‘And down goes all before them’

 Gunpowder weapons from the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries
Saturday 24 November 2018

The Battlefields Trust in partnership with the Royal Gunpowder Mills at Waltham Abbey present a one-day seminar from 9.30 a.m.–5.30 p.m., on gunpowder weapons from the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries, entitled ‘And down goes all before them’, a quotation from Shakespeare’s Henry V. The venue will be the Royal Gunpowder Mills, Beaulieu Drive, Waltham Abbey, Essex, EN9 1JY.

The day will include lectures, demonstrations of gunpowder weapons by re-enactors and tours of the Royal Gunpowder Mills. Speakers include Nick Hall, Curator Emeritus at the Royal Armouries, Richard Knox, Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre, and Simon Marsh, Battlefields Trust, with demonstrations from Rumford Artillery Group (part of Lord Fauconberg’s Household) of the War of the Roses Federation and Rawdon’s Regiment of the English Civil War Society. Cost for the day is £35.00 for Battlefields Trust members (£40.00 non-members) and includes lunch and refreshments.

To view the full programme and download a booking form click here. Send the completed form along with your payment to Chris May.

For further information email Harvey Watson or telephone 01494 257847.

Hertfordshire Red Books at the Garden History Museum

A major exhibition to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the death of Humphrey Repton has opened at the Garden History Museum in Lambeth. Twenty-four original Red Books,  including those for Panshanger House and Tewin Water House (from HALS), are on display.  The Red Books were a marketing tool used by Repton to show his landscape designs to clients. To mark this anniversary, we are offering a discount on our Repton publications during November.

Hertfordshire Archives & Local Studies at HCC Volunteering Awards

On 25 October, Hertfordshire County Council held its volunteering awards celebrating the contributions of all Hertfordshire’s volunteers. HALS volunteers were recognized in three categories:

Best Young Volunteer went to Daniel Cole, for helping digitize our collections. Sheila White, who has supported the archives for over 13 years, was awarded a Lifetime Achievement award. Buffy Ord was nominated for the Outstanding Star award for the work she has contributed over the years. You can find out about volunteering opportunities on our webpages.

#Explore Your Archive

HALS and Hertfordshire Libraries are supporting the Archive and Records Association’s nationwide campaign to raise awareness of archives. Throughout November, you will find events and exhibitions across the county, showcasing the breadth of our collections.  Find #EYA events near you on our website.

Readers Tickets: New Scheme Coming Soon

Please note that County Archive Research Network (CARN) scheme will end on 30 November this year.  HALS will however continue to accept valid CARN tickets as proof of identity until they expire.  From 01 December, we will be introducing our own scheme.   We Check our webpages for information on this by the end of November.

Events & Exhibitions

Fearless Women: On 24 November at 7pm, we will be holding the first in our series on bold women in Hertfordshire’s History.  This event focuses on St Albans-born Duchess of Marlborough, and is combined with an advance screening of the film The Favourite at WGC Cinema.

Watch the trailer here and order your tickets via the cinema website. Next time you visit HALS, do take a look at our new foyer display, Peace in Hertfordshire: How the County Celebrated the end of the Great War. Visit our webpages to find details of all our events.

The Trust is proposing a return visit to the de Havilland’s Aircraft Museum at London Colney, Hertfordshire, on Sunday 10 March 2019, following our successful visit in 2017. The visit will only take place if we have sufficient numbers, and the cut-off date for those who need to show an interest is Saturday 1 December 2018. At this point we still have a few places available.

Tickets are £17.00 and the money will be collected nearer the time. Therefore if you wish to go please contact Clive Hammersley before 1 December to book your place. Further information on the museum can be found here.

Berkhamsted Civic Centre on Fri 9 Nov 12:00 to 16:00 and Sat 10 Nov 10:00 to 16:00…

From Roman City to New Towns: Hertfordshire’s development

This year’s Hertfordshire Association for Local History Symposium is on Sat 10 Nov at Lemsford Village Hall AL8 7TT.

The day is the highlight of the local history calendar in Hertfordshire, and is a great opportunity to hear local history experts, talk to fellow enthusiasts, and buy the latest publications. Coffee and tea are provided.

‘Verulamium: Hertfordshire’s first Garden City?’
‘Saxon Burghs and medieval market towns’
‘No taxation without representation: the Chartist Land Colony’
‘Hertford in the eighteenth century’
‘St Albans in the eighteenth century’
‘Hitchin in the nineteenth century’
‘Lemsford in the nineteenth century’
‘Writers and thinkers on the Garden City Idea: Ebenezer Howard and George Bernard Shaw’
‘Letchworth – England’s only new industrial town?’
‘Stevenage: The first post-war New Town’

For full programme and booking details – check here

“Whatever their life stage or motivation for learning, members of the Berkhamsted Local History and Museum Society will benefit from our Undergraduate Certificate”…

Apply by 3 Sep 2018 for part-time Local History course for 2018 – 2019!
University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education (ICE)

The Certificate in Local History: Evaluating the Past through British Local History begins with an introduction to local history, in order to provide you with some of the key skills and concepts used by local historians, and continues with units on communities in early modern England and religion during the First World War. Eleven Sunday day schools and two Sunday field trips from October 2018 to June 2019. More details here

BLH&MS summer trip to Althorp House, 2 Aug 2018…
This house is to the north of Northampton and is the home of the Spencer family. Princess Diana is buried there. The house (with its picture collection) and gardens are superb. A stop at Charles Rennie Mackintosh House in Northampton will be included on the way, with an opportunity for lunch there.

We run our trips in conjunction with the Berkhamsted Probus Club. We try to organise these trips where a midday meal is available for those that require it. The cost is usually between £20 and £30 per person. Please contact Bill Willett on 01442 863760 or email

Check out details of Chiltern Open Air Museum’s packed programme here.

Archaeological dig, Terrific Tuesdays and Creative Thursdays, Ragged Victorians, Rural Life, English Civil War, Iron Age Life, Outdoor Cinema, Medieval Warbow, World War I, Wild About Wool, Harvest Festival, Awesome October, all rounded off with a Halloween Spectacular!