Previous Events
Tuesday 19th March 2024: AGM followed by a Guess-the-Mystery-Object
The EHS Annual General Meeting, where the President and Treasurer reported on activity in 2023. This was followed by a general game of Guess-the-Mystery-Object, as brought in by members. Thank you to everyone who took part!
Tuesday 20th February 2024: The History of Cutterne Mill by Chris Norman
Chris Norman talked about Cutterne Mill, its past, how it worked, and its current situation.
Tuesday 16th January, 2024: Ever and Ever - Evercreech Through the Ages by Jenny Newton
Last year Jenny looked at what metal detectorists have found out about the history around Evercreech, and this year she explored what archaeologists have discovered over the years.
The Historic Environment Record for Somerset is a fabulous resource for finding out all about historical sites in and around Evercreech - click on the link to search for our village, or a specific historic site.
December - no meeting.
Tuesday November 17th 2023: Poppies for the Evercreech Men by Gill Lindsey
In September Gill and David Lindsey visited the last of the men buried in Flanders who are on the Evercreech War Memorial and Gill talked about these Evercreech men, and where they are laid to rest.
Tuesday October 17th 2023: EHS visit to the Roman Villa at The Newt in Somerset (no evening meeting)
Tuesday September 19th 2023: Thankful Villages by Stephen Osman
The Great War was a time of devastating loss for most communities and many families, but there were a few villages that miraculously suffered no losses at all - the men and women who went to fight somehow all returned safely. These communities are known as the Thankful Villages. Following extensive research carried out by Evercreech History Society, Lamyatt has now been added to the list. Stephen Osman told the story of these places, and looked at the ten Thankful Villages in Somerset, with some interesting stories.
May - August 2023: Summer hiatus
Tuesday 16th May 2023: A Few Snippets from Lamyatt, 1875 to 1925…. and Do Fish Feel Pain Anyway? by Jen Richards
An intriguing talk about the village of Lamyatt!
Tuesday 18th April 2023: Not All Beer and Skittles by Martin Horler
During research into lost pubs around the Radstock area, Martin discovered the huge variety of activities that took place in the local inns, and this inspired him to explore things further. This talk was the outcome of that research.
Tuesday 21st March 2023: AGM and The Evercreech Parish Portrait
Annual General meeting, followed by a showing of the Platinum Project Contributions. Individuals and Clubs provided photographs and information which was put together and delivered to the South West Heritage Centre in Taunton. Evercreech was in the top five entries in Somerset.
Tuesday 21st February 2023: Wassailing by Alan Stone
Alan Stone is a local historian and cider maker, who talked about the legend of wassailing, especially in Somerset, and the making of cider, which is of course quite important around these parts!
Tuesday 17th January, 2023: Detecting Evercreech by Jenny Newton
Jenny Newton spoke about the history that's buried beneath our feet in and around Evercreech, and how clues to it are increasingly being discovered by metal detectorists. Detecting finds stretch from the Jurassic period, through the Bronze Age, the Celts, the Romans, Anglo-Saxons and Medieval times, all the way to the present, and those finds represent the lives of individual Evercreechers, still here all around us, and show how they were always connected to, and part of, the rest of the world.
The Portable Antiquities Scheme database has information about some of the artefacts from around the village - click here to visit the PAS website, select "Database" from the menu along the top of the page, and then search for "Evercreech" to see what has been found.
December 2022 - no meeting.
Tuesday 15th November, 2022: Green Men - What are They?
Richard Raynsford spoke about 'Green Men', dismissing the usual explanation about them being pagan and will contain illustrations from religious buildings where they were probably a warning against sin. He mainly concentrated on examples in English churches but also showed a few examples from abroad. The Green Man should not be confused with the person dressed up in foliage who appears in festivals celebrating Midsummer day, who is derived from a benign figure that was thought to inhabit woods.
Tuesday, 18th October, 2022: Somerset Industrial Archaeology Society (SIAS) - What is Industrial Archaeology?
Peter Daniel spoke about industrial archaeology, the remains of past industries in Somerset, from Roman times until now, and the role of the SIAS (Society of Industrial Archaeology), and their work in recording and educating with some focus on our area.
Tuesday, 20th September - Cockhill Farm visit.
Visit to the medieval paintings at Cockhill Farm, near Castle Cary.
Tuesday, 17th May 2022 - Benefits, Brass and the Girtest Grandest Day
Philip Hoyland enlightened us on the history of Friendly Societies, their organisation and function, their role in village life and the significance of their brass pole-head emblems. The custom of carrying brass emblems on “Walking Day” was virtually confined to Somerset, and he brought a selection from his collection of brasses. We also showed our very own Evercreech brass pole head, which EHS recently obtained.
Tuesday, 19th April 2022 - Kate Lynch on her book, A Small Somerset Farm
Artist Kate Lynch spent two years with Somerset farming families. Her drawings and paintings include working scenes and cider making, and her book also records memories she collected. She uses pastel and local grown willow charcoal (Kate Lynch website).
Tuesday, 15th March 2022 - Member’s Mystery Objects and AGM
A brief AGM reported on the 2020 and 2021 activities, and then was the turn of our members! People were asked to bring curious historical objects for our delight and intrigue, and then to guess what they all were. A good time was had by all and it was generally voted that we should do this again one day! The prize for the most correct guesses was the admiration of all the other members!
Tuesday, 15th February 2022 - Annie Naish and her Historic Photographs
Chris King told the story of Annie Naish from West Pennard, and the images she took of the surrounding countryside and its people - including Evercreech.
Tuesday, 18th January 2022 - Interesting Local Roads
Richard Raynsford, a member of the Milestone Society, has a great interest in local history and roads. He spoke about the change from muddy tracks to present day roads, and illustrated this with old postcards of Somerset, including Evercreech.
Tuesday, 16th November 2021 – Evercreech Archives
The History Society has a considerable number of documents relating to the village. This meeting offered the opportunity of viewing many of these fascinating records and hearing about the new catalogue which puts Evercreech on the National Archives website.
Tuesday, 19th October 2021 – The Railway at Evercreech
Andrew Tucker, a local railway enthusiast, spoke about the early history and subsequent developments of the railway at Evercreech up to its closure in 1966. He concentrated on the history and development of the Somerset and Dorset Line. Evercreech was very much a railway village with two named stations, Evercreech Junction and Evercreech New, so this is an important and interesting aspect of our local history.
Tuesday, 21st September 2021 – Healthcare in Evercreech from 1759.
Did you know that the parish used to pay for medical necessities like wooden legs, leeches and trusses for hernias!? Our Chairperson, Gill Lindsay, spoke about healthcare and social care in Evercreech, a talk which was - ironically - postponed from March 2020 when we entered pandemic lockdown, and included some of the epidemics that have affected Evercreech.