BAALHS MORE ABOUT THE MERGER

The Autumn programme began with an interesting presentation at the AGM on “Bedford Film Makers” by Peter Tipping. This was followed on 13 October by Geoff Hales who was in costume (and character) as Daniel Gooch, Chief Locomotive Assistant, recalling Isambard Kingdom Brunel. This was a joint meeting with the Historical Association and the Mayor of Bedford (Dave Hodgson) was also in attendance. The Mayor spoke at length about plans for the Borough after the coffee break.

On 10 November, there was a very interesting presentation by John Tusting on the “Harrold Leather Company” which was started in 1924 by John Charles Tusting who founded a leather dressing works in Harrold. The company dressed East Indian raw leather which was all vegetable tanned and produced a wide range of quality leather items. This presentation was originally scheduled for January 2010, but was postponed due to the snowy weather at the time.

Our December meeting saw some pleasant Christmas entertainment, including lovely Christmas carols by Peter and Barbara Tipping and a well-stocked book sale.

One of our members, John Daniels, had suggested Michael Dobson to come and speak to us about the history of the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Bedford, and this presentation took place at our January meeting. Mr Dobson spoke about the construction of the facility and the research and testing that took place there, which contributed to aviation safety.

Our immediate past President Richard Wildman gave an informative illustrated presentation in February on Bedford buildings and architecture, which was followed in March by a presentation by Paul Chamberlain, who talked about the prison at Norman Cross, which was the topic of a recent Channel 4 Time Team programme in October 2010:
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/time-team/episode-guide/series-17/episode-4

Our April meeting saw Mark Steinhardt present a double bill of storytelling – firstly about the murder of Elizabeth White in Flitwick Wood in 1788, and then about Frank Spooner, Bedfordshire’s First Director of Education who disappeared in 1912 with the entire County Council education budget.

The Summer outings began with a tour of Peterborough City Centre and a visit to John Clare’s cottage in Helpston. John Clare who was the son of a farm labourer and had very little education is nevertheless regarded as one of the greatest English poets.

In May, there was a visit to Stotfold Watermill, where a watermill has stood on the site for over a thousand years. In June, Richard Wildman conducted a walking tour around Bedford town centre and the following month Sue Jarrett gave us an evening visit to Eaton Socon, which included the 19th century lock up and the parish church. The castle site was not accessible, as the property on which it stands has been sold. The July visit was to Albion Archaeology at St. Mary’s Church in the town centre. Albion Archaeology was established in 1972 as Bedfordshire County Archaeology Service and is a professional archaeological organisation providing a range of archaeological services on a regional and national basis.

In August there was a trip to Lyveden New Bield in Northamptonshire. This was constructed by Sir Thomas Tresham and is in the shape of a Greek cross to reflect his strong Roman Catholic beliefs. Tresham and his heir both died in 1605 and his widow spent the rest of her life paying off his debts, resulting in the building never being completed. The National Trust is recreating the Elizabethan gardens. After lunch, a visit to Deene Park took place, which has been home to the Brudenell family since 1514. A coach trip has been organised for 25th September, to Hardwick Hall and Old Hall in Derbyshire which will be a pleasant end to our Summer programme of events.

We hope you enjoyed the events of the past year. Your commitee have met regularly throughout the year, so too has the Conservation Sub-Committee. If you have any feedback or suggestions for future events, please do let Sylvia or any other member of the committee know. On that note, it is with a heavy heart that I will be stepping down as Secretary of the Society at this AGM, due to having moved away from Bedfordshire at the end of last year.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the committee members for their support during my three years as Secretary, as well as members at the meetings for their assistance too. I have very much enjoyed my time in this role, and would thoroughly recommend it! I will continue to support and be a member of BAALHS and will no doubt see you at future events and excursions.

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