Monthly talks on building history and vernacular architecture, with a particular emphasis on Somerset.
Guests are always welcome. A suggested donation of £2 would be gratefully received by our treasurer
for those that are not members.
The Parish Rooms in Somerton
Map
Fergus is co-ordinating the programme and would welcome any suggestions for speakers / subjects / visits. 
Summer Programme of Visits 2025
2pm Wednesday 21st May
Visit to 9, Fore Street Chard. This remarkable High Street fixture with large amounts of late medieval fabric including Somerset’s as yet latest dendro dated cruck of 1632 together with much fine plasterwork and massive mullioned windows, all in the courtyard at the back. It has been sliding into disrepair for some time, the council bought it and Patrick Stow of the Somerset Buildings Repair Trust is masterminding its restoration. He and Jane Boyd-Brent will show us round. The full survey is available from Fergus.
Wednesday 18th June
Hopefully a visit to a Sally Strachey Historic Conservation work site - TBC.
Previous Talks
Wednesday 16th April
Jenny Chesher, Inspector of Historic Buildings and Areas, Historic England and exemplary restorer of the Clerks Cottage at Spaxton gave a talk on her parents seminal 1968 book on restoration of their Cornish house and of the Cornish vernacular at large.
Wednesday 19th March
Joe Rogers on Tithe Barns. Joe became interested in the subject after visiting the newly restored Eavis barn in Pilton and is still touring the country looking at these impressive structures. He is the author of a recent book on “Tithe” Barns.
Wednesday 26th February
Jonathan Holt on Somerset Follies. Jonathan is editor of the Folly Fellowship’s journal and is author of books on the follies of Wiltshire, Dorset and more recently Somerset. A perfect tonic for us, the very antithesis of vernacular!
Thursday 16th January
Steve Creaney gave a talk on the geological formations of our area and how it has made the different stones we try and describe when surveying buildings.
Wednesday 20th November
Lucy Durnan of Sally Strachey Building Conservation gave a presentation of some of their projects that involve working on historic stonework, statuary, decorative finishes and plasterwork.
Wednesday 16th October
Patrick Stow gave a presentation on 9 Fore Street, Chard. Number 9 is a glorious High Street fixture with large amounts of late medieval fabric including much fine plasterwork and Somerset’s, as yet, latest dendro-dated cruck of 1632. It has been sliding into disrepair for some time but the council has purchased it and, as chairman of the Somerset Building Presevation Trust, Patrick is now tasked with its conservation and restoration - www.spbt.info.
Wednesday 18th September
Our chairman Fergus gave a talk on his own place of residence, "The Buildings of Martock", giving detail to some of the rich quantity of Hamstone buildings.
Wednesday 17th April 2024
Helen Aldhous and Adrian Wills, founder members, presented an overview of the Kingsbury Time Travellers project, a community project aimed at researching, documenting and disseminating local history through engagement with those who live locally - www.kingsburytimetravellers.org.uk
Wednesday 20th March
For two hundred years or so, from the latter part of sixteenth to the end of the eighteenth centuries, Gainsborough House and its associated buildings served as Dorset’s bridewell. For a hundred and fifty years before that, it had been part of Sherborne’s Benedictine monastery, and, for one hundred and fifty years after ceasing to be a bridewell, it served a wide variety of functions; a brewery; home to the Sherborne Journal; a Sherborne School boarding house; a dentist’s; a garage and an antiques business.
The early part of the building’s history has been pieced together during recent SVBRG surveys and the talk served to describe that history in the context of recent research; a modest but remarkable building that features distinctive collared trusses, dendro dated to the range 1404-1436.
Wednesday 21st February
Meriel O’Dowd and her colleague Rachel Whitty gave a talk on the work of the Churches Conservation Trust. Meriel is conservation projects manager for the South West region of the CCT and has overseen many sensitive projects that seek to conserve our historic churches through a programme of considered conservation with minimal intervention.
Wednesday 17th January
Taunton Deane Building Stones: a survey for the Somerset Heritage Trust
Garry Dawson gave a talk on his hugely impressive accomplishment of surveying almost every building in the Taunton Deane area in partnership with the late Peter Wright, recording the types of stone used and where they came from.
Previous Visits 2024
Wednesday 15th May
Visit to the Saxon hall house reconstruction at the Avalon Marshes Centre, BA6 9TT. This, together with an Iron Age roundhouse and a Roman dining room, have been built by volunteers under the direction of Richard Brunning who talked to us about them in 2022. They are really interesting and thoughtful reconstructions, the royal Saxon hall with earth floor and fully furnished for living in. A lot to see - Avalon Archaeology
£8.50 pp for the guided tour, which will also grant free entry for a year. Cafe on site. Please register your interest with Fergus as we need to advise on numbers.
Wednesday 19th June
Visit to the “church in the field” at Low Ham, TA10 9DR. Built as a private chapel, completed in 1690 to resemble a church 200 years older, it was part of of a grand design of country house and landscape enrichment by Sir Edward Hext. The scheme foundered, Sir Edward died and the church is now stranded in a grass field. Today it is maintained by a bunch of loving volunteers who will show us around and give us tea. Emma Norris, who talked to us about the Cosmatesque pavement in Sherborne Abbey, waived her fee in favour of this church; we will be able to see her work on Charles II’s coat of arms.
Free admission to this hidden treasure; donations encouraged. Parking in the adjacent farmyard; share a car if you can.
Wednesday 17th July
Marshwood Farm, Carhampton, TA24 6LA. A large and rambling 15th to 17th century manor house built by members of the Luttrell family. It has been tenanted for centuries, now in private ownership of people keen to know more. When surveyed by Williams and Gilson in 1983 the crucks and much else was covered over, including much plaster strapwork, which is now all coming to light. All welcome, contact Fergus if you would like a copy of the 1983 survey or directions.
Mailing list
Sign up for our mailing list and we will email you with reminders of our meetings.
Other local meeting & talks
Martock Local History Group
They meet in Martock each month at the Primary School in Elmleigh Road.
The meetings are on the 4th Tuesday of each month. Our aim is to have lectures during the winter months and organise visits,
field walking and more outdoor activities during the summer.
Tintinhull Local History Group
All evening meetings 7.30pm Tintinhull Village Hall. Vicarage Street.(Unless otherwise stated).
NON MEMBERS WELCOME - £3 entrance fee. - Members entrance fee £1.