Location: Christchurch Hall, Cottenham Park Road, SW20 ORZ 

Time: 3.30 pm 

Cost: WNTA Member £4.00;   Non-WNTA Member: £4.50 

Toby Ewin will talk about the West Barnes/Motspur Park area and its station, from the 1920s to 1940s –including Graf Zeppelin’s 1930 overflight.

Location: Christchurch Hall, Cottenham Park Road, SW20 ORZ 

Time: 3.30 pm 

Cost: WNTA Member £4.00;   Non-WNTA Member: £4.50 

The talk will look at the genesis of todays’ many conservation societies, with a focus on the National Trust. 

Location: Christchurch Hall, Cottenham Park Road, SW20 ORZ 

Time: 3.30 pm 

Cost: WNTA Member £4.00;   Non-WNTA Member: £4.50 

The power of the 1851 Great Exhibition led to an explosion of exhibitions and new venues for the next one hundred years in London. 

Location: Christchurch Hall, Cottenham Park Road, SW20 ORZ 

Time: 3.30 pm 

Cost: WNTA Member £4.00;   Non-WNTA Member: £4.50 

Abi will share the park’s priorities: Ending Unequal Access and Inspiring Millions. She’ll take us behind the scenes to explore their work with communities, and children and young people, and provide an exciting update on the conservation projects shaping the future of Morden Hall Park.

Location: Christchurch Hall, Cottenham Park Road, SW20 ORZ 

Time: 3.30 pm 

Cost: WNTA Member £4.00;   Non-WNTA Member: £4.50 

A light-hearted look at some of the traditions, personalities and practises associated with British pantomime.

Location: Christchurch Hall, Cottenham Park Road, SW20 ORZ

Time: 3.30 pm 

Cost: WNTA Member £4.00;   Non-WNTA Member: £4.50 

John Hawks describes the celebrated Victorian designer William Morris and his wife Jane, the Pre-Raphaelite muse.

Christchurch Hall, Cottenham Park Road, SW20 ORZ at 3.30 pm 

Cost £4 for WNTA members   £4.50 for non members

Gavin will talk about the piers around our shores, and his involvement with the world of music reflecting his enthusiasm and interests, and also mention his local involvement with Wimbledon Theatre.

He is distinguished and learned in the culture of the country.

Christchurch Hall, Cottenham Park Road, SW20 ORZ at 3.30 pm 

Cost £4 for WNTA members   £4.50 for non members

Visits, Designs & Chelsea Flower Show.

Christchurch Hall, Cottenham Park Road, SW20 ORZ at 3.30 pm 

Cost £4 for WNTA members   £4.50 for non members

The festival was organised to mark the centenary of the Great Exhibition of 1851.  It was intended to demonstrate Britain’s contribution to civilisation, past, present and future, in the arts, in science and technology and in industrial design.

The South Bank site included the Skylon, the Dome of Discovery and the Royal Festival Hall.  It attracted 8.5 million visitors in the five months it was open.  Further down the Thames at Battersea the Pleasure Gardens opened, 38 acres of fun with the Far Tottering and Oyster Creek Railway, the Guinness Clock, the Rotor and the Tree Walk.

Come and hear the history and stories of the pubs down the hill.

PLEASE NOTE SUSAN HOWE IS UNABLE TO BE WITH US ON THIS DATE.  

JOHN HAWKS HAS STEPPED IN AT THE LAST MINUTE TO GIVE HIS TALK WHICH WAS SCHEDULED FOR OCTOBER 2025.

CANCELLED

Adrian will describe how he became an actor and presenter on television, where he played a main villain in Dr Who in 1974 and appeared in Vera one Christmas.  For 7 years he was part of the That’s Life team with Esther Rantzen, the programme attracting 20 million viewers.  He will draw on these experiences to tell us many anecdotes.

Glen will regale us with anecdotes about celebrities with whom he has performed over the years.  He will entertain us with his wonderful singing voice and will indeed be unforgettable.

As an actor he has appeared in a number of television programmes which you may recall, such as Take the High Road and London’s Burning.

 Whilst his roots are Scottish he now lives in our area.

This talk marks the 50th anniversary of Historic Houses, the association established in November 1973 to save the British country house. Back then, houses faced all sorts of threats, most particularly from proposed new levels of taxation.

Houses have found new ways to generate income: tourism, hospitality, events, weddings and many other business activities now take place in country house settings.  This economic revival has helped to keep Britain’s special heritage of country houses and gardens safe and secure for future generations.

 Ben Cowell is the Director General of Historic Houses, the representative body for nearly 1,500 country house, gardens and castles across the UK. 

Geoff Hunt has lived and worked in Wimbledon for over forty years. He is a Past President of the Royal Society of Marine Artists and is currently President of the Wapping Group of Artists.
As a studio painter he works mainly in oils to produce the marine historical works for which he is best known (for example the book covers for Patrick O’Brian’s novels), but as an outdoor (plein-air) painter his preferred medium is watercolour.

He is the creator and/or author of a number of books, the most recent being ‘Painting Watercolour Outdoors’.  The book contains a great deal of material, including some two hundred illustrations, but from this Geoff has devised a Powerpoint presentation which gives a flavour of the outdoor painting experience.  He will also bring at least some of his usual outdoor painting kit to show.

Painshill in Surrey was one of the finest landscape gardens of the eighteenth century.  It was the vision of Charles Hamilton who created a garden of mood, designed to play on the senses and imagination.

 During the 20th century Painshill was neglected, the buildings decayed and the garden became overgrown.  Through the efforts of the Gardens Trust and local historians, most of the land was bought by Elmbridge Borough Council.

In 1981 the Painshill Park Trust was formed to rescue and restore the garden.  By using archive research, archaeological excavations and continual physical work, the magic and beauty of Painshill has been discovered.

DAVID WOOD’s latest storybook is THE SEE-SAW TREE, a reflection on the potential felling of a historic oak, seen from the point of view of the creatures living on it, who risk losing their home.  The story is based on David’s play of the same name. 

He is known as ‘the national children’s dramatist’ (The Times) and his plays are performed worldwide.  His Olivier Award-nominated adaptation of Judith Kerr’s classic picture book, THE TIGER WHO CAME TO TEA, which he also directs, has toured for many years, and played eight West End seasons.  Other adaptations include the Olivier Award-winning GOODNIGHT MISTER TOM and eight Roald Dahl novels including THE BFG and THE WITCHES. 

As an actor, David is remembered as Malcolm McDowell’s fellow rebel schoolboy in Lindsay Anderson’s iconic film IF….; on television he co-starred opposite Shelley Winters in THE VAMP; and on stage he acted opposite Sir Michael Redgrave in A VOYAGE ROUND MY FATHER. 

Children’s television appearances include JACKANORY, PLAY AWAY and TRICKY BUSINESS.  David has written three memoirs – FILMING IF…., ELIZABETH TAYLOR’S KISS and Other Brushes with Hollywood, and FRANK EXCHANGES – letters from a fifty-year correspondence with his mentor. 

His environmental plays for children include THE SEE-SAW TREE, THE SELFISH SHELLFISH (about oil pollution), SAVE THE HUMAN (set in the future, following man’s near-extinction, thanks to war and pollution, when animals have taken control) and DINOSAURS AND ALL THAT RUBBISH (based on Michael Foreman’s thought-provoking book).  David has lived in Wimbledon for fifty years, with his wife Jacqui and daughters Katherine & Rebecca.

What is the real evidence for conspiracy theories?  Andy reveals a compelling alternative history, examining the Gunpowder Plot, JFK, Watergate, NASA, Princess Diana, the New World Order and other controversies.
This is the fifth talk that Andy has given us and promises to be very interesting as always.

This is the fifth talk that Andy has given us and promises to be very interesting as always.

When Allied fighters were trapped behind enemy lines during WWII, one branch of military intelligence helped them escape: it was called M19.  The organisation set up clandestine escape routes that zigzagged across Nazi-occupied Europe, enabling soldiers and airmen to make their way back to Britain.  Secret agents and resistance fighters risked their lives and those of their families to hide the men.  Central to M19’s success were figures such as Airey Neave – the first British prisoner to successfully escape from Colditz.

Helen’s talk sheds light on escape and evasion with the previously untold stories behind the establishment of M19, which was headquartered at Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire.  She reveals for the first time that not only did M19 save thousands of Allied lives, it contributed to a massive intelligence gathering operation that impacted on the Allies’ ability to turn the tide of the war.

We know her as the Lady with the Lamp, but there is so much more to this woman than the two years she spent tending the sick and wounded in the Crimean War of the 1850s. Busting the myth of what she was and what she was not – daughter, sister, nurse, friend, statistician, lover, writer, scourge of the British Army.

Brian Freeland’s one-man-show will entertain and inform us on the life of George Bernard Shaw, the writer and philosopher. With the aid of little more than an armchair and a carafe of water Brian morphs seamlessly from his role as narrator to that of the great man himself. His English voice transforms into a higher Irish brogue to deliver the ideas, thoughts and bon mots of GBS.

Why does Charles II keep popping out of his coffin and which of his ladies preferred her parrot to the King’s attentions?  Which stately home has a ghostly dog who shows you to your room and then walks through the wall?  Why was Henry V’s queen not buried for more than 200 years?

The town lies on the line of the Roman road from London to Portslade. By the late Saxon period Croydon was the hub of an estate belonging to the Archbishops of Canterbury.

Croydon appears in the Domesday Book (1086) as Croindene, held by Archbishop Lanfranc.  Its Domesday assets were: 16 hides and 1 virgate; 1 church, 1 mill worth 5s, 38 ploughs, 8acre of meadow and woodland worth 200 hogs. It rendered £37 10s 0d.

From Addington Palace (Six archbishops lived there between 1807 and 1898), London's first International airport, Coaching Inns, Bell making, Public Utilities, Quakers, 3 Town Halls, to one of the most remarkable Elizabethan buildings in South East England.

Illustrated with his own spectacular photographs, Andy explores the historical Sussex town of Lewes – renowned for the biggest Bonfire Night celebrations in the world – and reveals the enthralling rituals and events which make its colourful and controversial November mix of folklore, liberty issues and burlesque humour unique.  Andy, born and bred in Lewes, uses his inside knowledge to give an insightful glimpse into this vibrant town, full of mystery and tradition, and investigates the wider story of Bonfire Night.

This copiously illustrated talk will cover the early life of Emma Hamilton as mistress to the aristocracy and as model and muse to the painter George Romney.  The scene will move to Naples where she met both her husband and her lover Lord Nelson.

Returning to England she found a house for the three of them at Merton Place.  We will see plans and pictures of the house (sadly demolished), its location and the extent of the 160 acre estate. 

The name of Merton as a town, rather than a large borough, has all but disappeared, but it survives in a few places. The talk will give details of the family’s life in Merton, the death of Nelson and Emma’s eventual decline and ruin

During WW2, British intelligence bugged the conversations of German prisoners-of-war at three stately houses, including Trent Park in north London and Latimer House and Wilton Park in Buckinghamshire.

From 1942 Trent Park was reserved for Hitler’s captured Generals.  In an astonishing turn of events, they were housed in luxurious conditions and lulled into a false sense of security.

They became unguarded in their conversations and inadvertently gave away some of Hitler’s most closely guarded secrets, including the V1 (‘doodlebug’), V2 and atomic bomb programme.  

For over 60 years the “secret listeners” (German-Jewish émigrés who had fled Hitler) never spoke about their work, not even to their families. They died, little knowing that they, alongside Bletchley Park, shortened the war.  Having worked through the declassified files, historian Helen Fry sheds light on one of the greatest deceptions of WWII.

LECTURE CANCELLED DUE TO THE RED WARNING WEATHER CONDITIONS

The town lies on the line of the Roman road from London to Portslade.

By the late Saxon period Croydon was the hub of an estate belonging to the Archbishops of Canterbury.  Croydon appears in Domesday Book (1086) as Croindene, held by Archbishop Lanfranc. Its Domesday assets were: 16 hides and 1 virgate; 1 church, 1 mill worth 5s, 38 ploughs, 8acre of meadow, woodland worth 200 hogs. It rendered £37 10s 0d.

From Addington Palace (Six archbishops lived there between 1807 and 1898), London's first International airport, Coaching Inns, Bell making, Public Utilities, Quakers, 3 Town Halls, to one of the most remarkable Elizabethan buildings in South East England.

Colourfully illustrated, this wide-ranging, informative and fun talk will provide Melanie’s insider’s view of the beautiful city of Bruges, in Flanders in Belgium, having enjoyed a second home there for almost twenty years. 

Although famous for its chocolate shops Melanie will set out to prove that the Gothic city represents more than just this popular delicacy. 

Many audience members will have visited Bruges and the talk will bring back memories but will also show that there is much more to see in this city to inspire a return visit to explore further. 

Dr Rachel Smith, a professional flautist, will talk to us on the development of the flute and similar instruments.  She will illustrate her talk playing some musical pieces for alto flute and piccolo from the Baroque movement to the present day.

Rachel is very highly regarded within her profession, both as a performer and for her knowledge, so this promises to be a very interesting and special meeting.

The Flute is one of the earliest instruments, and the earliest versions are found in the Stone Age. Flutes have been depicted in artefacts, murals and mythology, and its history of development through the ages is fascinating. 

Rachel will go on a historical journey from the earliest flutes to the flute of today, with performances of music form the Baroque era to the present day on flute, alto flute and piccolo, by composers including Bach, Mozart and Debussy.

Developed from experiences with everything from variety (Butlin’s Holiday Camps and the London Palladium) to the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, Scottish Opera and Sadler’s Wells Ballet.  The stage manager’s view from the prompt corner is very different to that from your comfortable seat in the stalls or circle. Reality theatre; no retakes. And as the review indicates - slightly saucy.

The March and April talks were postponed due to COVID 19.

Details of the October and November talks will be posted once we have a better idea of when lockdown will be lifted.

CANCELLED

We will organise at a later date.

CANCELLED 

We will organise at a later date.

Martin, from the Woodland Trust will be speaking to us about the work of the organisation, and its impact on the environment.

In a journey from Maple Durham House near Reading to Goring and Streatley this talk taps into the Thames’ rich heritage of writers and artists.

This was the lecture that was cancelled due to the snowy weather in 2018.

Andy will be speaking about a thought provoking investigation.  He looks at some of the most famous unexplained mysteries of recent history and the links between many of them.  What is the truth about UFOs, pyramids, ghosts etc?

Merton Priory was established 900 years ago and was once one of England's most important centres of religion and learning.  John Hawks has been involved with the Priory for a number of years and has a wealth of experience.  Come and hear about recent developments.

In the middle of the 14th century, a beautiful and exotic visitor from the east set foot on European soil for the very first time.  With an extensive wardrobe of colourful veils of glistening silk shielding her dark and mysterious eyes from the gaze of the curious, the captivating visitor swept all before her and made people her willing slaves.

Her beauty became the stuff of legend and she could bring prestige and riches to anyone who courted her favour.  But within 150 years she would fall from grace within the course of a single week. 

The Tale of the Tulip follows the spectacular rise and fall of this beautiful garden flower. 

The story of Queen Victoria’s invisible subjects – women and children who laboured beneath the green and pleasant land, harvesting the coal to fuel the furnaces of the industrial revolution. It follows the real fortunes of seven year old Joey Burkinshaw and his family.

Whilst researching her book The Dance of Love, Angela unearthed letters between her great-grandmother, the Countess of Rothes and Able Seaman Jones, both survivors of the Titanic, which resulted in her exploring further.  Her talk gives an insight into the story of these survivors

PLEASE NOTE THERE WILL BE NO LECTURE IN JANUARY AS THE HALL IS NOT AVAILABLE

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS TALK STARTS AT 2.45.  THIS IS A CHANGE FROM THE NORMAL TIME OF 2.15

This uplifting presentation uncovers the fascinating background to the festive season, from the ancient ceremonies of light in the darkness, to the marking of the birth of a Messiah.  

Mid December has long been a time for rejoicing, yet Christmas traditions have splintered into many guises.  Andy shows why, for all the modern commercialisation, Christmas has survived and still has meaning for us today.

PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF DATE

This illustrated talk includes the history of the park then moves on to explain two major restorations which have been done in the last few years.

14.15 - 16.00

The History of the Crystal Palace leading up to its destruction by fire in 1936.

14.15 - 16.00

Andy will be speaking about a thought provoking investigation.  Andy looks at some of the most famous unexplained mysteries of recent history and the links between many of them.  What is the truth about UFOs, pyramids, ghosts etc

14.15 - 16.00

Chronicling the history from its beginning to the present day, Desert Island Discs is both enduring and relevant and indeed comforting in casting away the biggest names of the day in Science, Business, Politics, Showbiz, Sport and the Arts and provides a wonderful snapshot of the decades.

14.15 - 16.00

Colin will narrate an off–beat tour of the capital from Prison to Palace, via a few bridges, several disastrous fires, four thousand tons of gold, nine windmills, seven ravens and two cats.  The programme springs a few surprises – even for locals.  For ex-Londoners it should evoke many memories and for would-be visitors is an entrancing travelogue.

Talk with artefacts on life at Christmas on the Home Front.  Mike is always an amusing speaker, and brings lots to look at as well.

The heraldry primer for family historians, showing how heraldry can reveal unsuspected genealogy.

Robert is an experienced speaker and Blue Badge guide and will be giving us an illustrated talk about Westminster Abbey. He has been a guide at the Abbey for over 20 years and will be talking about the Abbey's multi-faceted history, astonishing beauty and less known peculiarities and eccentricities. 

Paintings show us London as it was before photographic records began.  Graham Taylor’s talk will contrast works by the most famous London-born painters (Hogarth, Nash, Rossetti and Turner) with views of ‘London-life’ by some forgotten painters - ranging from Samuel Scott (1750) through John Collier (1850) to the ‘Vorticist’ William Roberts (1924).  We will visit a rake in his tavern, contrast fallen-women with heroic and fashionable alternatives and see how popular places have changed over time."

With stunning visuals, Andy explores the extraordinary phenomenon of crop circles, the intricate shapes which appear in fields around the world each summer and still defy total explanation despite media scepticism and ongoing debate.  

This lively and inspiring presentation explains the fascinating history of the mysterious patterns up to the present and explores how both the designs and some of the intriguing and imaginative theories concerning them have developed over the years.

John is an experienced speaker who gives talks accompanied by the images taken by his late father throughout his 60+ years as one of the top London photographers in his field.   

The images include the likes of Elizabeth Taylor, Vera Lynn and the Two Ronnies.  He will give a brief introduction on how this all came about then show the images, many of which are accompanied by interesting and/or amusing tales.

Dr Henry Oakeley, the Garden Fellow at the Royal College of Physicians in London, will talk about why most plants are poisonous.

He will talk about the plants whose poisons can be used, or changed by pharmaceutical companies to make safe treatments for many illnesses.

Fewer than 100 plants are used to make modern medicines, and he will give some examples - from Warfarin as a 'blood thinner' and Metformin for diabetes, to drugs to treat cancers, heart disease and pain.

The talk is illustrated with photos of some of the 1,100 plants from the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians

Trevor’s talk will start with a presentation of the history, sinking, raising and conservation of the Mary Rose. The background into the new museum will also be covered.

He will wear costume to present the talk to give a short insight into the importance of clothing at this particular time.

Many replica artefacts, together with some original wood and rope, will be brought along which will be passed around the audience.  Finally and to end the talk their uses will be revealed (time permitting!). This will include equipment of the cook, gunner, carpenter, navigator, archer and the dear gruesome Barber Surgeon!

A visit to see the Mary Rose is planned for next April.

During WW2, all women in Britain were conscripted. They were needed not just to keep the nation fed and functioning, but also in war industries, producing weapons and planes.

 This talk looks at the dramatic changes WW2 brought to home life, services such as the Women's Land Army, ARP and WVS, and the lasting impact of the women.

The exploits of the codebreakers at Bletchley Park are now public knowledge and the importance of their work is appreciated. 

 However, for security reasons, there was a 30 year delay and the facts did not emerge until the mid-1970s.  Since then cryptography has changed from being, essentially, a Black Art (practised almost exclusively, by governments, the military and some specialist sectors such as banking) to having almost ‘popular science’ status.  Furthermore our reliance on computer networks such as the Internet make it an important part of our ‘everyday life’.

This presentation will be a non-technical look at how and why the change has happened and how it affects the ‘average’ citizen.  We will also discuss some of the associated social and political problems associated with its use.

Rosemary will be telling us the personal story of why she went to New Zealand unexpectedly. 

 Although it wasn’t a holiday it left lasting impressions of a beautiful country that she would like to share with us.  She does not have slides but those of came to her talk on English Cheeses will know that she is an excellent speaker.

Heather has replaced Muriel Jones, who is no longer giving lectures, and plans to give an illustrated talk showing slides of the early docks, their development and how the second world war bombing targetted them.  She will then show how Docklands has regenerated itself and will talk about what is there now, including the new Crossrail Roof Garden and the Docklands Museum.

Crispin Scott is the National Trust’s Wildlife and Countryside Advisor in the London and South East Region and is also an expert on the coast. 

He will be describing two or three different coastal projects during his talk and will ask the audience to vote for that they think is the most worthy.

Sue talks about this life-saving charity from a different perspective.  Her great grandfather was coxswain of the Hythe lifeboat and she has been responsible for promoting the RNLI. 

In 2004 she was the founding principal of the Lifeboat College where crew volunteers are trained.  She wants to explain how women have always been central to lifeboat operation and are “strong to save

London has been the principal home of kings and queens for hundreds of years, as well as being the centre of influence in the land. Like their occupants, many of the homes our monarchs lived in have come and long since gone, but a few remain, although some of them in name only. In his illustrated talk, John will take us through some of those famous edifices that were once a power in the land, but alas are no more, and also speak about the ones that are part of our lives today.

Rosemary has taught her students how to make cheese at Agricultural College and enjoys sharing her lifelong enthusiasm for cheese with her audiences.