What's new
Dates for your diary
Please check the relevant websites and social media for confirmation and last-minute changes to the events listed here.
CBA Festival of Archaeology 2024
Saturday 13 to Sunday 28 July.
The Council for British Archaeology is celebrating its 80th anniversary. Go to www.archaeologyuk.org for more information and local events.
HiFARS Archaeology Allsorts: Higham Ferrers Castle
Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 July. HiFARS will be in Chichele College, Higham Ferrers all weekend with a FREE exhibition, finds identification & family activities along with guided tours of the castle site. This event is part of the CBA's Festival of Archaeology 2024, go to www.archaeologyuk.org for more information.
British Museum Exhibitions
Now until 28 July 2024 Michelangelo: the last decades.
23 September - 23 February 2025 Silk Roads.
British Museum, Great Russell Street, London, WC1B 3DG. Go to www.britishmuseum.org for more information.
Discover Northamptonshire Visitor Hub at Rushden Lakes
Monday 29 July 12.00 noon - 4.00pm Northants Film Archive drop-in session.
Friday 23 August 6.00pm-7.00pm Talk The Battle that Changed England by Mark Linnell, Naseby Battlefield Trust.
Friday 13 September 6.00pm-7.00pm Talk Spires, Squires and Celebrations by Susan Copperwheat.
All these events are £5 (including a hot drink) and must be booked in advance, go to www.discover-northamptonshire.co.uk for tickets and more information.
Chester House Estate
30 & 31 July and 6, 7, 20, 21, 27 & 28 August Tours of the ARC (Archaeological Resource Centre), at 2.00pm FREE but please book via the website.
2, 16, 17 August Young Person's Archaeology Digging Experience, £23 booking essential, 4 sessions a day starting at 9.15am.
Friday 2 and Saturday 3 August Flint knapping with the Prehistoric Workshop.
Friday 16 and Saturday 17 August Flax processing with the Prehistoric Workshop.
Friday 14 and Saturday 17 August Medieval bookbinding with the Roman Traders.
Saturday 24 August Hafting with the Prehistoric Workshop.
The Chester House Estate is near Irchester in Northamptonshire. Go to www.chesterhouseestate.org.uk for more information and booking.
Bedford Guided Walks 2024
31 July, 15 September, 20 October The Rise and Fall of Bedford Castle.
4 August, 28 August, 2 October The Silent Faces of Bedford.
7 August, 4 September Tales of the Tower and Steeple.
18 August, 25 September Movers and Shakers.
11 August, 13 October I Never Knew That.
1 September, 6 October Bedford in WWII.
8 September, 29 September, 30 October The Jewel in Bedford's Crown.
22 September, 27 October The Life and Times of John Bunyan.
Walks start at 11.00am and are between 90 minutes and 2 hours long, 1-2 miles in length. Walks are £4 and must be pre-booked. Go to www.bedfordtourguides.org for more information and booking.
The Higgins Bedford 2024
Wednesday 31 July and 25 September Portable Antiquities Scheme for Bedfordshire session. FREE but booking essential.
The Higgins, Castle Lane, Bedford MK40 3XD. Go to www.thehigginsbedford.org.uk for more information.
Next HiFARS committee meeting
Next date tbc. If any HiFARS member has something to raise with the committee please email hifars@gmx.co.uk before the meeting.
Civil War living history weekend at Lyveden
Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 August 10.00am-5.00pm
Elizabethan Lodge and moated garden at Lyveden near Oundle at PE8 5AT. Go to www.nationaltrust.org.uk for more information.
Wrest Park 2024
5 and 19 August, 10.00am-5.00pm Archaeological Collections Store Tours.
Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 August Wrest at War
Wrest Park is in Silsoe, Bedfordshire, MK45 4HR. Go to www.english-heritage.org.uk for more information, prices and opening times.
HiFARS Talk - Archiving the Past: The Northamptonshire Archaeological Resource Centre
Wednesday 7 August at 7.30pm in Bede House, Higham Ferrers. Ben Donnelly-Symes, ARC Curator at Chester House, will be talking about the Northamptonshire Resource Centre which acts as the county's publicly accessible archaeological archive store since it opened in 2021. He will discuss the background to the project, the move of over 23,000 boxes of objects, the challenges along the way, the volunteering programme and plans for the future. Price: HiFARS members £5, visitors £6, students £3 - pay on the door, everyone welcome, refreshments available.
Higham Ferrers 2024 Events
Friday 9 August Shannondore Music night in Chichele College.
Friday 30 August - Sunday 1 September Share Photography Exhibition in Chichele College.
Saturday 31 August Town-wide Garage Sale.
Saturday 7 September 11.00am-4.00pm Horticulture Show in Chichele College.
Sunday 22 September Heritage Family Fun Day at Rushden Lakes.
Saturday 23 November Sparkle.
Saturday 21 December 9.00am-12 noon Christmas Celebration Coffee Morning in the Bede House
Go to the Higham Ferrers Tourism website, Facebook and highamferrers-tc.gov.uk for for more information about these events. Farmers' markets on the last Saturday morning of the month on the Market Square.
Delapré Abbey Events and Tours 2024
Wednesday 14 August Tour: Unusual Happenings.
Go to www.delapreabbey.org for more information and ticket details for the tours, Family Fun Days, Friends of Northampton Castle Play Days, and other events. Delapre Abbey is on the outskirts of Northampton, NN4 8AW, car parking is FREE.
Middle Nene Archaeological Group Lectures and Events 2024
Saturday 17 to Saturday 31 August Summer excavation at Nassington for MidNAG members.
Go to www.midnag.org.uk for more information. Lectures are £3 for non-members and are held at Glapthorn Room at Fletton House, Fletton Way, Glapthorn Road, Oundle PE8 4JA.
Abington Park Museum in Northampton 2024
Sunday 18 August and 22 September at 2.00pm Volunteer-led tours of the Museum, £3.50, booking recommended.
Go to www.northamptonmuseums.com for more information abour tours and exhibitions at Abington Park Museum.
Finds Day at Daventry Museum
Friday 23 August 10.30am to 1.30pm.
Friday 18 October 10.30am to 1.30pm.
Northamptonshire Finds Officer Eleanore Cox will be at Daventry Museum, free but you'll need to book a 15 minute time slot by email.
Higham Chichele Society Talks 2024
Friday 30 August Irthlingborough's Waterloo by Roy York.
Friday 27 September The Incas of Peru by Chris Rowe.
Friday 25 October The Home Guard in Northamptonshire by Roger Fowkes.
Friday 29 November Stanwick handbell ringers and seasonal refreshments.
Talks start at 9.30am, doors open at 9.00am, in the Bede House, Higham Ferrers. Members £3, Visitors £4, includes refreshments, new members welcome. Go to www.highamchichelesociety.co.uk for more information. The annual subscription is £5 and due at the May meeting.
Olney Archaeological Society Talks 2024
Tuesday 3 September Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitane by Matthew Lewis.
Tuesday 17 September Cursus Monuments of Buckinghamshire and the Great Ouse Valley by Dr David Saunders.
Tuesday 1 October A Date with the Cerne Abbas Giant with Uffington & Wilmington by Dr Martin Papworth.
Tuesday 15 October The Decline of the Great Estates by Dr Paul Stamper.
All lectures are at the Olney Centre, Olney in Buckinghamshire, 10.00am-12.00 noon. Note that some lectures are remote and will be shown on screen. Price £4 for visitors, go to www.mkheritage.org.uk/oas/ for more information and membership.
Heritage Open Days 2024
Friday 6 - Sunday 15 September
Go to www.heritageopendays.org.uk for more information.
Northamptonshire Film Archive Trust 2024
Thursday 12 September at 2.00pm at Chester House Estate, Railways. Tickets £6, includes tea/coffee, go to www.chesterhouseestate.org for information and booking.
Thursday 14 November at 2.00pm at Chester House, Rivers and Parks. Tickets £6, includes tea/coffee, go to www.chesterhouseestate.org for information and booking.
Films are shown at events around the county, go to www.northamptonshirefilmarchivetrust.co.uk for more information.
Oundle Historical Society Talks 2024
Friday 13 September Black Lives at Boughton in the 18th Century by Crispin Powell
Friday 11 October Oundle Charities by Sheila Harris
Friday 8 November Discovering Richard III by Max Shurer
Friday 10 January 2025 Mastering Laxton's Free Grammar School Part 3 1922-2015 by Colin Pendrill
Friday 14 February 2025 Royalist Estates during the English Civil Wars by Charlotte Young
Talks held in Oundle Methodist Church, Drummingwell Lane, Oundle starting at 7.30pm. Visitors £2. Go to www.oundlehistoricalsociety.org.uk for more information.
Rushden & District History Society Talks 2024
Friday 20 September Richard III of England by Dave Andrews.
Friday 18 October Forging Ahead: The Secrets of Operation Bernhard by Steve Dimmer.
Friday 15 November Kimbolton Castle through the ages by Nora Butler.
Friday 20 Decmeber Bletchley Park: Home of the Codebreakers by Nick Crooke.
Talks start at 7.30pm at Whitefriars School, Boughton Drive, Rushden. Visitors welcome, £2.50 on the door. Go to www.rdhs.org.uk for more information.
Naseby Battlefield Interactive Tours
Saturday 28 September and 7 December.
Walk in the footsteps of those who took part in the Battle of Naseby in 1645. Tours last 4 hours and prices start at £25, booking essential. Go to www.naseby.com for more information.
Finedon Local Historical Society Talks 2024
Monday 28 September Lady Wantage of Overstone by Isabela Robinson.
Monday 28 October Fifty Mysterious Postcards by Kathryn Baird.
Monday 25 November AGM and Northants Past in Winter by Jon-Paul Carr.
Talks are at 7.30pm in the Mission Room, Well Street, Finedon, NN9 5JP. FLHS members £2.50, visitors £3.50. Go to www.tingdenetofinedon.co.uk for more information.
Peterborough Museum
Runs until Saturday 28 September Exhibition: Introducing Must Farm, a Bronze Age Settlement
Go to www.peterboroughmuseum.org for more information.
Udig: Stanwick Hall 2024
Opportunity to take part in a research training excavation within the grounds of Stanwick Hall, in Northamptonshire.
Runs all Summer until 30 September 2024. Go to http://udig.site for more information and booking. HiFARS members can take advantage of a discount, email hifars@gmx.co.uk
Kimbolton Castle: Public Open Day 2024
Sunday 6 October 1.00pm-4.00pm. Go to www.kimbolton.cambs.sch.uk for more information and tickets (adults £10).
ISE-Dig Talks 2024
Wednesday 9 October at 7.30pm The Rutland Villa Project by Peter Liddle, archaeologist.
Talks held in St Andrew's Church Rooms, Crown Street, Kettering, NN16 8QA. ISE members £5, visitors £6, all welcome. Go to www.ise-dig.co.uk for more information.
Northamptonshire Record Society Lectures
Saturday 12 October Autumn lecture: Archbishop Thomas Becket and his association with Northampton by Dr Callum Jamieson.
Go to www.northamptonshirerecordsociety.org.uk for more information.
Northamptonshire Heritage Forum
Saturday 19 October History Day Desborough: A Surprisingly Rich History (Closing date Monday 7 October).
Sunday 27 April 2025, 10.00am-4.00pm Heritage Fair Northamptonshire North at Chester House Estate
Go to www.northamptonshireheritageforum.co.uk for more information about events and membership.
Oundle Museum 2024
Museum opens for Summer until October, Saturdays and Sundays only, 10.00am-4.00pm.
Oundle Museum is in Mill Road, Oundle PE8 4BW. Go to www.oundlemuseum.org.uk for more information.
Northamptonshire Industrial Archaeology Group Talks 2024
Next date tbc
Talks are held in Garden Room at St Matthews Church Hall, off Kettering Road, Northampton. FREE to NIAG members, visitors welcome £3. Go to www.niag.org.uk for more information.
Sharnbrook Local History Group Talks 2024
Next date tbc
Talks held at 2.00pm in the Methodist Church, Sharnbrook but go to www.slhg.org.uk for more information.
Irchester Parish Historical Society Talks 2024
Next date tbc
Talks held in Irchester Community Library, contact: Jon-Paul Carr.
Friends of Kettering Art Gallery & Museum
Next date tbc Town Walk, £5 per person.
Kettering Museum and Gallery remain closed, go to the Friends Facebook page or www.friendskagam.org for information about their events, or visit ARTworks Creative Space in the Newlands Centre Kettering.
Rockingham Castle
Near Corby, LE16 8TH. Go to www.rockinghamcastle.com for more information and events.
Sywell Aviation Museum and Sywell Aerodrome 2024
Talks (new dates tbc) are £5 and are held in the Cirrus Room at the Aviator Hotel, go to www.sywellaviationmuseum.org.uk for more information.
Stanwick Lakes, Tea & Talks 2024
Dates tbc
Go to www.stanwicklakes.org.uk for information and to book a place. Prices £8 - £18.50 dependent on refreshment option.
Northamptonshire Battlefield Society 2024
Next date tbc
Delapre Abbey, on the outskirts of Northampton, NN4 8AW, car parking is FREE. Go to www.delapreabbey.org for more information.
Northampton Museum & Art Gallery Talks 2024
Next date tbc
Thursday morning talks start at 10.30am, price £3, go to www.northamptonmuseums.com for more information and tickets, booking essential.
CBA Talks & Lectures 2024
Next date tbc
Go to www.archaeologyuk.org for booking and more information. See also the courses, surveys, careers and jobs on offer.
