October 15th – guided tour of the recently restored Rochdale Town Hall and supported tour of Smithills Hall on the slopes of the West Pennine Moors. NICHOLAS PEVSNER, the architectural historian, described Rochdale Town Hall as having ‘a rare, picturesque beauty’. The building, opened in 1871, has recently undergone a £20 million restoration programme, led […]
October 5 – 9th a 5 days / 4 nights visit to explore the castles, coast and history of Northumberland from 5th – 9th October 2026. The visit will begin at Hadrian’s Wall, part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site. Followed by Lindisfarne, a centre of Celtic Christianity, the Saxon Museum […]
2026 October 5 – 9th A 5 days / 4 nights visit to explore the castles, coast and history of Northumberland from 5th – 9th October 2026. October 1st, 6pm. Annual General Meeting (AGM) at Bishop Lloyd’s Palace, evening. SEPTEMBER 23rd Wrexham’s Year of Wonder Day – A special day to celebrate the 150th anniversary […]
Tuesday 13th, October at 2.00pm at Bishop Lloyds Palace By the end of the 1730s trading prospects were looking good for Chester and its port. It had a new fledgling port and a good navigation route to the sea. But what happened between 1740 and 1860? What were its constraints and successes? The Civic Trust […]
Wednesday, September 23rd at 7.30pm at Bishop Lloyds Palace Isabel Robertson is the manager of Chester Tourist Information Centre and a local guide. She will tell truly inspiring stories about some of the amazing women that we can associate with the historic City of Chester. These women founded, defended, and helped shape the old City […]
A special day to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the 1876 Wrexham Art Treasures Exhibition Industrial Annexe and Wrexham’s industrial heritage and workforce – past, present and future. Wednesday 23rd September, 10.30am – 4.00pm At Xplore! Henblas Street, Wrexham, LL13 8AE The great Wrexham Art Treasures Exhibition of 1876 included an astonishing Annexe, which showcased […]
Monday, June 1st at 7pm. Chez Jules, Northgate St. Following the 65th Celebration Dinner, we got together to once again focus on Chester’s Heritage. The Summer Social also gave us an insight on ‘Culture and Crowds’. Both Sir Phil Redmond and Colin Potts spoke on how the two were linked. Sir Phil discussed how important […]
Thursday, May 21 2026, 2pm. at Bishop Lloyd’s Palace Hooton Hall and Park – A Remarkable History – From Medieval Manor House to Vauxhall Motors The Stanley family built manor houses at Hooton in 1488 and in 1788. By 1849, they had sold the Hall and estate to Richard Naylor, a Liverpool businessman. Naylor enjoyed […]
April 17th April at Bishop Lloyd’s Palace, 2.00pm We frequently visit mansions, built by the wealthy but in this lecture the emphasis was changed to look at the often neglected development of housing for workers. Our speaker Elizabeth Davey has written extensively about the Wirral and Birkenhead. In her talk she used the Wirral as […]
LORD Mayor of Chester, Councillor Sherin Akhtar, and representatives from the Bluecoat Charity and Chester Civic Trust have recognised Cyril Morris for his lifelong services in the architectural preservation of the city of Chester. Born within the city walls in 1927, Cestrian Cyril graduated in architecture and town planning before joining the Cheshire County Architect’s […]