Family History
The Family History Group.
We meet at Egerton Hall Community Centre, Juno Crescent, Brackley, NN13 6EA, (on the corner of Juno Crescent and Poppyfields Way) at 10:15 to 11:50 on the 2nd Thursday morning of each month.
Attendees pay £1.50 which covers the cost of the room which has Wi-Fi, a great asset for communal on-line research. Tea or coffee is usually available at some point during the session for which there is a nominal 50p charge, if required.
There is ample parking behind the building. Alternatively, the bus stop for the hourly Stagecoach 500 service, to/from Brackley town centre, Banbury and Bicester, is outside the building.
Any non-FH Group members wishing to attend should contact me beforehand through the FH Group web page.
Our group consists of those who are relatively new to researching their family history through to those who have been doing it for several years.
Everyone is sharing their knowledge and assisting each other in finding records of their ancestors, often breaking down those brick walls and maybe proving, or disproving, those old family stories. These records help us to find out what their life was like, what work they did, where they lived, as well as trying to bring alive their social history. Remember, Family History is not just a Family Tree!
A good website for Family History events and lectures, etc., is www.geneva.weald.org.uk and entering ‘Fair’ in the filter. The following are some of the Fairs and Open Days, some of which are annual and others bi-annual.
The physical events are a good way of getting information from across the UK and beyond. Each event will be attended by several FH Societies from counties and cities, as well as traders and others. Always check the website before travelling.
Further details of the Societies and of the timings of these events can be found on the respective websites.
| Date | Venue | Group | Website |
| 24th Feb | Online *⁶ | Berkshire Heritage Fair | https://berksfhs.org/ |
| 29/2-2/3 | Online *⁵ | RootsTech Connect | https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/ |
| 16th Mar | Malvern *³ | The Midlands FH Show | http://thefamilyhistoryshow.com/midlands/ |
| 20th Apr | St Ives, Cambs. | Really Useful FH Show | https://www.fhf-reallyuseful.com/ |
| 18th May | Chesterfield | C’field & Dist. FHS, FH Fair | www.cadfhs.org |
| 15th June | Swindon | Wiltshire FHS, Open Day | https://www.wiltshirefhs.co.uk/ |
| 15th June | Nottingham | East Midlands FH Day | https://nottsfhs.org/ |
| 22nd Jun | York *³ | The York FH Show | http://thefamilyhistoryshow.com/york/ |
| 5th Oct | Kempton Park *³ | The London FH Show | https://thefamilyhistoryshow.com/london/ |
| 12th Oct | Doncaster | Doncaster & Dist. FHS, FH Fair | http://doncasterfhs.co.uk |
| 19th Oct | Ipswich | Suffolk FHS, FH Fair | www.suffolkfhs.org.uk |
| 25th Jan 2025 | Online | East Surrey FHS, FH Fair | https://www.eastsurreyfhs.org.uk/ |
Details of possible future events may become available on the respective websites in due course. The website also enables you to contact the Society for more information about their group, if you so wish.
| Date | Venue | Group | Website |
| ? Mar | Manchester | Manchester & Lancs FHS, FH Fair | https://mlfhs.uk |
| ? Mar | Roydon, Norfolk | Diss FH Group FH Fair | https://www.tharston-past.info/DFHG/ |
| ? Apr | Poole | Dorset FHS, FH Show | www.dorsetfhs.org.uk/events |
| ? Apr | Online | Scottish Assn of FHSs Conference | www.safhs.org.uk/ |
| ? Apr | Online *⁴ | The Genealogy Show | www.thegenealogyshow.uk/ |
| ? Apr | Cobham, Kent | NW Kent FHS, FH Day | www.nwkfhs.org.uk/ |
| ? Apr | Richmond, Yorks | *¹ | https://clevelandfhs.org.uk/ |
| ? Apr | Dublin *³ | Back to our Past *³ | http://backtoourpast.ie/ |
| ? May | Sheffield | Sheffield & Dist. FHS, FH Fair | http://www.sheffieldfhs.org.uk/events |
| ? May | Aberystwyth | Cardiganshire FHS | www.cgnfhs.org.uk |
| ? May | Leighton Buzzard | Romany & Traveller FHS, Society Day | https://rtfhs.org.uk |
| ? May | Weston S Mare | Weston FH & Local H Fair | www.wsmfhs.org.uk |
| ? Jun | Liskeard, Cornwall | *⁷ | TBA |
| ? Jun | Shrewsbury | Shropshire FHS, FH Fair | www.sfhs.org.uk/events |
| ? Jul | Aylesbury | Buckinghamshire FHS, Open Day | www.bucksfhs.org.uk |
| ? Jul | Online *⁴ | The Genealogy Show | www.thegenealogyshow.uk/ |
| ? Sep | Stretford | Cheshire FHS, FH Fair | www.fhsc.org.uk/ |
| ? Sep | Carmarthen | Dyfed FHS, FH Fair | www.dyfedfhs.org.uk |
| ? Sep | Woolmer Green | Hertfordshire FHS, Open Day | www.hertsfhs.org.uk |
| ? Sep | Merthyr Tydfil | Glamorgan FHS, FH Fair | www.glamfhs.org.uk |
| ? Sept | Bristol | Bristol & Avon FHS, FH Fair | www.bafhs.org.uk |
| ? Sept | Weymouth | Somerset & Dorset FHS, Open Day | www.sdfhs.org/ |
| ? Oct | TBA | Oxfordshire FHS, FH Fair | www.ofhs.org.uk |
| ? Oct | Huddersfield | Huddersfield & Dist. FHS, FH Fair | www.hdfhs.org.uk |
| ? Oct | Paignton | Devon FHS, Open Day | http://www.devonfhs.org.uk/ |
| ? Nov | Woking | West Surrey FHS, FH Fair | www.wsfhs.co.uk |
| ? Nov | Online *⁴ | Really Useful FH Show | https://www.fhf-reallyuseful.com/ |
| ? Nov | Cambridge | *² | https://www.cfhs.org.uk/events.html |
| ? Feb 2025 | Online *⁴ | Online Family History Show | https://thefamilyhistoryshow.com/online/ |
*¹ Cleveland, North Yorkshire & South Durham FHS, Open Day.
*² Cambridgeshire & Huntingdonshire FHS, Local &FH Fair.
*³ This is a commercial event where entrance tickets have to be purchased, usually available on-line beforehand or at the door on the day.
*⁴ This is a commercial event where there is a fee to view. Details on their website.
*⁵ This is a free commercial event by FamilySearch. Registration details on their website.
*⁶ This is a free event using Zoom. Registration details on their website.
*⁷ SE Cornwall Museums Forum, Local & FH Fair.
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Group Convenor – Graham Irvine
To contact Graham, click here > Family History Group Convenor