Meetings are held in the Conwy Culture Centre
Town Ditch Road, Conwy, LL32 8NU
starting at 2.30 PM
on the first Wednesday of the month
map and directions
2023 & 2024 Programme
AN EXTRA MEETING
6th September
Holly Conway
“Castles of Contention”.
Our guest speaker for this extra talk is a PhD student visiting the area to research the significance of Welsh castles on post Medieval Welsh society and is interested in their impact on those societies when they no longer had any military involvement. She hopes the talk will be a two-way meeting with our members contributing their memories of special events that have been held there.
4th October
Vicky MacDonald
“The Life of Archbishop Williams”
For the start of the new season, we welcome one of our regular speakers with one of her many interesting talks. She has been a member of the Conwy Town Council for over 25-years, Honorary Member of the North Wales Town Friendship Circle and Honorary Burgess of the town. Her talk is about one of the most famous men to have lived in the town.
1st November
Colin Barker
“The Mustard Gas Tunnels”
Chairman of the Rhydymwyn Valley Works, Colin Barker will present a slide show of the tunnels that were particularly important during the Second World War. The site manufactured and stored mustard gas during the years 1940 to 1959. Later it was used to develop the UK’s atomic bomb project. Guided walks are always available throughout the site including the tunnels themselves.
6th December
Mark Baker
“Gwrych Castle after I’m a Celebrity”.
For two years following lock down Gwrych Castle hosted the TV programme, ‘I’m a Celebrity’. There are many interesting tales from the other side of the camera that Mark will entertain us with. He will also inform us of the ongoing restoration work.
Mark has had a lifetimes dedication to the castle since he first wrote a book about it when he was 13 years old. He founded “The Society for the Friends of Gwrych” in 1997 and since then the charity and the castle have gone from strength to strength.
There are no meetings in January
7th February
Dr Jane Kenney
“Neolithic stone axes around Llanfairfechan”
Our guest speaker for the start of a new year is a senior archaeologist at Gwynedd Archaeological Trust. She obtained her PhD from Edinburgh University in 1993 and excavated on sites of all periods in Britain and abroad before settling in North Wales. She has run two large scale excavations both of which early Neolithic artifacts were found.
6th March
Dr Stephen Lockwood
“Benarth Hall”
Our guest speaker’s interest in the hall came about because he worked in a Government Research Laboratory which is adjacent to the estate. He then researched the history and uncovered an amazing history which he will bring to life for us.
This historic mansion stands in 50 acres of land along the banks of the Conwy River and has a connection with the painter JMW Turner and the novel Black Beauty
3rd April
Janine Jones
“History of Patchwork & Quilting”
The guest speaker on this occasion has had a lifetime passion for needlework both patchwork and quilting. Having gained City and Guilds in both practices she went on to teach at Coleg Menai in Bangor. She then went into “teaching in the community” with the WEA (Workers’ Educational Association) and has given talks to many societies.
She will bring us the history of these two disciplines and some interesting tales from the past.
1st May
We start the afternoon with the Annual General Meeting followed by the last talk of the season.
Elisabeth Parfitt
"Very Petty Sessions"
We welcome the designated archive speaker for the Culture Centre. Her talk will be a light hearted look at some of the stranger stories from the Conwy Archives over the years.
The 2024AGM will be held at the start of May meeting.
A copy of the minutes for the 2023 AGM
held on the 3rd May 2023 can be found here.
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Tea, Coffee, Biscuits and a chat after some lectures