Events - Spring 2025
To book places for any of these events, email info@friendsofguildfordmuseum.org.uk
Friday 7 March 2025 (cancelled as speaker unwell)
“Henry Peak” by Moira MacQuaide
Henry Peak did more to shape Guildford in the second half of the 19th Century than any other person. Peak built up a surveying and design business in Guildford through ability and hard work in the 1850s. In 1864, He was appointed as the first Borough Surveyor as the Corporation faced the necessity of improving public facilities in the town with its growing population. Moira MacQuaide is a popular speaker on local history who also leads a Guildford U3A local history group.
St Catherine’s Village Hall, Chestnut Avenue, Guildford, GU2 4HF at 2.30 pm Entry £7
Thursday 3 April 2025
“The Portable Antiquities Scheme in Surrey” - by Dr Simon Maslin
In his role as Finds Liaison Officer for Surrey, Simon uses his archaeological experience to identify the often bewildering diversity of objects that people have found in Surrey. Sometimes these objects are easy to classify and well catalogued - but sometimes they can be enigmatic and poorly understood. Identifying them requires practical experience of a huge range of materials and artefacts, from flint tools, to Roman coins to Tudor hairpins. Simon will talk about his job and some of the fascinating objects he has dealt with.
St Catherine’s Village Hall, Chestnut Avenue, Guildford, GU2 4HF at 2.30 pm Entry £7
Wednesday 7 May 2025
“The Potters Who Made History" by Tim Clark
(rescheduled from September 2024)
It started in Staffordshire, in the early nineteenth century, when potters began to produce ceramic figures that chronicled all the important characters and events of the day. They recorded royal and military figures at significant moments in their lives. They commemorated performers, politicians, clerics, sportsmen, explorers, criminals and other folk heroes of the day. Each piece told a story and decorated the mantelpieces of the masses who couldn’t afford the ostentatious porcelain figures coveted by the wealthy. These anonymous potters recorded the history of Victorian England in clay, and they created a unique form of tribal art. Tim’s talk will draw on his collection and will feature some actual examples to illustrate what can only be appreciated first-hand.
St Catherine’s Village Hall, Chestnut Avenue, Guildford, GU2 4HF at 2.30 pm Entry £7