Whitwick & District U3A - History Group
Objective
The History Group meets during the afternoon of the last Monday of the month. History topics are varied and suggestions from members are always welcome. Summer meetings are usually outdoor visits and winter sessions are talks indoors, in the rear room at Hall Lane Methodist Church
Please email Group Leader 5 days before events if attending
All sessions (apart from the lunch) are £4. Please arrive 10-15 minutes beforehand so that the register can be processed.
Next meeting Mon Nov 30th
2026
Mon Jan 26th 12.30 Shared Lunch and Journeys of my youth - Everyone brings a contribution towards the shared lunch. Before we eat those who wish can share a journey from their youth. It could be a family, school, church or solo outing; by train, bus, foot, plane, submarine or canoe.
Mon Feb 23rd 2pm Mount St Bernard Abbey by Whitwick Historical Group - The first permanent monastery to be founded in England since the Reformation, plus the Boy's Reformatory.
Mon Mar 30th March 2pm Technology and Me, the good, the bad and the ugly - During our lifetimes there have been huge changes in technology, hear about some of them in family life, local government, gas industry and the national health service.
Mon Apr 27th 2pm - The 80th Anniversary of VE Day by Ian Vickers Ibstock History Society.
May - no meeting - clash with Bank Holiday
Mon Jun 29th Mount St Bernard's Abbey and the Boy's reformatory. A walk led by WhitwickHistorical Group. £4.
Tue Jul 7th Kelmarsh Hall coach trip with Garden Group. There are no guided tours at Kelmarsh as there are guides in the rooms in the Hall. There are no guided tours of the gardens on the day we visit. There is a cafe with plenty of indoor and outdoor seating, which serves light lunches, cake and drinks. there is also seating around the garden if you bring your own food. Total cost £ 37. Online booking is now open here. Currently there are places available
Mon Aug 24th Coleorton Heritage Group will be leading us on a one mile walk around the Ashby Road area of Coleorton including Viscount Beaumont primary school, St John's mortuary chapel, the fishponds etc. £4 donation to CHG.
Mon Sep 28th Leicestershire Industrial History Society will be taking us on a tour of the Glenfield Tunnel. When the tunnel was built in 1832 as part of Robert Stephenson's Leicester and Swannington Railway, it was the longest railway tunnel in the world.
Mon Oct 26th We move indoors for our winter programme in the back room at Hall Lane Methodist. Awaiting speaker confirmation
Mon Nov 30th A Plane Crash, A Bomb and A Streaker, A drunk dog, mining fatalities, the family at three public houses, purchasing blasting powder with your bread and butter, golf, bowls and the indecent tennis outfit, playing football near the railway station, the dog security guard, overflowing sewage in the school, explosions galore and so much more. £4
Mon Dec 28th Christmas Social at Griffydam
Contact
Roger (Bis) Bisgrove at 
Please note that as an anti-spam measure e-mail addresses on this page are NOT links, but should be manually copied
Pictures
More pictures are available in the Gallery
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August 2026
On August 24th Terry Ward and Sandra Dillon of Coleorton Heritage Group led our history group around the Old Ashby Road area of Coleorton, featuring Viscount Beaumont school, St John's mortuary chapel, Fishpond Cottage, the former Bell Inn, the fishponds, millennium garden and former Colliery Farm. |
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July 2026 On July 7th the History Group had a joint venture with the Gardens Group to Kelmarsh Hall in Northamptonshire. Kelmarsh Hall is an 18th Century house built for William Hanbury. In the 20th Century it was the home of Ronald Tree and his wife Nancy (later Nancy Lancaster). The two groups had the opportunity to view both the house and the award-winning gardens. You can see pictures of the gardens by visiting the Gardens Group webpage - click here. |
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Christmas 2025 The History Group held a Christmas social get together at the invitation of Bis at his house. Below are the pictures of the gathering and the fabulous Christmas lights in his garden. |
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January 2025 This month was the annual History Group "bring and share" lunch. Suffice to say there was plenty to eat. Some members shared memories of clubs and organisations they belonged to in their youth. |
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September 2023 -
A guided walk round Desford given by Kate, a member of Desford Heritage. The tour started with refreshments in Desford Library.
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August 2023 -
A guided walk round Belton given by Paula, a member of the Belton History Group. We had refreshments in the Parish Church afterwards.
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July 2023 -
A guided tour of Loughborough Grammar School, with John Weitzel, the School's Archivist. Firstly some outside views of the school...... |
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January 2023 -
An historical walk round Griffydam led by Bis, followed by refreshments, including Christmas Cake, courtesy of Bis. |
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