News

September 2026

Year of Wonder - Wrexham 1876

Wrexham is celebrating the 150th anniversary of a special year

On 16th September David McCall gave a talk describing why 1876 was a special year in Wrexham's history. He started by testing the audience on how well they knew other key events in the city's history and maybe unsurprisingly they showed they knew virtually nothing.  However, 1876 was a significant year in Wrexham's history when, amongst other things, the Football Association of Wales was formed, the Ruabon Road Cemetery was opened, the Art Treasures and Industrial Exhibition took place, and the first National Eisteddfod in the town was held.

July 2026

Walking Tour of Chester

A group of 20 brave the hot weather on a guided tour

Following his talk in January giving a virtual tour of Chester, Stephen Shakeshaft led a group of twenty on a walking tour of some of the historic parts of the city, viewing the old court room in the Town Hall, inspecting Roman remains surviving under buildings in Northgate Street and walking round the city wall. 

School History Competition Prize-Giving

The Third Year of Sponsoring the School History Competition

A history competition was held for the third year running at Eccleston C of E Primary School, sponsored by the Pulford & Poulton History Group. There were 28 entries in three age groups (under-six, six to under-eight and eight-and-over) in the categories of Writing, Art and Craft, and Poetry. Memorable entries included a cardboard/paper model of Chester Cathedral and a cardboard model of a Roman Soldier’s Shield.  The Prize-giving on the 16th July in front of the whole school was presented by Ben John, Chair of the History Group, assisted by Nayland Southorn, Chair of the School Governors.  Ben gave a short talk to the children about the importance of local history and Kathryn Rees-Wright, Head Teacher, hosted the event in the school assembly hall.   Altogether a most enjoyable occasion and it was great to see the enthusiasm of the children during the Prize-giving.  

June 2026

The Welsh in Patagonia head for the Andes

Continuation of the story of the Welsh settlers in Argentina

On 17th June Graham Edwards gave the third installment of his history of the Welsh community in Patagonia. 

Following his two previous talks on the experience of the Welsh settlers who emigrated to Patagonia in the 19th century, Graham Edwards continues the story as a group travelled westwards towards the Andes in search of land for cultivation and founded a new Welsh settlement.  In 1885, after twenty years, as the Welsh population grew, new good agricultural land was becoming scarce, so the settlers asked the local governor for permission to seek new land further west. A small group set out across the arid desert accompanied by the governor and after three months they were able to return with news of fertile land at the foot of the Andes. Within a few years a new Welsh settlement was established.

May 2026

Bogs, Baths and Basins

AGM followed by talk on the history of domestic sanitation

The group's Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held on Wednesday, 20th May followed by a talk on the history of domestic sanitation by David Eveleigh.

Having established that Thomas Crapper was not the inventor of the modern toilet we were treated to a description of how domestic sanitary arrangements developed from the primitive privy to the introduction of the modern bathroom.  The availability of facilities is taken for granted today but there is a long history of how they came about. Cesspits and urban dung heaps led to the privy midden.  Developments in water supply in the 19th Century and the growth of piping and pumps led to the water closet with flushing but facilities available depended both on class and location.  Earth closets remained in areas without running water while advances in the water closet benefited the wealthy while servants still had basic amenities.

April 2026

History of Cammell Laird's Ship Building

A boiler making business evolves into a major pioneer in the building of iron ships

On Wednesday 15th April Derek Arnold treated us to a detailed history of the builder of some of the world’s finest ships illustrating the depth of his experience having worked for the company for many years.  It all began in Birkenhead in the 1820s, when William Laird founded an ironworks making boilers and his son John expanded it into shipbuilding in 1828, initially by making an iron barge. The company became known for pioneering iron ships developing a reputation for technical innovation, especially in propulsion and metal-hulled construction. John was joined in the business by his three sons and after his death in 1874 they continued as Laird Brothers.

In 1903, Laird Brothers merged with Charles Cammell and Co. of Sheffield to form Cammell Laird. The new company became one of Britain’s major shipbuilders, with a strong role in both world wars, producing and repairing warships at scale.

The yard continued working on naval and commercial projects after the war years, though the wider British shipbuilding industry declined sharply in the late 20th century. Cammell Laird survived through restructuring and remains active today as a ship repair and construction business.

Derek illustrated the story by showing images of many of the famous ships built, including: 

• HMS Birkenhead — an early and historically important troop ship.

• HMS Caroline — noted for a very fast build time.

• RMS Mauretania — one of Cunard’s famous liners.

• HMS Ark Royal — built in 1937.

• HMS Prince of Wales — a major Royal Navy battleship built in 1941.

March 2026

Cheshire's Greatest Poem - 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'

The 14th Century Arthurian Romance and the Poet who wrote it in Chester Castle

On Wednesday 18th March Andrew Breeze, Professor of Philology at the University of Navarra, introduced us to the famous late medieval poem written in alliterative verse, 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'. As an introduction there was a trailer to the 2021 film, 'The Green Knight', followed by a summary of the story. At King Arthur’s court, a mysterious Green Knight challenges anyone to strike him with his axe if he may return the blow in a year and a day. Sir Gawain accepts, beheads him, and later journeys to the Green Chapel, where he survives the return blow and learns the whole episode was a test of his honour and honesty. On the way, Gawain stays at a castle, where he is tempted by the lord’s wife and given a magical green girdle which he hides from his host. When the Green Knight reveals himself as the lord, Gawain is ashamed of his failure, but he returns to Camelot wearing the girdle as a sign of human weakness.

Andrew Breeze then gave his conclusions about the setting and authorship of the poem about which there has been much debate but no firm agreement. The language of the poem is written in a north western dialect and the Green Chapel has been identified as Lud's Church, a narrow chasm in the Staffordshire Peak District. Andrew Breeze is now confident that the poem was written by the Cheshire magnate, Sir John Stanley, in late 1387 for that year's Christmas celebrations at Chester Castle. 

There followed an extended question and answer session with much of the discussion around the historicity of King Arthur, a subject tackled in Professor Breeze's latest book, 'King Arthur - Medieval British Literature & Modern Critical Tradition'.

February 2026

Our Local Weather from the Middle Ages to Today

How local weather patterns have changed over the centuries

On Wednesday 18th February Paul Williams gave a talk explaining how the weather has changed over the years. With today's concerns over the effects of Climate Change we were reminded about the Little Ice Ages that occurred between the 14th and 19th centuries. These were not true ice ages extending globally but they caused regional cooling and were separated by slightly warmer intervals.

Chester Uncovered

A virtual tour of the City of Chester

For the first time the History Group held a day-time meeting in the afternoon of Thursday 15th January especially for those who find it difficult to attend evening meetings in the winter and it proved very popular, and not just because of the sumptuous tea and cake spread that followed a fascinating talk by Stephen Shakeshaft, a Chester City Blue Badge Guide. He introduced us to hidden secrets of Chester on this virtual tour of the city that included many features that even life-long Cestrians were not aware of.  He made a strong case for the rich history of Chester from the Roman period onwards that is often understated and generated real interest in the large audience to explore the city further themselves.