Talks are held in the Usk Sessions House Library.
Talks are free to members. Members’ guests and visitors are very welcome to attend: we invite a voluntary donation of £3 towards the cost of staging the event.
Lectures:-
2024
Wed Nov 13th. Jonathan Stephens talked to us about the remarkable history of the Twyn Square Cedar tree: who planted it, and why? The tale ranges from the local people involved, through the life and adventures (real and imagined) of Edward John Trelawney, who propagated it, and to the life and death of Percy Bysshe Shelley, in whose memory it was planted.
Link to a video recording of the lecture:- https://youtu.be/MSOjDkv6gI8
2025
Wed 19 Feb. Ian Williams. The Bayeux Tapestry.
Wed 12 Mar. Jeremy Bosanquet. The Antonine Wall.
Wed 9 Apr. Max Moebus . The Old Railways of the Wye Valley and Monmouthshire.
We welcome Max Moebus, a historian of transport. for a talk on the history of the Wye Valley and Monmouthshire Railway. The scenic line from Chepstow along the Wye valley was constructed in the 1870s (the original hope had been that the line would provide a route between Bristol and the Midlands, but this never happened) and passenger services continued there until 1959. Freight traffic continued for a few years longer.This is a talk not just for railway buffs but for anyone interested in the development of the county’s industries and tourism.
Wed 8 Oct. Andy Karran. (Gwent Wildlife Trust.) Gwent’s Butterflies.
Wed 12 Nov. Chris Cowburn. The Battle of the River Plate.