ALHA is the umbrella group for local history and archaeology societies in Bristol, Bath, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset.
We help member societies by compiling an annual list of recommended speakers, and by publicising societies’ activities through our newsletter and website. We organise a local history study day each year, and our AGM is accompanied by a lecture with a distinguished speaker.
Each year we publish 3-
We have strong links with the Regional History Centre at the University of the West of England, and with the libraries, archives, museums and other organisations in our area.
We offer both Society and individual membership, and further details can be found here..
Click on About Us for how to contact ALHA
Click on Publications for information about our publishing programme, and how you can contribute to the written history of our area.
Click on Events for details of the meetings, walks and other activities organised by our member societies.
Click on Groups for links to our member societies, and details of what they do and how you can contact them.
Click on Archive for back copies of ALHA publications “Quest” and “Avon Past”.
News and Forthcoming Events
End of April Update now available
The end of April Update is now available, and can be downloaded here.
If you missed Newsletter 158, published at the end of March, it is still available here.
Previous Newsletters, and monthly updates, are all available for download in the Archive section of the website.
Diary of Events
The ALHA Diary of Events now appears in a different format. The three website pages showing the diary by date, society and speaker have been replaced by three downloadable pdf files. The files can be easily downloaded and printed, but unfortunately no longer include a clickable hyperlink to the website of the organising society. The three new files are:
Events arranged by name of society
Events arranged by name of speaker
Click on the file you want.
If your group is a member of ALHA and you would like to see events listed, please send them to the webmaster.
ALHA Summer Walks 2019
The programme of Summer Walks is now available and can be downloaded here. You pay on the day, and booking is not required. Details as follows:
Monday 13 May -
Meet at the museum car park at 6.45 for a 7 p.m. start. The walk will be led by Stella Mann. Cost of this walk is £2.
Monday 24 June -
Meet at The Shallows car park at 6.45 for 7 p.m. start. The walk will be led by Patrick Beazley. Cost of this walk is £2.
Monday 15 July -
Meet at the Stag and Hounds pub at 6.45 for a 7 p.m. start. The walk will be led by Mike Manson. Cost of this walk is £2.
Sunday 11 August -
Meet at the Museum in Chapel Street, between the Cossham Hall and the Wheatsheaf pub. The walk will be led by Jane Marks. Cost of this walk is £3.
Thanks to Mike Hooper for organising these walks.
Stoke Bishop and Easter Compton WWI Connections
All Saints Church, Compton Greenfield noticed there were a number of familiar surnames in the book 'Leaving Home to Fight' about Stoke Bishop World War I memorials and asked Stoke Bishop Local History Group to give a talk.
This talk will be quite different from the book launch as it will concentrate on the men and families with connections to the Comptons and their occupations before and after WWI.
The speakers are Liz Tomlinson and Jenny Weeks.
Date: 7:30 22 May 2019. Place: Easter Compton Village Hall, Main Road, Easter Compton, BS35 5SJ. No Charge, Plenty of parking behind the hall
Picture shows Washingpool farm today. It was owned by Kossuth Robinson of Stoke Bishop. His grave in All Saints Churchyard, Compton Greenfield also commemorates his 3 sons who died in WWI
Wills Tobacco Ladies
Blagdon Local History Society’s next meeting is on Wednesday 8 May at Court Lodge, Blagdon, starting at 7.30. The speaker is Helen Thomas, who was a member of a group which carried out an oral history project documenting the life and times of the women (and a few men) who worked in the Wills tobacco factories. The project culminated in the publication of a book which will be available to view or purchase. The meeting is free to members, visitors pay £2.50 including refreshments.
Schools, Readers and Writers in Medieval Bristol 
by Nicholas Orme
Bristol was one of England’s leading centres of education and literary culture by the end of the Middle Ages, with schools at several levels. Books were owned and used by clergy, laymen and women, and the city had its own authors, producing works on topics as various as history, topography, civic affairs, alchemy, and poetry.
Nicholas Orme is emeritus professor of history at Exeter University, and the author of numerous studies of religious, social and cultural history in medieval and early modern England, including Medieval Children (2001), Medieval Schools (2006) and ALHA No. 23 The Kalendars.
This latest ALHA publication costs £3.50 (plus 65p for p & p).
Click on the picture for an order form.
ALHA Publications
Because our print runs are short, ALHA publications can become unavailable quite quickly. Some of our publications are already out of print, while stocks of others are very limited. If you wish to order copies, please bear this in mind. Full details of availability can be seen on our Publications page and on the order form.
Know Your Place - West of England
- now includes Devon
-Know Your Place has now been extended to include Devon in addition to the whole of Bristol, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Bath & North-
UWE Regional History Centre Seminars at “M” Shed
The UWE Regional History Centre have again arranged a programme of seminars at “M” Shed from September 2018 to June 2019. All are listed in our events diary, but for more information use this link. The Regional Historian is a journal published by the Regional History and the latest issue is reviewed in ALHA Newsletter 156. You can subscribe by joining the Regional History Centre as an Associate Member.
Bath Historical Directories
Members of the History of Bath Research Group have digitised Bath historical directories from the 1840s to the 1930s, and the data is now available on a website at http://bathhistoricaldirectories.org.uk/. This useful research tool for those who wish to explore Bath's people, places, organisations and occupations has been done in association with Bath Record Office, the University of Leicester, and Archive CD Books.
Pensford and the Great Flood of 1968
A new book published by Pensford Local History Society is called "We remember it well: stories of the Great Flood of 1968 from Pensford, Publow and Woollard". The title says it all, and the contents are structured around the 30 or so stories of people who were affected and/or involved in the devastating flood. Alongside these stories are photographs, letters and poems. The editors have tried to honour the memories of the contributors, and this has influenced the whole publishing process.
The A4 book, priced £5.00, was launched at Pensford Christmas Fair. It can be bought at at Pensford Post Office and at the Miners' Coffee Shop. Anyone who would like to make an enquiry or might be interested in buying a copy but is unable to get to Pensford please email: ppw.publishing@gmail.com
Quaker Family History One Day Meeting - Saturday 11 May
The Quaker Family History Society are holding a Spring One Day Regional Meeting at Redland Quaker Meeting Room, Bristol, with six guest speakers. Further details can be found here.
Histories of Women in Agriculture and Rural Life - Saturday 29 June, Bristol
This 26th annual conference of the West of England & South Wales Women’s History Network will look at various aspects of the topic and has issued a call for papers. The keynote speaker will be Professor Nicola Verdon, author of Rural Women Workers in 19th century England. Further details can be found here.
Redcliffe Quarter Archaeology
Oxford and Cotswold Archaeology (OCA), with developer Redcliff MCC LLP, are currently working on a site at Redcliff and St Thomas Street, Bristol. The excavations form part of the Redcliff Quarter Development, a major regeneration scheme in this area.
To learn more about the excavations, you can attend the Redcliff Quarter Lecture Series, or come along to the Site Open Days or Pop-
Recent Work in Welsh Landscape History
A one-
Grants
ALHA offers grants to assist local history research, publications, events, conservation and other projects which accord with its charitable objectives. The Committee has wide discretion over the kind of work to be assisted and the terms of the assistance. Recent grants include one to support the publication of volumes of the Victoria County History to cover parts of Gloucestershire.
Details of the conditions and how to apply can be had from the Treasurer.
Bristol Archives
This is the new name for Bristol Record Office, and it now has a new logo. Click the logo for the Bristol Archives website. Congratulations to Bristol Archives for meeting national standards on maintenance and access and receiving accreditation from the Archives Services Accreditation panel. Congratulations too to Allie Dillon on her appointment as City Archivist.
What’s On at Bristol Museums & Archives
Click for details of the exhibitions, tours, walks and other activities taking place in Bristol in future weeks and months.
Heritage events in Bath
Click for details of the exhibitions, tours, and talks taking place in Bath.
Kingsweston House, Summer 2018
Follow ALHA on Facebook
Photos
The photo of Chipping Sodbury market was found on the Facebook page entitled Chipping Sodbury Photographs. The photo of Stanton Drew Stone Circle is by Michael Day and is taken from flickr. The photo of the Netham Lock in Bristol was taken by the webmaster. Click on each photo to see a full-
The photo of Kingsweston House is by the webmaster.
Avon Local History and Archaeology is a Registered Charity. No. 270930
This website was last updated on Wednesday, May 1, 2019. If you spot any errors or omissions, please advise the webmaster.
