
Thank you!
We unfortunately had to cancel our talk to be held Wednesday 20th November, due to illness. We will reschedule the talk for sometime next year.
This concludes our programme of events for this year. However, we have almost finalised our events list for next year, to be published soon.
However the Christmas Craft Fair was a great success, with a constant stream of people, having a browse, a burger and a cuppa. We also had a few visitors upstairs in the Wireless museum. If you came, thank you for coming and supporting us. All proceeds help us to keep the WHC running.
Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and look forward to seeing you in the New Year!

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Latest Newsletter (July 2024)
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Hallo everyone. I have realised to my horror that I haven't sent you a newsletter since March! I can only plead, as we all do, life and it's complications. However, I'm sure you have noticed how busy we have been;- a tremendous variety of talks, to say nothing of the museum, the radios, the exhibitions and of course our archive.
We have also welcomed Waveney Volunteers for Nature to the Old School. They have kindly taken on the care of our grounds, maintaining them for the benefit of wildlife, as they do the two Brockdish commons and much else besides. The Parish Council, which meets in our building, is also promoting a greener approach to our gardens so we are very proud of all our efforts to promote more care of our lovely environment.
We also of course had a joint open day with the wildlife group on 29th June. We combined it with a garage sale, a BBQ, lots of tea and cake, the radio museum and our own exhibition;- Wow!
Since then we very much enjoyed a further Wednesday evening talk by Joe Edward-Gill. His hobby is metal detecting and he treated us to a fascinating talk, covering the history of East Anglia and its many changes of tomography, population and environment all accompanied by an extensive collection of his finds, news about metal detectors themselves and the ethics of how detectorists go about their hobby.
We had intended to have a further OPEN DAY on 28th July but have now decided not to proceed with that. It is very close to our successful June one and of course many of us and our potential visitors are on holiday, busy with family and (hopefully) lots of trips out in lovely summer weather. However, both museums will still be open on 28th and twice a month thereafter and you are welcome to browse. Some of us will be there to greet you and answer any questions you may have.
Our talks will resume on September, 4th with Gordon Lascelles treating us to a further walk around Harleston. Gordon is a great guide and he has developed a new walk entitled “Horrible Harleston!”. There is very little that Gordon doesn't know about Harleston and he is a great speaker, as we discovered on our last visit to the town.
Do have a look at our website (waveneyheritage.com) for a list of all our Autumn talks;- fun and informative as always.
Have a great summer and we'll see you soon!
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Newsletter (june 2024)
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Well, here we are again at the beginning of another year of events at Waveney Heritage. Our initial Wednesday evening talk by Robin Twigge, our chairman, went with a swing, as always, closely followed on Easter Monday by our first Open Day of the season. Both museums were open, there was a beautiful display of photographs of Billingford Mill taken by the late Barry Freeman and the Waveney River Trust and Round Tower Churches Trust were on hand to provide information about their organisations.
As always the BBQ, run by Graham and Corinne Moore was greatly appreciated, as was the cafe providing drinks and a lovely selection of cakes. Our grounds are now being looked after by Waveney Volunteers for Nature who also ensure that the two Brockdish Commons are managed with the primary interests of wildlife and nature in mind. We are very happy to be associated with these organisations, welcoming them into our home, working together to conserve what we have and aiming towards a greater understanding of the importance of looking after our environment, to say nothing of those who live and work in it!
Do please have a look at our website to see what further delights we have in store for you this year, starting with our talk by Gordon Lascelles on the evening of Wednesday 17th. He'll be speaking about Burgh Castle, the Roman fort overlooking the Waveney down on the coast. It was part of the defences protecting what was then a large estuary, now the Broads, from invasion. Did you know it existed? I didn't! Do come to hear all about it - no need to book - drinks and cakes as always!
Mary Thompson
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Newsletter (March 2024)
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Well, hallo again! I'm writing this in my office, looking out at daffodils, tree blossom and all the signs of the world awakening;- Thank goodness!
This is just a reminder that we have our first talk this coming Wednesday, 20th March at 7.30pm. Our chairman Robin Twigge will be entertaining us with the second instalment of “The life and Adventures of Robin Twigge”. Those of you who remember the first episode will remember how entertaining it was and how varied his life has been;- certainly not a stay-at-home boy!
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There will be tea, coffee and cakes on hand as always and we look forward to welcoming you all again.
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May I also remind you of our Open Day which follows swiftly on Easter Monday 1st April from 10.00am to 3.00pm. Graham will be in charge of the BBQ as always, drinks and cakes will be on hand and the museum and radio room will be open.
We have been donated a beautiful collection of photographs of Billingford Windmill which will be displayed in the downstairs museum. They were printed by the photographer himself, demonstrating his talent and, once again, the wealth of talent tucked into what some would assume was a sleepy neighbourhood!
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The census returns for Brockdish covering the last hundred plus years will be on hand so that you can see who lived in Brockdish, what they did for a living, how many children they had and whether they had servants, underlining how much our lives have changed.
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You will notice when you visit us in daylight that our grounds are now looking much more cared for. This is thanks to Waveney Volunteers for Wildlife who, in addition to looking after both commons in Brockdish, undertake much unpaid conservation work around the whole area. Not long ago both our commons were so overgrown that they were practically inaccessible to us and of no real use to wildlife such as turtle doves and nightingales which were common around here but are now either absent or rare. We are delighted to be associated with them.
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We're hoping for lots of sunshine so you can enjoy the common and our grounds as well as our exhibitions, but come what may it will be a great day!
Very best wishes
Mary Thompson and all the Trustees
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