The Cleveland and Teesside Local History Society operates an active and varied programme.
We provide regular talks and day-schools on a wide variety of topics and covering every period of history, from Anglo Saxon and Roman times to Victorian and Twentieth Century developments.
Details of our current programme of talks are provided below.
Winter 2024/25 Programme
Our Winter programme includes a mix of in-person and online lectures on a variety of history subjects. We’d love you to join us for these free talks. Details coming soon!
Saturday 21 September 2024 – 10:30am
Venue: Dorman Museum, Middlesbrough TBC
Dive in to Durham
Gary Bankhead
Gary Bankhead is an amateur underwater archaeologist, small finds researcher and illustrator. As an Honorary Research Associate in the Department of Archaeology, Durham University, Gary’s current role is to coordinate the wider research of the Durham River Wear Assemblage. As well as his own ongoing small finds research, he continues to work with Durham University students. He will talk about his dives and many interesting historical finds.
From Castle to Country House in North-East England
Richard Pears
Ancient fortresses guarded the region from invasion but landed families adapted their ancestral homes to new styles and comforts, and new houses, designed by national and local architects, accommodated families enriched by industry and trade. Despite losses in the 20th century, the North East has many fine castles and country houses in private ownership, which Richard uncovers in his talk.
Saturday 12 October 2024 – 10.30am
Location: Online (Zoom)
Women of the Durham Coalfield in the 19th Century
Margaret Hedley
The success of the Durham Coalfield and its important role in the Industrial Revolution is attributed to men of influence who owned the land and the pits, who worked in the coal-mining industry during the Victorian period. There has been very little written about the importance of the home life that supported the miners – their wives who, through heroic efforts, did their best to provide attractive, healthy, happy home for their husbands, often in appalling social conditions.
To provide a welcoming environment at home demanded tremendous resources and commitment from the miners’ wives. Despite their many hardships these women selflessly put everyone in the family before themselves. They operated on less rest, less food at times of necessity and under the huge physical burden of work and the emotional burden of worry concerning the safety of their family.
Saturday 23 November 2024 – 10.30am
Location: Dorman Museum, Middlesbrough
Elgee Memorial Lecture 2024 – Hosted by Cleveland Naturalists Field Club
Barn Owls In and Around Cleveland
Colin Gibson
Barn Owls are one of the most distinctive and iconic birds of prey to be found in the British Isles. Unfortunately there has been a long-term decline in their numbers, from an estimated 12,000 breeding pairs in 1933 down to approximately only 4,000 pairs today.
A number of factors have contributed to this decline, some natural and unavoidable but others which are as a direct result of changes attributable to human behaviour and practices over time.
Colin Gibson, a local owl expert, and others who work closely alongside him have played a leading role in this project and some encouraging results have been achieved over the last 6 years.
In this year’s Elgee Memorial Lecture, Colin will give an illustrated talk on the nest box project and the ringing and monitoring of barn owls raised in them, which all helps to provide valuable information on how their Cleveland population is faring. Colin will also talk about the lifecycle of barn owls.
Admission Fee: £3
Free to members of CFNC, C&TLHS, TAS, and CIAS
Saturday 18 January 2025 – 10.30am
Location: Online (Zoom)
The S&DR – the Railway that got the World on Track 1825-2025
Caroline Hardie
Caroline Hardie of the Friends of the Stockton & Darlington Railway looks to the approaching 200th anniversary of the line. In this illustrated talk she will cover the history of the S&DR, how it came about, its operational life and the impact it had on our region and the world.
Saturday 15 February 2025 – 10.30am
Location: The Chapel, 16 Whitehouse Street, Middlesbrough TS5 4BY
Francis Joseph Sloane (1794-1871) – A grateful Alumnus
Lucia Luck
Lucia Luck will talk about her MA research based on the letters of Francis Joseph Sloane – a mine owner and librarian in Italy – which were found at his Alma Mater, Ushaw College, near Durham. Written between 1815 and 1863, they uncover his deep affection for Ushaw and his support for its students, clergy and financial needs, as well as gifts of many precious items. Lucia hopes that, thanks to this research, his name will be now included in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
Skelton Castle: the first 1000 years
Peter Appleton
A new research project into the history of Skelton Castle has seen Peter Appleton transcribing wills, probates, inquisitions and “Feet of Fines” (an early form of conveyance). It will ultimately result in a new book about the castle. This talk is mostly about the “journey” rather than the “destination”, with some sneak peaks into the contents of the book, and how the project got started. Expect information newly uncovered and stories of the owning families and people of Skelton.
Saturday 22 March 2025 – 10.30am
Location: Online (Zoom)
From Pit Boy to Bomber Boy
Martin Peagam
The road from Pit Boy to Bomber Boy might otherwise be called From the Frying Pan into the Fire. In a personal family history Martin tells the story of how a young man left a reserved occupation down the pits in Durham to become part of a New Zealand crew in a campaign that saw over 55,000 men lose their lives.
This is, however, more than a family history, because this talk – embracing pit life, wartime production, and a contentious bomber campaign – is also an exploration of a time when, for many, life was very dangerous, and the young had to grow up very quickly, and how one particular man defied convention and seized an opportunity to forge his own path.
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Saturday 12 April 2025 – 10.15am
Location: Dorman Museum, Middlesbrough
Annual General Meeting
Pubs in Stockton in the 19th Century and Beyond
Alan Betteney
Based on recent research and following his article in Cleveland History, Alan presents this look at the development of pubs in Stockton through the 19th century, including their locations, names, origins and their demise.
Hartlepool Conservation Area
Tim Bailey
Architect Tim Bailey hails from Hartlepool. His lecture explores this particular part of the town’s ‘At Risk’ architectural heritage and its potential role in shaping the vision for the town’s future development, with highlights on the Heugh Gun Battery and St Hilda’s Church.
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