Calendar

< 2026 >
April
  • 17
    April 17, 2026

    Coal Mining in the Faroe Islands and other international IA adventures

    19:30 -21:00
    17/04/2026
    St. Mary's Church Hall
    Darley Lane, Derby, DE1 3AX

    Speaker: Ian Mitchell

    It used to be a tradition of the IA Section to finish the programme with a session of ‘members slides’, to share information on sites of industrial archaeological interest. This talk will be a revival of this tradition, looking at some locations that Ian and Mary have visited abroad in recent years. Some of these have been on specialist tours organised for the Association for Industrial Archaeology, while others were sought out or come across by chance on independent holidays.

    Organised by the Industrial Archaeological Section

  • 25
    April 25, 2026

    “The Indefatigable Labourer” ... “a complete master of the art of begging” Dr Michael Hutchinson in early Georgian Derby

    11:00 -12:30
    25/04/2026
    Strutts Centre
    Derby Road, Belper, Derbyshire, DE56 1UU

    Speaker: Richard Clark

    Dr Michael Hutchinson was a controversial figure as minister of All Saints, Derby, both during his curacy there and in later Derby histories.  Was he a conservationist’s nightmare and master of the demolition gang?   Was he the troublesome, disingenuous and ego-centric authoritarian his enemies depicted him, a Thomas Becket to the Corporation of Derby’s long-suffering Henry II.  The talk will aim to provide some insight on controversies surrounding Hutchinson and the rebuilding of All Saints Church (Derby Cathedral) during the 1720s.

    The Library will be open from 10.00am with a book sale offering a good range of items on Derbyshire and local history and archaeology generally.

  • 29
    April 29, 2026

    Morley Park spring clean

    10:00 -12:00
    29/04/2026

    The Industrial Archaeology Section will be holding it’s annual maintenance working party at Morley Park blast furnaces. We will be undertaking fence repairs, vegetation management and litter picking. Everyone is welcome to come along and help, or simply to learn about the site. We will meet on the lane leading to Morley Park farm at 1000.

  • 30
    April 30, 2026

    Castle Donington walk

    10:30 -12:00
    30/04/2026

    John Morrissey will lead a one-and-a-half mile walk on paved surfaces throughout, some on slopes. We will look inside the Museum and the Church of St Edward King and Martyr, and then at some of the other 72 listed buildings (everything except a castle!).

    Meet at 10.30am inside the 1794 Donington Manor Hotel, High Street, Castle Donington, DE74 2PP for tea/coffee and biscuits (no charge) and to see the fine contemporary plaster ceiling in the dining room. The Hotel is a striking building and lies on the High Street just north of the traffic lights beside the small bus interchange serving Skylink services from Derby and Nottingham.

    Parking is available at the Donington Manor Hotel for the duration of the walk. The Derby to Leicester Skylink bus service runs every 15 minutes from Derby bus station and the journey to Castle Donington takes about 30 minutes.

    THIS VISIT IS FULLY BOOKED