Thatcham Historical Society

Author and editor, Geoffrey Tyack, of the newly-published Pevsner Architectural Guide to Berkshire will be talking about his research into buildings in the county.

Date: Monday 27th September 2010

Time: 6.30pm

Location: Reading Central Library

Tickets: £3 (£2 for library members)

For tickets email info@readinglibraries.org.uk, phone 0118 901 5950 or collect from Reading Central Library

Location

Thatcham House was built in about 1869 for Reverend Hezekiah and Isabel Martin. The Reverend Hezekiah was vicar of Thatcham from 1866 until 1889. The house originally contained 30 rooms. The true use of the tower is unknown; however it is almost the same height as the tower of St. Mary's Church. The Reverend Hezekiah and his wife moved into the property shortly after construction was finished in 1871. The Martin family moved out in 1889 when Mr John Hart Player took up residence, and later in 1902 the Turner family moved in. They stayed until 1946 when the house was put up for sale. The house proved too large for one family and in 1951 was modernised into 3 flats.

Tonight, 28th June 2010, we had Roger Day talk about "The East Woodhay Heinkel." Roger noted that his interest started when a find, 7 or 8 foot tall came into his possession. The find, which was part of a Heinkel aircraft, sparked his interest to find out how it came to be found in Fullers Lane, just west of Wooton Hill and the only one within a 25-mile radius. The aircraft that the part was from was a bomber and would have been targeting Avon mouth Docks, although it could have been another target.

For those who did not know, we, Thatcham Historical Society helped to organise the Peter Allen Memorial Lectures which ran throughout May and were put together in memory of the late Peter Allen who passed away in May 2009, to raise money for the British Heart Foundation and to promote National Local and Community History Month.

The first of two full day trips organised by Thatcham Historical Society took place on the 3rd July 2010 and saw members of the society, and guests from other societies including the U3A, visit Hampton Court Palace, home to King Henry VIII.