Welcome to the Local History and Historical Buildings Group, usually referred to as the Local History Group. We are a group of over 100 members keen to explore local history within the county of Essex.

Our meetings take place in St Luke's Church Hall between September and April, usually on the 1st Thursday of the month from 2:00 pm until 3.30 pm . Cost will vary between £2 and £3 depending on finances. The cost will be announced on the day.

To find out more please use the enquiry link at the top of the page to contact the Group Organiser.

Meetings for 2026

2 April
Phil George – ‘Looking after the poor of Essex’
Using primary sources and images Phil looks at the different attitudes towards the poor and how they were looked after in the centuries from 1200 to 1900.

Previous talks since 2020

2 January 2020
History of Osea Island

6 February 2020
History through the people of Essex

5 March 2020
History and origins of the D'arcy spice apple

7 October 2021
Visit Warner Textile Archive

4 November 2021
Tiptree history

2 December 2021
History of Perrywood Garden Nursery

6 January 2022
Tiptree's silk mill

3 February 2022
Thames Barge Trust

3 March 2022
Mott Hall, Maldon

7 April 2022
Joseph Simmons, aeronaut

5 May 2022
Visit Marks Hall

1 September 2022
Visit Beeleigh Abbey

6 October 2022
Hospitals in Essex before the NHS

3 November 2022
Smuggling around the Blackwater Estuary

1 December 2022
Time Team and the lost centuries of St. Osyth revisited

5 January. 2023
Doctor Salter of Tolleshunt D’arcy

2 February 2023
History of seaside resorts in Essex

2 March 2023
Supplying Edward III's armies

6 April 2023
History of Silver End

4 May 2023
History of Tiptree Hall

6 July 2023
Visit Ingatestone Hall

7 September 2023
Education between 1953 - 2000

5 October 2023
More Discoveries from Roman Colchester

2 November 2023
The history of Feering and its famous faces

7 December 2023
Buffalo Bill in Essex

4 January 2024
Essex Treasures of the National Trust

1 February 2024
The history of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation

7 March 2024
History of Silver End

4 April 2024
The Enigma of Boudica or Boadicea

6 June 2024
Visit to Kelvedon Hall

4 July 2024
Visit to Blunts Hall, Witham

5 September 2024
Salt Extraction from the Blackwater

3 October 2024
Churchill’s secret army

7 November 2024
Tiptree: personal memories and stories

5 December 2024
The Secret History of the Essex County Gaol

6 February 2025
A Sailor’s Life

6 March 2025
One day in the Battle of Britain

3 April 2025
Stained glass in Essex up to 1800

7 May 2025
Memories of WW2

4 September
What do Colchester's Victorian Inquests reveal about Victorian society?

2 October
The Essex Women who rocked the boat

6 November
Timber-framed houses in Essex: 1270-1840

4 December
Life in Edwardian Colchester

7 January
Times Past: Essex on film

5 February
Anglo-Saxons, Vikings and Monks: Mersea in the Early Middle Ages

5 March
The Invasion of Essex, 1803-5: Who do you think you are kidding Mr Napoleon?