Please contact us for information on our meetings, visits and newsletters – do join us for regular news
Non-members are welcome to attend our evening meetings. Advantages of and how to become a member
Meetings & visits must be pre-booked by email: bookings@stroudlocalhistorysociety.org.uk
For visits, we meet at the destination.
Meetings are held at The Shambles Hall (where the indoor market takes place), Stroud GL5 1JL – we open the doors facing the church early for a hot drink and chat.
DATE/TIME/VENUE, SUBJECT,
Thursday 19th November 2026, The 1926 UK General Strike by Stuart Butler
Shambles Hall. Doors open 7pm for 7.30pm start
The centenary of the General Strike this year has been marked by a number of events all over the country.
How did this unique event that the government and its supporters viewed as a threat to parliamentary government and the constitution play out in Stroud & District?
How did this unique strike that the TUC and its supporters viewed as an industrial not political struggle play out along the railway between Stroud and Swindon?
Stuart Butler who has co-written a pamphlet about the General Strike in Stroud and Gloucester with Tony Condor; exhibited spoken walked and talked about the General Strike in May this year will inform and entertain in his talk.
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A Sunday afternoon in December 2026 – Members Afternoon
Stratford Park’s Miniature Railway by John Rogers
A slideshow about the construction of the ground level track in Stratford Park and the ups and downs of maintaining a track in a public park. The track is run by Stroud Society of Model Engineers.
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A Sunday afternoon in February 2027, Strange Tales from the Darker Side with Nick Brunger
– a selection of weird and wonderful stories inspired by and connected with events from our county’s past. Nick is an award-winning magician and storyteller with recent appearances at the Everyman and Cotswold theatres Blackfriars and the Folk Museum in Gloucester and at Woodchester Mansion.
Members Gala Afternoon with sandwiches and cake
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Thursday 18th March 2027, Brimscombe Mill 1086-2025 by Sharon Mansell – A history in pictures
Shambles Hall. Doors open 7pm for 7.30pm start
Its fascinating history mirrors much of that of the other valleys in the Stroud area. It began as a medieval fulling mill and became a large centre for textile production during the first Industrial Revolution. By 1889 it was divided into Upper and Lower Mill and it had 120 power looms and 6 400 spindles. Its decline coincided with the decline of Brimscombe Port and much of it was destroyed in the Twentieth Century. Some buildings have survived and are being renovated for new use.
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Thursday 15th April 2027,Photographs of Stroud in 1960s and 1990s by John Rogers
Shambles Hall. Doors open 7pm for 7.30pm start
Norman Andrews took photos of Stroud in the 1960s and John took the same views in the 1990s.
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Link to Past meetings