Robert Mee can present a number of illustrated talks for your group. Robert is a qualified trainer and is on the Derbyshire Directory Speakers List; holds an M.A. in English Local History from the University of Leicester (2014); has conducted several research projects around Heanor, and is a volunteer research assistant at Leicester University; writes for local magazines and newsletters, as well as managing the website for the Heanor & District Local History Society; and has written two books on the Heanor/Langley Mill area.
Presentations currently available include:
- Nottinghamshire Castles (from January 2017): 11 definite castle sites, and a few more besides!
- A Derbyshire Railway Outing (from February 2017): Snippets of history from around the county, during a railway tour using a 1920s timetable.
- Aldercar and Langley Mill – 1000 Years in 60 Minutes (from November 2016): A look at all aspects of the village (not just its industry!)
- Derbyshire Associations for the Prosecution of Felons, 1703-2014: virtually every parish had one, but who were they, and what did they do?
- Policing in 19th-Century Derbyshire: the establishment and early days of the county and borough constabularies.
- Bradshaw’s, and an Early Railway Tour: the famous railway timetable, and a mystery tour!
- Derbyshire’s Castles: you can probably name two or three of them, but what about the rest?
- Vic Hallam – One Man and his Company: from the 1920s to the 1990s, the leading producer of pre-fabricated buildings (and much more) in the country.
- Crime in Langley Mill 1891 – 1930: not just the crimes, but an interpretation of changes in the pattern of crime, applicable to any community in this period.
- Morlestan – South East Derbyshire before the Norman Conquest: the administrative and landscape history of the early medieval period.
- A History of Smalley: from medieval times to modern open-casting.
- Wheels of Industry – Langley Mill: reportedly the “most industrialised village” in the country – what didn’t Langley Mill produce?
- History along the Erewash Valley Trail: The Erewash Valley Trail is a 30 mile cycle and foot path which opened in 2011
- A Potted History of Heanor: the name says it all really.
- Heanor Grammar School: the first maintained mixed secondary school in the Derbyshire – its history from beginning to end!
- Mine’s a Pint (Public Houses in the Heanor Area): a rapidly disappearing establishment, this talk looks at the pubs of the Heanor area over the centuries.
All presentations are fully illustrated. They normally last from 50 to 90 minutes, but can be adjusted to suit your needs. Robert is often available at short-notice, if, for example, a speaker cancels. Fees are £50, plus expenses if over 40 miles (return from West Hallam) involved. Contact: email: RobertMMee@btinternet.com telephone 0115 9327495