Autumn 2026 Season: Bygone Days Talks
Bygone Days talks celebrate both local and national history. Talks are held at 7:30 pm at Chilcompton Village Hall in Chilcompton unless otherwise stated. Entry is £5, cash or card on the door, no booking required. Doors open at 7pm. Raffle available.
Raising funds for Somerset Coalfield Life at Radstock Museum charity no. 1151573
“Unsung Women in Somerset” – An illustrated talk by Helen Pugh
Tuesday 1st September
Helen Pugh will reveal the stories behind real life and legendary women who lived, loved, worked and made a difference in the county of Somerset. Often, these women were erased from the narrative, both when they were alive and after they died. As well as gender discrimination, some of the women encountered discrimination due to ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation or social standing.
Helen has written a book also entitled “Unsung Women in Somerset.” She says, “I chose “in Somerset” rather than “of Somerset” because not all the women were born or raised in Somerset. Some of them came into the county later in life and so I felt the word “in” conveyed this idea better. Examples of the women include an African princess who survived and thrived despite the odds, a woman who had two funerals and an enslaved Roman woman who married a priest.
“Follies” – An illustrated talk by Jonathan Holt
Tuesday 6th October
For more than twenty-five years, Jonathan Holt has studied, written and given talks about follies. He is author of the books ‘Somerset Follies’ and the ‘Follies of Bristol and Gloucestershire’. He organises trips and guided tours of follies and is dedicated to the preservation of them. Come and listen to the stories behind these intriguing buildings dotted across our landscape.
“Death and Service” – An illustrated talk by Richard Cooper-Knight
Tuesday 3rd November
With November being the month of remembrance, Richard will share stories of the lives of some of our local people, who perished in WWI. Richard has been seeking out First World War Commonwealth Graves across Somerset and has researched the names carved into the granite. This has led him to a wealth of stories of family and tragedy, each name brought to life with their own history.
Many people attended Richard’s first presentation on this subject in 2024 and now he returns with more fascinating histories behind the carved names.
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