Our TALKS programme

“The Fascinating Follies of Somerset” – An illustrated talk by Jonathan Holt

7:30pm Tuesday 6th October

Architectural Historian Jonathan Holt will give an illustrated presentation on Somerset Follies. Jonathan has extensively researched these unusual and beautiful buildings which are built for visual appeal rather than practical use. Jonathan has studied, written about and given talks about follies for many years. He organises guided tours of follies and is dedicated to their preservation.

During his talk Jonathan will show archive pictures of follies and share historical facts and local myths about follies. Come and listen to the stories behind these intriguing buildings dotted across our landscape.

Jonathan is author of the books ‘Somerset Follies’ and the ‘Follies of Bristol and Gloucestershire’. He will be selling his books on the night (card payment only).

“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.