and ambition it would not have been completed or even published. He dedicated the work to his second wife Alice with whom he set out on his original expeditions to the region. There he collected some examples of pre-Columbian pottery as well as entomology and ornithology.
Picturing the District
This event runs from 5 January 2019- 25 March 2019
Over 200 years artists have flocked to Horsham district inspired by the peoples and places to create a varied canvas that portrays a district of great personality and colour. Picturing the district is a masterpiece created out of local scenes that has many surprises. From George Robertson to Roxby Bott artists have revealed the district to be an amazing place.
The beautiful game: A history of Football in Horsham District
This event runs from 12 January 2019- 30 March 2019
Culture is more than just art, music and theatre, it includes sport as well. To mark the start of Horsham District’s Year of Culture the Museum is producing an exhibition looking at the history of football across Horsham District. The exhibition will include objects and images from the Museum’s collections, along with a range of writing, stories, footage, images and objects contributed by some of Horsham District’s own football clubs.
Bragwyn in Horsham
This event runs from 9 February 2019- 23 March 2019
Sir Frank Brangwyn RA, one of the leading 20th century artists, came to Christ’s Hospital School in 1913 to design and paint 16 wall murals depicting incidents in the history of the Christian church. Due to World War One they took 10 years to complete. Brangwyn gave the school 7 cartoons, or preparatory designs for the murals which carry signs of their use. For the first time ever some of the cartoons will be on display in Horsham Museum & Art Gallery along with other Brangwyn items including two sketches for an abandoned Houses of Parliament decorative scheme proposed after World War One. They will then return to Christ’s Hospital and feature in a larger exhibition on the chapel paintings.
The West Sussex County Times: 150 Years of Trusted News
This event runs from 15th February 2019 to 12th April 2019
The West Sussex County Times in 2019 is marking a milestone in the history of the newspaper and the community – 150 years of delivering trusted news.
To celebrate this important anniversary, Horsham Museum & Art Gallery will be hosting an exhibition in its Photography Gallery exploring the story of the West Sussex County Times. Using large prints of front pages detailing major events in Horsham’s history, the exhibition illuminates the impact of the West Sussex County Times, and its importance to the town and Horsham District.
Accents on the Landscape: Ancient churches of West Sussex by Gordon Rushmer
This event runs from 30 March 2019- 1 June 2019
Gordon described this exhibition as: “A painter’s rural rides in search of the hidden delights and details”. After 18 months of cycling across West Sussex capturing the essence of the ancient churches that populate the Sussex countryside, Gordon has created an artistic monument and record. Harking back 200 years when, in search of the picturesque, artists would tour the countryside recording and illustrating unknown churches, Gordon has achieved the same for the 21st century, creating ethereal, romantic, highly detailed but also majestic watercolours of churches hidden in plain sight, buildings that require the artist eye of Gordon Rushmer to uncover them in all their glory.
The Godman Collection at The British Museum
This event runs from 2nd April 2019 to 2nd April 2019
The Museum is delighted to announce that a world authority on Islamic pottery, Dr Venetia Porter, of The British Museum will be speaking at The Capitol on 2 April at 2pm – 3.30pm on The Godman Collection at the British Museum, as part of the Museum’s Year of Culture events. Tickets for this special event are priced at £5 and are available from the Capitol box office on www.the capitolhorsham.com or 01403 750220.
Steyning Museum