Tuesday Talks
Tuesday Talks are normally held on the first Tuesday of each month except January and August at Kirkleatham Hall Museum near Redcar.
During the Covid-19 pandemic the talks have moved to a fortnightly schedule and are presented via Zoom meetings.
There is no entry charge to the online Zoom talks, guests are invited to contribute towards the speakers' expenses with voluntary donations via a GoFundMe page.
Talks begin at 2.00pm and last about 45 minutes plus time for Q&A with the speaker. The Zoom 'meeting room' opens at 1.45pm
Photo: Dennis Weller
Spring & Summer 2021
The list of talks is available to download as a PDF
TUESDAY 19th January 2.00pm
John Hewett – The MV Photinia and the church bell from Dunsdale
John Hewett was Second Navigation Officer (Second Mate) on the MV Photinia when she travelled from Tyneside to repair submarine power cables between New Zealand’s two islands. A church bell had to be shipped from Dunsdale to New Zealand and the ship’s owners rose to the challenge.
The meeting room opens at 1.45pm
TUESDAY 2nd February 2.00pm
Phil Philo – The Transit of Venus and finding Paradise
Phil Philo continues his series about the voyages of Capt. James Cook. We now find Cook in the Southern Hemisphere ready to observe the planet Venus as it passes across the face of the sun, a rare opportunity to make significant astronomical observations and calculations.
The meeting room opens at 1.45pm
TUESDAY 16th February 2.00pm
Ron Tempest – Turbulent Tempests. Volatile Vanes and Stormy Stewarts
The Tempests, Vanes and Stewarts were a land-owning and coal-mining dynasty in Durham whose lives were interlinked through business, romance and scandal. Ron Tempest’s talk was one of the highlights of the 2019 series of talks.
The meeting room opens at 1.45pm
TUESDAY 2nd March 2.00pm
Peter Appleton – The Alum Industry in North Yorkshire
A revised and expanded version of Peter Appleton’s popular talk. A comprehensive guide to the alum-making process and the locations of the major working sites along the North Yorkshire coast.
The meeting room opens at 1.45pm
TUESDAY 16th March 2.00pm
Christine Clarke - Tales from Guisborough Priory
The Priory has dominated the Guisborough skyline for 900 years. Christine Clarke tells how the current Lord Gisborough is linked to the De Brus family of the 13th century; how the marriage of Lucy de Thweng impacted on the history of the Priory. Hear about the exploits of the rebel Peter de Brus and the tale of the Priory tunnels.
The meeting room opens at 1.45pm
TUESDAY 30th March 2.00pm
Phil Philo – The Land of the Long White Cloud
Phil Philo continues his talks as we follow Cook’s three year circumnavigation of the world in 1768-1771. After leaving Tahiti, by October 1769 the coast of New Zealand was sighted. Although briefly visited by Abel Tasman in 1642 the land was unknown in Europe. This was the first meeting between British and Maori people.
The meeting room opens at 1.45pm
TUESDAY 13th April 2.00pm
Chris Lloyd – Of Fish and Actors - 100 Years of Darlington Hippodrome
How the Hippodrome - formerly the Civic Theatre - came to be, despite the terribly underhand attempts of the town's ruling Quakers to prevent it.
The meeting room opens at 1.45pm
TUESDAY 27th April 2.00pm
Peter Sotheran – The Writing is on the Wall
The stories behind many of Redcar's street names. Why Majuba and Poona? Where is Dundas Place? What happened at Low Farm?
The meeting room opens at 1.45pm
TUESDAY 4th May 2.00pm
Dave Cox – The RNLI and the Redcar Lifeboat Station
Dave Cocks has held a number of positions with the RNLI at Redcar for over 40 years, ranging from crew member to Lifeboat Operations Manager. He describes the life and training of modern crew members, the lifeboats and how the service has adapted to meet changing demands over the years.
The meeting room opens at 1.45pm
TUESDAY 18th May 2.00pm
Phil Philo – Smook near the beach
Phil Philo continues our travels with Captain James Cook. After mapping the coast of New Zealand, Capt James Cook arrives at Australia in spring 1770 where he observes ‘Smook near the beach’ – a sign of local habitation. How will he be received by the indigenous people?
The meeting room opens at 1.45pm
TUESDAY 1st June 2.00pm
Martin Peagam – The Town of Rampant Sin - Middlesbrough, nicknamed 'The Mighty Hercules' was a town of hard work, hard lives and hard drinking. Martin tells the tales of pubs, drunkenness and crime in Victorian Middlesbrough. Martin is secretary of the Cleveland and Teesside Local History Society and also appears on FaceBook as the Time Traveller.
The meeting room opens at 1.45pm
TUESDAY 15th June 2.00pm
Sue Parker – Cleveland's Innovative Engineers
Sue Parker is Technical Events Officer of the Cleveland Institute of Engineers (CIE) and a Director of the Cleveland Scientific Institute. Drawing from the CIE’s 19th century archives Ms Parker reveals the innovative engineering solutions of the area's leading engineers.
The meeting room opens at 1.45pm
TUESDAY 29th June 2.00pm
Janet Senior – The Remarkable Markenfield Hall & its remarkable families
Markenfield Hall near Ripon is on our doorstep but is unknown to many of us. The seat of the Grantley family, builders of Grantley Hall, the moated manor house dates from the 14th century. Although altered over centuries, it would still be recognised by its original builder. Janet Senior, a volunteer guide at the hall tells us about this remarkable building and its remarkable families.
The meeting room opens at 1.45pm
TUESDAY 13th July 2.00pm
Phil Philo – The Art of Art Cook's First Voyage
Sir Joseph Banks, the official botanist created a prolific collection of fine drawings and water colours of all the new flora they discovered and the people they met. Back in Britain, Cook's voyages inspired many dramatic paintings of key events in his travels.
The meeting room opens at 1.45pm
TUESDAY 27th July 2.00pm
Jeremy Hutchinson – Kiplin Hall
Jeremy Hutchinson draws on his experience as a volunteer guide at Kiplin Hall to tell of the four main families and eight outstanding individuals who feature in its 400 years of history. Kiplin Hall is a Jacobean historic house at Kiplin, by the River Swale in the Vale of Mowbray, Richmond DL10 6AT.
The meeting room opens at 1.45pm
Tuesday Talks
The talks will continue in the present online format via Zoom meetings until the summer break at the end of July.
Talks will resume in September. Please let me know of any speakers you would like to hear in the autumn schedule.
Peter Sotheran MBE JP
Tuesday Talks Organiser
