Towcester and District Local History Society monthly meetings

Meetings are on the second Wednesday of every month, except August, starting at 7.30pm unless informed otherwise.

Meetings will be hybrid meetings, both live and by Zoom. Members and visitors can attend the live meeting at the Sawpits Centre, Towcester. Members who want to join remotely are given the Zoom information.

Refreshments at the monthly meetings are included. Apart from the main speaker there may be extra events such as short talks, or a discussion group on a topic related to Towcester heritage that you may join at the end of the main meeting.

There is some parking at the Sawpits Centre, but please leave that for people with limited mobility. There is more parking a short distance away at the Richmond Road Car Park or at the Sponne Arcade car park.

Meetings are free for members, and £5.00 for visitors. Annual membership is £15.00.

9 April 2025
The Quest for the Knights Templars in Northants
Jackie Hibbert
For two centuries, The Knights Templar were an established order in England, then overnight it all came to an end, leading to legends of secret tunnels, treasure and intrigue. This journey takes us around some of the buildings they have left behind and tells their story (without the fictitious embellishments.)

14 May 2025
Plessey and its impact on Towcester 1940-1989
Tony Howard
From 1940 to 1989 Plessey expanded from just a handful of researchers working in a farmyard near Towcester to being the largest employer in and around the town with a research centre and three manufacturing sites developing and producing a wide range of high-tech state-of-the-art products. The talk describes the growth of the company and its impact on the expansion of Towcester.

11 June 2025
Charles Rennie Macintosh and 78 Derngate, Northampton
Rob Kendall
78 Derngate was famously re-modelled by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1916 for his client, Northampton model engineer, W.J Bassett-Lowke. Purchased for Bassett-Lowke by his father as a wedding present, the house had originally been constructed 100 years previously. This talk tells of the restoration of 78 Derngate with an overview of the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and also the life of Bassett-Lowke, who commissioned him to complete the work in 1917.

9 July 2025
Summer meeting
A history walk with Brian Giggins

10 September 2025
The Great Fire of Northampton
Ruth Thomas
Local historian Ruth Thomas will be talking to us about the great fire of Northampton when on September 1675 almost 75% of Northampton was destroyed. Destroying three quarters of Northampton, it was one of the most disastrous events in the history of the town.

8 October 2025
Edgar Mobbs – A Rugby Icon in the First World War
Graham McKechnie
Graham is the Sports Editor at BBC Radio Northampton and Club Historian for the Saints. Tonight he will recount the life of Edgar Mobbs, a superstar of rugby who captained both Northampton Saints and England, and many of his team-mates who also went to war.

12 November 2025
The Notorious Culworth Gang
Richard Blacklee
The Gang, a band of highwaymen, roamed the roads of Northamptonshire robbing, pillaging and being generally nasty. Four of them were executed on 3 August 1787 on the Racecourse, Northampton, one of whom, William Bowers, was a distant relative of Richard Blacklee.

10 December 2025
A Medieval Christmas
Michael Brown
Michael is the creator of the medieval gardens at the Prebendal Manor, Nassington, Northamptonshire. From this talk presented in 14th Century clothing we shall learn about the Christmas traditions, myths and plants of the medieval period, with music played on early instruments.

14 January 2026
Keeping Faith at the Front during the First World War
Helen Frost
Helen returns, this time to explore the varied role of Army Chaplains, Reverends and Padres at “The Front” during WW1. Looking at the work these men did in dreadful conditions and who went far beyond their “calling” to comfort, help and assist the dying and wounded.

11 February 2026
Warrior Women of the English Civil War 1642-51
Stephen Barker
This talk looks briefly at six women who took part in the fighting, undertook spying missions and negotiated deals with politicians. It also touches briefly upon treatment of the wounded; widows seeking compensation from Parliament and political activists.

11 March 2026 - AGM