IN July, we were given a conducted tour of Belbroughton by Mrs Madge Vaughan, a member of their historical society. We saw numerous interesting buildings and were given information about them, their previous occupants and the industry based in the village.

We also saw photographs from the collection held by the society showing many of the buildings before they became private houses.

The evening ended in the village hall where Geoff Allan proposed a vote of thanks for a very enjoyable evening.

On August 19, we visited Bridgenorth on a very wet evening where our guide was Derek Crockson, an official town guide.

Our tour started in the car park in Listley Street, from where we could see the remains of the earliest walls. During our visit, we went into the town hall and St Leonard’s church, both of which hold many interesting and historical items.

Geoff Allen had arranged the visit and he thanked Derek, on behalf of the members for presenting some of the history of the town from its beginnings, to memories of the Second World War in a unique and amusing way.

Our next meeting will be on Monday September 15, when we will meet in Edgecliff Sixth Form centre at 7.30pm, when our guests will be James Bailey and James McComisky from South Staffs County Council who will speak on ‘Emergency planning’.

This should be very interesting in view of the flooding in the village last summer.

New members and visitors are always welcome.

For more information about the society contact David Tibbetts on 01384 872066.