History Groups
There are three U3A groups on this page:
Information on the History Group
This group studies any topics of historical interest both local and general. We normally meet in the afternoon on the third Tuesday of each month at LFMH. During 2010 we enjoyed talks by our members on subjects as diverse as 'Sir Joseph Paxton, Victorian Genius', 'The ships called HMS Lancaster', Time and Navigation, Medieval Misericords, Aspects of Childhood and Old Maps of Lancashire. We had a tour of the Judges Lodgings and City Museum. On our members' afternoon over 20 people joined in by bringing along and talking about an item of historic interest - an idea we plan to repeat this year. In September we had a memorable day out in Manchester with a guided coach tour of the city and a visit to the People's History Museum.
Our programme for 2011 will include 'The history of indoor games', a visit to St John the Evangelist Church, Lancaster, 'The history of Royal Lancaster Infirmary and the Prince Albert Hospital' and a guided tour of Hoghton Tower.
The group is open to all members of L&M U3A and details of the programme can be found in the monthly diary and newsletter.
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Information on the Family History Group
Those who attend our lively group include members new to researching their family history, those who are very experienced – and others at every stage between.
A wide range of family history topics are covered and, although there is some formal input at many meetings, members are encouraged to bring information and examples from their own ancestry and research. This highly participative approach has proved very successful and we have all learned a great deal from each other. Examples of topics over the past year or so include:
- A focus on specific occupations, for example, miners and mining disasters, publicans and the brewery trade and the police force
- Sessions which took a detailed look at the key sources of family history information including the Census, church records and wills – with an additional session on how to find information about births, marriages and deaths at sea
- Practical assistance, for example, exploring useful web sites, managing your own family history information and writing up your story, tackling problems when you “hit a brick wall” in your research
- Open sessions when members have brought and told the story behind an artefact, photograph or newspaper item relating to one of their ancestors.
For those who need help in actually getting started with their own family history, assistance is available from experienced members outside the meeting on a one to one basis. However, from time to time, and if there is sufficient interest, a one off session is provided to help new members begin their research.
The Family History group is always open to new members and meets on the second Tuesday afternoon of each month at Lancaster’s Friends Meeting House.
John Harman
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Local Studies Research Group
This group, newly formed in November 2010, has grown out of the History and Family History groups. Some members have started to work with the Maritime Museum on topics which will enhance the information held by the museum. We are also developing links with other museums in the city. Other members are pursuing research linked to their own interests in the locality. We aim to support and encourage each other by learning about research methods and sharing ideas. We hope that our work will be of value and will report on what we have been doing through the newsletter in due course. We will be meeting on an occasional basis so see the diary for details.
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