RICHARD III SOCIETY
GLOUCESTER & BRISTOL BRANCH
Branch Programme 2026
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR UPCOMING EVENTS
SATURDAY 7th FEBRUARY 2026
Mortimers Cross Battlefield Project
[ZOOM PRESENTATION - start at 14:15 for 14:30] tickets now on sale for £6.00pp
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-mortimers-cross-battlefield-project-tickets-1980371317922
The Battle of Mortimers Cross is one of the lesser-known battles of the Wars of the Roses and its location has never been truly identified. In 2015, Historic England contacted the Battlefields Trust suggesting that the Trust sponsor a project to try and identify the site of the battle and to improve its interpretation. Martin Hackett and Ian Maddox from the Battlefields Trust discuss the project.
talk by Martin Hackett & Ian Maddox of the Mortimers Cross Battlefield Project
SATURDAY 7th MARCH 2026
Ham Green Pottery and Dundry Stone: North Somerset Medieval Maritime Trade 1150-1250
A fascinating fusion of archaeology and history provides a holistic approach into understanding aspects of the medieval mind, belief, business, trade, politics, war and cultural shift in the Bristol Channel region around 1200 A.D
talk by Philip Ashford
SATURDAY 4th APRIL 2026
Battle of Tewkesbury Revisted
talk by Steve Goodchild, Tewkesbury Battlefield Society
WEDNESDAY 15th APRIL 2026
FIELD VISIT to Gloucester Records Archive
POSTPONED to 7th JULY
£5.00 per person
A guided visit to the records archive in Gloucester. Places are strictly limited, please contact the Treasurer to reserve your space, payment by cash, cheque or BACS bank transfer. Parking is also limited on site so we ask that attendees arrive by public transport or car pooling arrangement.
Specific timing will be published in the new year.
SATURDAY 2 MAY 2026 (7.30pm)
THE BEAUFORT FAMILY AND THE WARS OF THE ROSES
£5.00 per person
https://events.liveit.io/john-moore-museum/the-battle-of-tewkesbury-a-reassessment/
Old Baptist Chapel, Old Baptist Chapel Court, Off Church Street, Tewkesbury GL20 5RZ
An evening talk by Dr Michael Jones, hosted by the Tewkesbury Battlefield Society.
Details about the content of the talk and details of how to find the venue on the page linked above.
WEDNESDAY 20th MAY 2026
FIELD VISIT to Chepstow Castle, Walls & Alleyways
Meet at 10.30am in main town carpark Chepstow NGR ST 53257 93970 (far end of the carpark from the entrance). Guide fee of £30.00 will be split between attendees.
A guided walk around the stunning medieval highlights of Chepstow. A visit to the castle will be included. Entry is £10.40pp or £9.30 for seniors, and free to CADW members and some associated organisations (some limitations such as length of membership may apply): English Heritage, Historic Scotland, Manx Heritage, and the Civil Service Sports Club membership. Lunch will be taken independently by agreement midday, with the day expected to last until 3.00-4.00pm.
Please contact cynthiaspencer17@gmail.com to 'book' your place. Numbers are not limited, but if we don't know you are coming we won't know to wait for you at the meeting place.
SATURDAY 13 JUNE 2026
JOINT STUDY DAY WITH SOMERSET BRANCH: Disappearing Kings : Death or Deposition?
Manvers Street Baptist Church, Manvers Street, Bath BA1 1JW
click to navigate to the Disappearing Kings page: joint-study-day-13-june-2026
tickets (£20pp) now on sale via Eventbrite:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1600474435119?aff=oddtdtcreator
or by cheque/BACS/cash via our branch Treasurer: dick.manns3105@gmail.com
Carelessness or misfortune? Kingly depositions in the Late Middle Ages
Professor Nigel Saul
A King's Lament, the Strange Afterlife of Edward of Caernarvon
Stephen David
Of the Manner of Richard’s Death I Know Nothing
Matt Lewis
The Princes in the Tower: How History's Greatest Cold Case Was Solved
Philippa Langley
Tuesday 7th JULY 2026
FIELD VISIT to Gloucester Records Archive
https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/archives/
This has been CANCELLED due to low uptake
£5.00 per person starting at 11.00am
A 90 minute guided visit to the records archive in Gloucester. Places are strictly limited, please contact cynthiaspencer17@gmail.com to reserve your space, and arrange payment by cash, cheque or BACS bank transfer. Parking is also limited on site so we ask that attendees arrive by public transport or car pooling arrangement. Branch members are offered priority booking, and any space available will be made available (a waiting list will be kept) to non branch members after 15th May.
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY mid JULY 2026
Tewkesbury Medieval Festival TBC
The Society will be organising the stand at this superb annual event hosted by the Tewkesbury Battlefield Society.
SATURDAY 1st AUGUST 2026
The Eyewitness Reporter – Domenico Mancini
[ZOOM PRESENTATION- start at 14:15 for 14:30] tickets now on sale
Annette Carson examines Mancini’s unique eyewitness account of the unfolding of history as viewed by a foreign onlooker. Mancini was certainly at pains to cast a pall over the Yorkist regime in England, but he also made a detailed record of seismic events as they developed in 1483, and wrote them up within a few months. Annette has not only removed the bias of the old 1936 translation, but discusses new insights revealed by her own original research.
Annette Carson has had a lifelong interest in Richard III. Among her other publications are six Ricardian books, the first being Richard III: The Maligned King (2008, expanded edition in 2023). She preserves her independence as a researcher, writer and lecturer, concentrating on topics and angles previously unexplored. She is a Fellow of the Richard III Society, and was a member of the team led by Philippa Langley that found the king’s grave in 2012.
Illustrated talk by Annette Carson
SATURDAY 5th SEPTEMBER 2026
Medieval Sanctuary
A talk by Fr Charles Whitney
SATURDAY 3rd OCTOBER 2026
The Siege of London
A talk by Richard Goddard, Chair of the Tewkesbury Battlefield Society
WEDNESDAY 14 OCTOBER 2026
BRANCH AGM
[ZOOM - start at 19:15 for 19:30]
Topic: R3 G&B AGM 14 October 2026
Time: Oct 14, 2026 07:15 PM London
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89809773582?pwd=3FIMVop5ZJbwLAb77MVVBeq0FQ2HAd.1
Meeting ID: 898 0977 3582
Passcode: 863413
There is no talk planned at this short meeting but branch member participation is essential for quoracy to approve any changes to branch arrangements.
SATURDAY 7th NOVEMBER 2026
Good Men and True or a World of Misplaced Men
Who were the participants in the Simnel and Warbeck Rebellions and what does it tell us?
Illustrated talk by Steve David
SATURDAY 5th DECEMBER 2026
Tapestries of Court & City
[ZOOM PRESENTATION - start at 14:15 for 14:30] tickets on sale from October 2026
Examining the growth in complexity of crafts and craftwork in Medieval Europe, through analysis and reflection on crafts people, the structures of associations such as guilds, and craftwork itself.
illustrated talk by Professor Katherine Wilson, University of Chester
PLEASE NOTE : ALL LIVE MEETINGS, UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED, WILL BE HELD AT THE EMMANUEL HALL, FAIRFIELD PARADE, LECKHAMPTON, GL53 7PJ
Meetings (Zoom and live) commence at 2:30 pm with the exception of field visits which are by arrangement. Any change to this time will be highlighted.
For meetings where there is an outside speaker a charge of £6 will be made to offset costs [£7.50 for non-Branch members]. When there is no visiting speaker fee there will be a general charge of £1 per person, again, to offset cost.
Zoom charges are £6.00pp for members and guests alike. Links to Zoom presentation ticket sales will be posted here on the programme as they become available. They can also be booked offline via our branch Treasurer.
programme page updated 02 July 2026