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Martin Stott

Email: Martin.stott@bulletin.co.uk

Website: www.storytellergarden.co.uk

Talks on garden history

  • Bromley House Library garden – a hidden Georgian gem in the centre of Nottingham.
  • The storyteller garden – a fresh way of looking at your garden through the history of the plants within it.
  • The humour of Hole – an introduction to one of the great characters of garden history. Reynolds Hole, the vicar of Caunton, near Newark, was the founder of the National Rose Society and a prolific and often humorous writer. 

Martin Stott is a former BBC journalist who made programmes for the World Service and Radio 4 in 21 countries. A passionate garden historian he has written for Gardens Illustrated and the Historic Rose Group journal and is the author of the blog. He is a trustee of Bromley House Library. 

Colin Moss

Contact details for Colin Moss are

Talks include:

  • – A History of the East Midlands Knitting Industry

The talk describes the history of the knitting industry from earliest times up to the present day. It shows how the English East Midlands played a pivotal role in that industry and how today’s worldwide knitting industry has its foundations in technology developed in the East Midlands. The talk also includes a section on Nottingham’s lace industry.The talk uses as examples historic buildings in the East Midlands, some of the knitting and lace making machines in use and on show at various museums in the East Midlands together with some very modern machines in use in today’s East Midlands knitting industry. It also describes the related social history of the “stockingers” who were the foundation of the knitting industry up until mid Victorian times.

Colin is a Physicist. He spent nearly 50 years working in industry for major UK defence companies where he specialised in electro-optics. In retirement he has developed a keen interest in the history of the East Midlands textile industry. He joined the Nottingham Industrial Museum (NIM) in 2015 as a volunteer guide. In addition to his work as a guide he has, for several years, given talks to many local groups on various topics centred around the history of textiles. The talks can be adapted to any length from 20 minutes to 1 hr 30 minutes and to suite all ages from 7 upwards. In He is passionate about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) outreach to children. He is equally passionate about the UK’s industrial future as well as its past and is always pleased to hear of the successes of new science graduates as they embark on their new careers. In this latter respect, he has close links with Loughborough University.

Stephen Walker

Contact details for Stephen Walker are

Talks on18th century cotton mills, Gedling and Bulwell

All talks are available on ZOOM

  • – The archaeology project at Moor Pond Woods, Papplewick
  • – A thread in the web of time’ ; Evidence for the operation of 18th century cotton mills in the Leen Valley of Nottinghamshire
  • – ‘A London Boy at Mr Robinson’s mills’ ; The workers at a 18th century cotton mill
  • – The history and heritage of Gedling Borough
  • – ‘A century of change in Bulwell, 1780-1880’ ; The early urbanisation of one of Nottinghams’s suburbs.

Helen Bates

Contact details for Helen Bates are

Helen offers talks on local textile history, the 1745 Jacobite uprising, and local legacies of slavery

  • The Wildman family of Newstead Abbey
  • The links between the Nottinghamshire textile industries and the Derwent Valley Mills
  • The impact of the 1745 Jacobite Uprising on the East Midlands
  • Nottinghamshire’s Legacies of Slavery
  • Plus many more


Helen has worked as a practitioner in public history and heritage since 2005. Projects have included Lincoln Castle Revealed where she worked as historical researcher and developed interpretation and Slave Trade Legacies, which she continues to co-produce with Bright Ideas Nottingham. Both projects achieved finalist status in the National Lottery ‘Best Heritage Project’ Awards in 2015 and 2016 respectively. In 2018, she completed her PhD which was based at the “English Versailles”,otherwise known as Boughton House in Northamptonshire and the University of Leicester.  Helen is also a director of Involve Heritage CIC, www.involveheritage.co.uk and gets involved in project development and grant applications.  Helen offers numerous talks based on her heritage projects and her doctoral and post-doctoral research.

Helen can also offer tailored field trips and visits to many of the country houses and other heritage sites that she has worked with both in Nottinghamshire and the surrounding region.

She is based near Mansfield but can travel to all areas of the county and has flexible availability. 

Rowena Edlin-White

Contact details for Rowena Edlin-White are

Talks on women’s suffrage in Nottinghamshire
Rowena does not offer talks on ZOOM

  • “No Surrender!” Women’s suffrage in Nottinghamshire
  • Talks based on her recent book “Exploring Nottinghamshire Writers”

Rowena specialises in women’s history.

Ruth Imeson da Silva

Contact details for Ruth Imeson da Silva

email: ruth@letstalkhistory.co.uk

website: www.letstalkhistory.co.uk

Talks on Albert Ball and other local personalities

  • “Tired of living to kill.” An alternative view of the life of WWI flying ace, Captain Albert Ball.
  • “It is for these haunts of peace that men go into the jaws of hell.” This talk focuses on the life, poems and death of Sergeant Will Streets, who fell on 1st July 1916 on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.
  • “Not unhappy”. The life of Gertrude Savile of Rufford tells the tale of scandals in a Georgian family.

Ruth has been involved with public speaking on a variety of topics for over five years, including regular appearances on radio and TV programmes.

She is a qualified archivist and historian with a degree in history, a postgraduate degree in historical archives. She also has an interest in historical medicinal plants and herbs, such as mandrake, belladonna, wolfsbane, etc. Ruth is available for talks on a wide variety of subjects for one hour or more to historical societies, clubs, educational organisations and charities, women’s institutes, cultural organisations and societies, and the media. Her studies in historical, medicinal plants and herbs may also be of interest to gardening groups.

Mike Higginbottom

Contact details for Mike Higginbotton are

Talks on English country houses, Victorian cemeteries, theatre, cinema

Mike does not offer talks on ZOOM

  • English country houses:  not quite what they seem – includes Welbeck Abbey
  • Victorian Cemeteries – includes Church Cemetery, Nottingham
  • Temples of Sanitation – includes Bestwood and Papplewick Pumping Stations
  • All the World’s a Stage:  the development of theatre buildings – includes the Old Malt Cross, Nottingham
  • Dream Palaces: an introduction to cinema architecture – in a version compiled for the Kimberley Historical Society

There are further details on the website:  http://www.mikehigginbottominterestingtimes.co.uk/?page_id=50

Steve Wright

Contact details for Steve Wright are

Talks on churches, mining, locomotives and local communities

Steve does not currently offer any of his talks on-line

  • -The Rise & Fall of Colwick Locomotive Depot
  • -Looking at Nottinghamshire Churches
  • -Mining Memories
  • -A Tour of Gedling, Carlton & Netherfield
  • -Garden talks
  • -European tours.

Trent & Peak Archaeology

Contact details for Gareth Davies at Trent and Peak are:

Trent & Peak Archaeology’s archaeologists are popular speakers with significant experience of working with community groups. All of our talks are based on our own archaeological fieldwork and research and many involve handling finds from the excavations. Our talks are very up-to-date, as we continue to add new titles, and to update old favourites, as our research progresses and new understandings are reached. Whether you’re an archaeological society, a historical association, or a lifelong learning or leisure group we can provide the right talk for your knowledge and interests, bringing the history and archaeology of the site to life.

Some of the talks for which we’re most well-known include the Archaeology of the Tram (the archaeology of the NET2 line at Clifton, Beeston and Lenton), We Dig the Castle (community excavations in the Outer Bailey of Nottingham Castle), Lenton Priory and the archaeology of Nottingham Castle. We also offer talks on excavations and fieldwork at Newark, Southwell, Toton, St Ann’s Allotments, Attenborough, Darley Abbey, Chester Green (the site of a Roman fort) and many other sites in the area, highlights of our work, overviews of Nottinghamshire’s archaeology, and introductions to the practice of archaeology.

Our speakers include Dr Gareth Davies (Head of Operations at Trent & Peak and Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Nottingham), Laura Binns (Trent & Peak’s Community Archaeologist) and Dr David Knight (Head of Research).

We offer evening and daytime talks and, if required, can provide all equipment. We’re always very happy to hear from people interested in hearing about the talks that we can offer.

To enquire about a talk please contact, in the first instance, Gareth Davies: