Next meeting
10 December, St Mary’s Church Hall, 7.30pm.
Christmas Ghosts: Kirsty Hartsiotis will talk about midwinter tales, with particular reference to those of Gloucestershire.
We’ve told supernatural tales at midwinter for a very long time. This talk goes back to the earliest winter tales, comes up through the Victorians’ revisiting of the tradition, and so to the present day, with a focus on Gloucestershire’s own midwinter stories. You may well come away with a shiver running down your spine and with stories to share around your fireside this Christmas!
Kirsty Hartsiotis is a writer, storyteller, museum curator and speaker based in Stroud. She’s been telling tales for 25 years, and is the author of a number of books of folk tales.
To add to the festive atmosphere, we’ll be serving mulled wine and mince pies during the interval.
Meeting report: Lower Hazel
An illustrated report on our November talk by Aaron Girdlestone about excavations at Lower Hazel, Alveston, is now online:
Meetings 2024-25 season
Meetings are held at St Mary’s Church Hall, Eastbury Road, Thornbury. They begin at 7.30pm and last about 90 minutes, usually with a break for free refreshments (tea/coffee and biscuits).
Forthcoming meetings in the season:
14 January 2025
The Stroudwater Textile Mills
Ian Mackintosh
11 February 2025
The Gloucester and Sharpness Canal
Tony Conder
11 March 2025
Coal Mining in the Bristol Area
Steve Grudgings
8 April 2025
Utilities in Thornbury
Meg Wise
13 May 2025
Cider Making in Gloucestershire
Andy Meller
We now have a new Facebook page. We aim to make it an entertaining and informative addition to our activities with a wide range of content. Visit, enjoy, comment, like, follow and return often!
Committee
Many thanks to all the members who attended our AGM on 12 November. These are the committee members approved by the meeting who will be taking the Society forward:
| Chair: | Gill Cox | |
| Secretary: | Ann Moore | |
| Treasurer: | John Brimacombe | |
| Members: | Viv Burney, Stan Morrissey. |
Your help needed
Because of recent retirements from the committee, we need more members to ensure that the monthly talks run smoothly.
If you would like to help, please tell the committee via our contact form or speak to one of us at the next meeting so we can tell you more about what we do.
We’re a friendly bunch, and more hands make light work!
Annual subscriptions
The membership subscription for the 2024-25 season is £12.00 or you can come as a visitor for a single meeting by paying £3.00 cash at the door.
To join and pay your subscription by bank transfer, contact our treasurer through the online contact form: . Or you can pay in cash at a meeting.
Meeting reports
We have for decades prepared summaries of our talks, which have appeared in the Thornbury Magazine and elsewhere, and which collectively make up an informative and witty record.
Those for the 2020 to 2025 seasons are now online. See the index here:
More than 80 reports of older meetings may be found on our page on myThornbury:
Our own history
We were created just after the Seond World War under the name of the Society of Thornbury Folk. Nearly 80 years and three changes of name later we’re still here. Read about our history:
Links
Follow us on Facebook
See our page on MyThornbury
Some other sites you may find interesting:
Thornbury and District Museum
Thornbury Roots
Keep in touch
If you have any questions regarding the Society or want to become more involved, then please do not hesitate to send us a message through our online contact form: