We host five Heritage Winter Talks each year. These are free to the public and are hugely popular. Each talk focuses on an aspect of local heritage or history.
7pm Doors open / 7.30pm Talks start / 9pm Finish
Free Admission: no pre-booking required
Further Information: Tim Howson, Principal Conservation and Heritage Officer
Venues: Vary according to talk – see below
3rd November 2026: Helen Kemp
Talk: 'Treasures of Thomas Plume’s Library
Venue: Friends Meeting House, Butt Lane, Maldon, CM9 5HD
Thomas Plume’s Library was founded in 1704 under the terms of the will of Dr Thomas Plume, Vicar of Greenwich and Archdeacon of Rochester, who had been born in Maldon in 1630. He bequeathed to his native town his collection of c.8,100 books and pamphlets, to be kept in the building which he had constructed from the ruins of the old St Peter’s Church in the centre of the town, on the corner of Market Hill and the High Street. In this talk the present Library Keeper, Dr Helen Kemp, will discuss some of the significant items in the Plume Library collections. It will consider why Thomas Plume might have wanted to include them, and how they can be used by us today for historical study.
8th December 2026: David Thorpe
Talk: The restoration of Bradwell’s forge
Venue: Bradwell-on-Sea Village Hall, South Street, Bradwell on Sea CM0 7QJ
This talk will describe and illustrate the award-winning renovation of a grade II listed timber-framed village smithy.
12th January 2027: Tim Howson
Talk: Hearth and home: historic fireplaces in the Maldon District
Venue: Friends Meeting House, Butt Lane, Maldon, CM9 5HD
From primitive medieval open hearths through to cosy Tudor inglenooks and elegant Georgian classical chimneypieces, Tim will explain how the design of fireplaces changed over time.
2nd February 2027: Tim Howson
Talk: Steps through time: a history of staircases in the Maldon District
Venue: Friends Meeting House, Butt Lane, Maldon, CM9 5HD
This talk will explore the evolution of the staircase with reference to the finest historic examples in the Maldon District.
2nd March 2027: Stephen Nunn
Talk: AERODROME ANECDOTES - Chapters from Stow Maries’ Past
Venue: Friends Meeting House, Butt Lane, Maldon, CM9 5HD
Stow Maries Great War Aerodrome has a fascinating, chequered history – from its opening in 1916 right through to present day. There are so many chapters in its story. Stephen Nunn tells us about some of them – ‘Anecdotes from the Aerodrome’. We follow the long preservation journey, learn about some of the people, incidents from both World Wars, discuss objects and reflect through Remembrance of the Fallen.