Berkshire Family History Society

When: Thursday 25 June 2026, 19:45 - 21:00 Where: Reading Branch, RG30 4PE Now a residential suburb, was Tilehurst ever a village as such?  Mike Cooper – who’s written Reading Libraries’ booklet on Tilehurst – looks at the history of the place and its community and how change has affected the area from the break-up of Reading Abbey lands, through the industries which took advantage of its natural assets down to trolleybuses and council housing. This meeting will be held at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 280 The Meadway, Tilehurst 7.15pm for a 7.45pm start. Ample free parking and good company with lively discussion and help for those who are stuck with their research. All are welcome, non-members £5 per person Image: Colin Bastes- St Michaels Church, Tilehurst, CC BY-SA 2.0 Full event details and booking

When: Saturday 20 June 2026 An unusual and hitherto neglected travel journal has been hidden in plain sight among British Library manuscripts, since it was bought at auction in 1984 (British Library, Harriet Parry, journals: ADD MS 62945 A & B) . It was a chance find in the catalogue several years ago while searching for a different item, which I decided to follow up more recently and which has demonstrated not only the complexities of uncovering the lives of ordinary people but also how rewarding this can be.  The journal writer, Harriet Parry (1785-1851), lived most of her life in the rural village of Speen near Newbury, and for a while in Clifton, Bristol. Her father and grandfather were vicars of Speen parish church. The first archive I consulted was the collection of parish records held at the Royal Berkshire Archives in Reading, from which a background picture of Harriet’s life and details about her family and the village began to emerge. The entries of births, marriages an...

When: Thursday 10 September 2026, 14:00 - 15:30 Where: Eldon Road & Watlington Street area, Reading On this tour, David Cliffe will guide us around the historic area bounded by Eldon Road and Watlington Street. This is a conservation area and famed for some stunning Georgian architecture. We will learn the history of the area, people and buildings. Highlights will include Eldon Road, Eldon Square, Watlington House and the Sacred Heart Church (the Polish Church, formerly the Anglican Church of St John the Evangelist (all from the outside). The tour will end at the Wesley Church on Queens Road, where Dr Jonathan Brown  will tell us of the history of the building. The meeting place will be notified a few days before the visit. Please arrive 10 mins early for signing in and safety briefing etc. Numbers are limited, so pre-booking is required. Bookings close three days beforehand.  Image: Chris Wood / 9-15 Eldon Square in the English borough of Reading,  CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped) To ...

When: Tuesday 30 June 2026, 19:30 - 21:30 Where: Windsor Branch Webinar The Great War was won on the Home Front. This is the story. To join in this branch meeting, you will need a computer device which has a microphone and speakers. Ideally, also a webcam. You also need to be able to access emails from this device. First time users will be asked to download a small piece of software to join the meeting.  The meeting link will be emailed to you in advance. Technical help is available for those who need further assistance, please contact booking@berksfhs.org.uk .   Full event details and booking

When: Monday 8 June 2026 Our new Family Research Centre opens in Reading on Monday 15 th  June! Adjacent to the Museum of English Rural Life, and adjoining The Dairy Café, we are part of the University of Reading’s London Road Campus. The Centre is well served by buses, within walking distance of Reading’s town centre and also benefits from nearby local parking. Full details of our opening hours and how to find us can be found here . Why come? Well if you’re interested in either family history or curious about the history of your house – we can help! Our spacious research centre has multiple PCs with free access to a wide selection of useful family history websites including Ancestry Worldwide, Findmypast Worldwide, The Genealogist and the British Newspaper Archive. In addition, we are a Family Search Affiliated Library giving you access to millions of images of original records relating to Berkshire and beyond, not available at home. Plus, we have an extensive reference libra...

When: Tuesday 4 August 2026, 10:45 - 13:15 Where: Kendrick Conservation Area Lost Turkish baths, schools, Albion Terrace and the original University campus In this walk around the Kendrick Conservation Area, developed by Terry Dixon and Richard Bennett (Chair of Reading Civic Society), you will be taken back over 150 years to when the area looked very different. Highlights include an enormous long lost swimming baths complex, only one pub, Kendrick Court, two secondary schools, Albion Terrace, the original University of Reading campus, Kendrick and Redlands Roads, impressive listed buildings, majestic trees, historic plaques & much more! The meeting place will be notified a few days before the visit. Please arrive 10 mins early for signing in and safety briefing etc. Numbers are limited, so pre-booking is required. Bookings close three days beforehand.  Image (above and right): Andrew Smith, Albion Terrace, London Road, Reading, CC BY-SA 2.0 – web To book, scroll down....

When: Saturday 4 July 2026, 11:00 - 13:00 Where: Webinar Discover how the provision for education for our English ancestors was transformed between 1860 and the start of the First World War. After 1870, schools run by local elected boards (Board Schools) supplemented those founded by religious bodies; in turn, in 1902 schools became council schools administered by local education authorities (LEAs). Throughout the period, teacher training was improved, the school syllabus developed and pupil numbers increased. Finally, in the 1890s, compulsory free schooling was provided for most children. Tutor, Joan Dils, will lead you through the changes, the records produced and how to contextualise and interpret them.  Pre-booking is required so that the meeting link can be emailed to you.  To enjoy this workshop you will need a computer device which has speakers and a microphone. Ideally, also a web-cam. You also need to be able to access your emails from it. First-time users of Zoom will be ...