Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre

Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre WSHC is home to 800 years of history and 8 miles of archives: discover Wiltshire's history!

A conference organised by the British Association For Local History - BALH:The event, “Rebellion and Protest Across Six ...
17/06/2026

A conference organised by the British Association For Local History - BALH:

The event, “Rebellion and Protest Across Six Centuries,” will be held at Digby Hall, Sherborne on 17 October 2026, and is being organised by the British Association for Local History (BALH) in partnership with the Somerset & Dorset Notes & Queries Society. The programme features a range of expert speakers exploring themes of protest, power, and memory across the region’s history.
Tickets are £20 for BALH and SDNQ members and £25 for non-members, which includes lunch and refreshments.

Full details, including the programme and booking information, can be found here:
https://www.balh.org.uk/dorset26

Step into the fascinating world of Wiltshire’s glove-making heritage! In this lively session we’ll journey from past to ...
16/06/2026

Step into the fascinating world of Wiltshire’s glove-making heritage! In this lively session we’ll journey from past to present, uncovering the stories behind this local craft. Get hands-on with archives, dive into historic photographs, and explore treasures from local studies as we bring Wiltshire’s glove-making history to life.

Saturday 4th July 11am-12pm

FREE, please email [email protected] to book a place

It's International Day of Archives! Our The National Lottery Heritage Fund Grounds for Appeal project is indexing First ...
09/06/2026

It's International Day of Archives! Our The National Lottery Heritage Fund Grounds for Appeal project is indexing First World War Tribunal records which have never been fully catalogued before, but also bringing together existing databases of Tribunal records from across the country.

One of those existing databases is for the surviving records from the Gloucestershire Appeal Tribunal, and project manager Hannah has discovered how Tribunal records provide a glimpse into the impact of the war on a Gloucestershire workhouse.

https://wwigroundsforappeal.substack.com/p/a-workhouse-at-war

Eco-Future Fest at the Town Hall & Neeld Community and Arts Centre on Sunday 14th June. A free, one-day community festiv...
09/06/2026

Eco-Future Fest at the Town Hall & Neeld Community and Arts Centre on Sunday 14th June. A free, one-day community festival to celebrate the natural world and all things sustainable to create a positive, hopeful vision of a greener future.

Come along tomorrow Saturday, 6 June at 2pm for this free talk by Dr Louise Ryland-Epton's about the fascinating life an...
05/06/2026

Come along tomorrow Saturday, 6 June at 2pm for this free talk by Dr Louise Ryland-Epton's about the fascinating life and work of Wiltshire-born John Aubrey, pioneering writer, antiquarian and scientist.
Part of Chippenham - Our History year of celebration!

Join us Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre this Saturday, 6 June at 2pm for Dr Louise Ryland-Epton's talk on the fasci...
03/06/2026

Join us Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre this Saturday, 6 June at 2pm for Dr Louise Ryland-Epton's talk on the fascinating life and work of Wiltshire-born John Aubrey, pioneering writer, antiquarian and scientist.
Email [email protected] to reserve your ticket or available on the day.
Tickets £10.

In 2000, Ivor Slocombe published a groundbreaking article in The Local Historian that changed how historians understood ...
27/05/2026

In 2000, Ivor Slocombe published a groundbreaking article in The Local Historian that changed how historians understood conscription in the First World War (you can find the article here: https://www.balh.org.uk/publication-tlh-the-local-historian-volume-30-number-2-may-2000). Focusing on the Military Service Tribunal in Calne, Wiltshire, his research revealed that appealing against conscription was not unusual or exceptional, but a normal part of how many men responded to being called up.

What Ivor uncovered challenged long-held assumptions about conscription in Britain.

Ivor’s work helped transform the historiography of the tribunals and became the benchmark for later studies, including the research of Dr Angus Wallace into the North Riding papers.

Angus spoke to Ivor and his wife Pam about that pioneering research: https://wwigroundsforappeal.substack.com/p/appealing-conscription-revisiting

This is made available as part of the national, collaborative project "Grounds for Appeal: First World War Military Service Appeal Tribunals in Great Britain" thanks to the The National Lottery Heritage Fund and National Lottery players.

The Essex Record Office Gloucestershire Heritage Hub Gwent Archives Lancashire Archives and Local History Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru | The National Library of Wales Norfolk Record Office Staffordshire Archives and Heritage Suffolk Archives Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives Warwickshire County Record Office Archives: Wigan & Leigh Explore The Past Better

This Saturday! Come along to a Wiltshire Local History Network and Wiltshire Record Society study day looking at the bui...
12/05/2026

This Saturday! Come along to a Wiltshire Local History Network and Wiltshire Record Society study day looking at the built heritage of Wiltshire.

Saturday 16th May at Easterton Village Hall (near Devizes) 10am-4pm

It's free and open to all and there will be a full programme of fascinating talks! Find out more and book your place here:

https://tinyurl.com/2mn6krak

Refreshments are provided but you will need to bring your own lunch.

"Words Alive in Libraries" Meet the author event at Calne Library with Fiona Robertson, author of 'Stone Lands: A Journe...
08/05/2026

"Words Alive in Libraries" Meet the author event at Calne Library with Fiona Robertson, author of 'Stone Lands: A Journey of Darkness and Light Through Britain's Ancient Places'

14 May at Calne Library

https://libraries.wiltshire.gov.uk/what-s-on #/

Address

Cocklebury Road
Chippenham
SN153QN

Opening Hours

Tuesday 9:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 9:30am - 5pm
Friday 9:30am - 5pm

Telephone

+441249705500

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