Events
Our programme for 2026-2027
Brundall Local History Group (BLHG) usually meets on a Saturday afternoon in The Memorial Hall, Links Aveue, Brundall, for a talk, with a varied programme of speakers.
We charge visitors £4 for the event which includes tea or coffee and a biscuit (although donations are welcome), or you can pay an annual subscription of just £15 and become a member, attending our meetings at no charge. Both visitors and new members are always very welcome. We have a selection of books, our own publications and second-hand books, on sale.
Members are admitted free to the talks and also receive a quarterly journal, the Chronicle, with research and stories.
Members are admitted free to the talks and also receive a quarterly journal, the Chronicle, with research and stories.
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BLHG programme, 2026-27
Saturday 3rd October 2026 at 2.30pm
In the Memorial Hall, Links Avenue, Brundall
NORWICH’S HIDDEN INDUSTRIAL PAST
An illustrated talk by Mary Fewster
Until the 1980s Norwich was officially classed as an industrial city. Its long history as a textile centre modified from the 18th century to include an increasing range of manufactures, from brewing to brushes, from shoes to iron-founding and much more. This talk draws attention to the concentration of industrial premises in the city centre, the surviving buildings and the surprising details.
Saturday 7th November 2026 at 2.30pm
In the Memorial Hall, Links Avenue, Brundall
NORFOLK MILLS ON A STICK
An illustrated talk by Andrew Tullett
Discover the colourful Norfolk village signs which feature the county’s wind and water mills, together with stories of their millers and machinery. Dr Tullett researched and photographed Norfolk's 500-plus town and village signs as part of his Signs of a Norfolk Summer project.
Saturday 2nd January 2027 at 2.30pm
In the Memorial Hall, Links Avenue, Brundall
A.F. SCOTT, THE INDIVIDUALIST AND HIS ARCHITECTURE
An illustrated talk by Judith Merrill about her great grandfather
Augustus Frederic Scott (1854-1936) a well-known Norwich architect,
was a freethinking individualist. He had an unusual approach of working
and mixed pioneering building techniques and materials with the
traditional, including examples in Brundall. Scott frequently travelled
independently with a fascination for North Africa, Italy and Spain, which
is reflected in some of his designs.
Saturday 6th February 2027 at 2.30pm
In the Memorial Hall, Links Avenue, Brundall
QUIRKY NORWICH
An illustrated talk by Pete Goodrum
Pete will be giving us a talk based on his latest book, Quirky Norwich. He has taken a fresh look at the city – from a slightly different angle. From riots and rebellions to music and marketing, from Billy Bluelight to Jack Valentine, Pete will talk to us about some of the oddities and characters that help define this ancient city.
Saturday 6th March 2027 at 2.30pm
In the Memorial Hall, Links Avenue, Brundall
THE HISTORY OF DRAGON HALL
An illustrated talk by Adrian O'dell
The story of 1000 years occupation of the riverside site in King Street, beginning with Saxon dwellings, use of the site by Woburn Abbey and John Page’s hall-house in 1330. Robert Toppes’s unique medieval trading-hall complex then took centre-stage followed by five hundred years as wealthy merchants’ houses, then a crowded tenement before its re-discovery and restoration from the 1970s. It is now Norwich's iconic architectural medieval masterpiece.
Saturday 3rd April 2027 at 2.30pm
In the Memorial Hall, Links Avenue, Brundall
‘UPSTAIRS-DOWNSTAIRS’: LIFE IN VICTORIAN AND EDWARDIAN BRUNDALL
An illustrated talk by Chloe Veale
After the large estate sales of 1881, Brundall’s transformation from a rural hamlet into a rapidly expanding bustling village attracted incomers from every level of society. Affluent new house owners employed an army of servants to support their lifestyle and status within the high walls and hedges of their mansions. Many workers migrated from other parts of Norfolk and Suffolk, abandoning traditional farming jobs for domestic service or jobs in the village shops, hotels and boatyards. Chloe will reveal the untold stories of more ‘invisible lives’ researched by BLHG’s archive volunteers.
Saturday 1st May 2027 starting at 2.30pm
WALK BACK IN TIME TO VICTORIAN & EDWARDIAN BRUNDALL
A guided walk and tour of highlights of the village, as featured in BLHG’s recently published Map and Illustrated Guide leaflet. Open to limited numbers of members only.
Booking details will be available nearer the date.
Saturday 5th June 2027 at 2.30pm
In the Memorial Hall, Links Avenue, Brundall
A MARKET FOR OUR TIMES
An illustrated talk by Frances & Michael Holmes
Norwich Market has traded from the same site since the 11th century. It has survived because it has adapted to meet changing conditions – and change is yet again on the agenda. Today Frances and Michael Holmes will tell its remarkable story.
Saturday 17th July 2027 at 2.30pm
In the Memorial Hall, Links Avenue, Brundall
SHIPWRECK, SHARKS AND SURVIVAL
An illustrated talk by Helen Murray
(Preceded by the (brief) AGM.)
Join local author Helen Murray for a talk on her new book telling the dramatic true story of Harold Higgs, a young sailor from Thorpe Hamlet in Norwich who in 1907 was shipwrecked almost 1000 miles from land on his first voyage as an apprentice on the sailing vessel Carnarvon Castle. Photo: City of Fremantle History Centre LH004700.
In the Memorial Hall, Links Avenue, Brundall
NORWICH’S HIDDEN INDUSTRIAL PAST
An illustrated talk by Mary Fewster
Until the 1980s Norwich was officially classed as an industrial city. Its long history as a textile centre modified from the 18th century to include an increasing range of manufactures, from brewing to brushes, from shoes to iron-founding and much more. This talk draws attention to the concentration of industrial premises in the city centre, the surviving buildings and the surprising details.
Saturday 7th November 2026 at 2.30pm
In the Memorial Hall, Links Avenue, Brundall
NORFOLK MILLS ON A STICK
An illustrated talk by Andrew Tullett
Discover the colourful Norfolk village signs which feature the county’s wind and water mills, together with stories of their millers and machinery. Dr Tullett researched and photographed Norfolk's 500-plus town and village signs as part of his Signs of a Norfolk Summer project.
Saturday 2nd January 2027 at 2.30pm
In the Memorial Hall, Links Avenue, Brundall
A.F. SCOTT, THE INDIVIDUALIST AND HIS ARCHITECTURE
An illustrated talk by Judith Merrill about her great grandfather
Augustus Frederic Scott (1854-1936) a well-known Norwich architect,
was a freethinking individualist. He had an unusual approach of working
and mixed pioneering building techniques and materials with the
traditional, including examples in Brundall. Scott frequently travelled
independently with a fascination for North Africa, Italy and Spain, which
is reflected in some of his designs.
Saturday 6th February 2027 at 2.30pm
In the Memorial Hall, Links Avenue, Brundall
QUIRKY NORWICH
An illustrated talk by Pete Goodrum
Pete will be giving us a talk based on his latest book, Quirky Norwich. He has taken a fresh look at the city – from a slightly different angle. From riots and rebellions to music and marketing, from Billy Bluelight to Jack Valentine, Pete will talk to us about some of the oddities and characters that help define this ancient city.
Saturday 6th March 2027 at 2.30pm
In the Memorial Hall, Links Avenue, Brundall
THE HISTORY OF DRAGON HALL
An illustrated talk by Adrian O'dell
The story of 1000 years occupation of the riverside site in King Street, beginning with Saxon dwellings, use of the site by Woburn Abbey and John Page’s hall-house in 1330. Robert Toppes’s unique medieval trading-hall complex then took centre-stage followed by five hundred years as wealthy merchants’ houses, then a crowded tenement before its re-discovery and restoration from the 1970s. It is now Norwich's iconic architectural medieval masterpiece.
Saturday 3rd April 2027 at 2.30pm
In the Memorial Hall, Links Avenue, Brundall
‘UPSTAIRS-DOWNSTAIRS’: LIFE IN VICTORIAN AND EDWARDIAN BRUNDALL
An illustrated talk by Chloe Veale
After the large estate sales of 1881, Brundall’s transformation from a rural hamlet into a rapidly expanding bustling village attracted incomers from every level of society. Affluent new house owners employed an army of servants to support their lifestyle and status within the high walls and hedges of their mansions. Many workers migrated from other parts of Norfolk and Suffolk, abandoning traditional farming jobs for domestic service or jobs in the village shops, hotels and boatyards. Chloe will reveal the untold stories of more ‘invisible lives’ researched by BLHG’s archive volunteers.
Saturday 1st May 2027 starting at 2.30pm
WALK BACK IN TIME TO VICTORIAN & EDWARDIAN BRUNDALL
A guided walk and tour of highlights of the village, as featured in BLHG’s recently published Map and Illustrated Guide leaflet. Open to limited numbers of members only.
Booking details will be available nearer the date.
Saturday 5th June 2027 at 2.30pm
In the Memorial Hall, Links Avenue, Brundall
A MARKET FOR OUR TIMES
An illustrated talk by Frances & Michael Holmes
Norwich Market has traded from the same site since the 11th century. It has survived because it has adapted to meet changing conditions – and change is yet again on the agenda. Today Frances and Michael Holmes will tell its remarkable story.
Saturday 17th July 2027 at 2.30pm
In the Memorial Hall, Links Avenue, Brundall
SHIPWRECK, SHARKS AND SURVIVAL
An illustrated talk by Helen Murray
(Preceded by the (brief) AGM.)
Join local author Helen Murray for a talk on her new book telling the dramatic true story of Harold Higgs, a young sailor from Thorpe Hamlet in Norwich who in 1907 was shipwrecked almost 1000 miles from land on his first voyage as an apprentice on the sailing vessel Carnarvon Castle. Photo: City of Fremantle History Centre LH004700.
Copyright: Nothing on this website may be copied or published without the permission of the Brundall Local History Group. This does not mean we will not give permission, but you do have to ask us. The archive material has come from many sources and there are many copyright holders.
