The Historical Society of Royal Wootton Bassett

26/05/2026

Next meeting: 7.30pm, Thursday 11th June 2026: 'The Superslab comes to Yogurt Town - The M4 builds west to Wiltshire'.
Speaker: Malcolm Holland, a talk about the origins, planning and construction of the M4 Motorway.
St Bartholomew's Primary Academy, The Rosary, SN4 8AZ. Doors open 7pm for refreshments.
Website: https://www.historical-society-RWB.org.uk
Visitors welcome: £5 per meeting, under 18s free. Annual membership £25 per person or £45 for a joint membership.

21/04/2026

Next meeting: 7.30pm, Thursday 14 May 2025, with a talk by Graham Carter and Michael Roberts on the life and death of Charles Collett, designer of the locomotives associated with Swindon's railway golden age, including the Castle and King class engines.
St Bartholomew's Primary Academy, The Rosary, SN4 8AZ. Doors open 7pm for refreshments.
Website: https://www.historical-society-RWB.org.uk
Visitors welcome: £5 per meeting, under 18s free. Annual membership £25 per person or £45 for a joint membership.

10/04/2026

Broad Town White Horse presentation - 5 May 2026

27/03/2026

Our next meeting is on Thursday, 9 April 2026, when John Parker will present 'My History of the Swindon Works'.
St Bartholomew's Primary Academy, the Rosary SN4 8AZ
Meeting begins at 7.30pm (doors open at 7pm for refreshments)
Visitors always welcome, £5, under 18's free.
Annual membership £25 per person or £45 for a joint membership.
historical-society-rwb.org.uk

20/02/2026

Join us on Thursday 12th March 2026 for an illustrated presentation on 'Shining Happy Creatures: our Wiltshire hill figures from above', by Chris Cox from Air Photo Services.
Who made our local chalk downland hill figures? What is their symbolism to our communities? What did they look like in times gone by?
St Bartholomew's Primary Academy, the Rosary SN4 8AZ
Meeting begins at 7.30pm (doors open at 7pm for refreshments)
Visitors always welcome, £5, under 18's free.
Annual membership £25 per person or £45 for a joint membership.
historical-society-rwb.org.uk
Image: Broad town White Horse/The Nature Box/Wikimedia Commons/CC4.0

28/01/2026

Our next meeting on Thursday 12th February 2026 will be an illustrated presentation by Vision 4 Wroughton on the Battle of Ellendune in 825AD, when the Saxons of Wessex defeated the Mercians.

St Bartholomew's Primary Academy, the Rosary SN4 8AZ
Meeting begins at 7.30pm (doors open at 7pm for refreshments)

Visitors always welcome, £5, under 18's free.
Annual membership £25 per person or £45 for a joint membership.

historical-society-rwb.org.uk
Image: The Battle of Ellandun by George Derville Rowlandson

30/12/2025

Our first talk of the New Year will be on Thursday 8 January. Sue Gray will be talking about the “first” Diana Spencer. With talk of bullying, divorce and in**st, this promises to be an interesting meeting.
St Bartholomew's Primary Academy, the Rosary SN4 8AZ
Visitors always welcome, £5. Under 18's free
Meeting begins at 7.30pm (doors open at 7pm for refreshments)
Annual membership: £25 single, £45 double (10 meetings September - June)

06/12/2025

Our next meeting will be on Thursday 11th December 2025, with a presentation by the archaeologist and TV presenter, Julian Richards, on 'A Potted History of Britain' .
St Bartholomew's Primary Academy, the Rosary SN4 8AZ
Visitors always welcome, £5. Under 18's free
Meeting begins at 7.30pm (doors open at 7pm for refreshments)
Annual membership: £25 single, £45 double (10 meetings September - June)

13/10/2025

Our next meeting will be on Thursday 13th November 2025, with a presentation by Paul Gentleman on the Starr Brothers in World War 2 . This is the story of three airmen, brothers Harold and John Starr of Swindon and Harold's brother-in-law, and the roles they played in the Battle of Britain, the Great Escape and the attack of the V1 bomber by Germany.
St Bartholomew's Primary Academy, the Rosary SN4 8AZ
Visitors always welcome, £5. Under 18's free
Meeting begins at 7.30pm (doors open at 7pm for refreshments)
Annual membership: £25 single, £45 double (10 meetings September - June)

09/10/2025

https://www.bbc.co.uk/travel/article/20251007-a-new-trail-honouring-englands-overlooked-king

The Athelstan Pilgrim Way, a new 100-mile trail in Wiltshire, recalls the reign of England's first king 1,100 years after his crowning.