Wesley’s Chapel and Leysian Mission (Museum)
49 City Road
London
EC1Y 1AU
See Wesley’s Chapel for more information about the venue.
The Chapel is just a short walk from Old Street Underground Station.
Underground stations: Old Street (due to building works at Old Street, please use subway 3) (Northern Line City Branch)
Moorgate (Northern, Circle and Metropolitan Lines).
Buses: 21, 43, 55, 76, 141, 205, 214, 243, 271
Railway Stations: Old Street, Moorgate, Liverpool Street, City Thames Link, Farringdon
Contact: Alison Taylor
Email: londonbranch@ndfhs.org.uk
| Date | Subject of Talk - Speaker |
|---|---|
| Sat 7th March 2026 | TBC |
| Sat 11th July 2026 | TBC |
| Sat 7th November 2026 | TBC |
London Branch Meeting on 8 November 2025
We held a member-led meeting, attended by seven people, several of whom contributed some varied and interesting items:
We enjoyed some lively discussions and we look forward to finding out in March if any of our suggested lines of enquiry have helped to break down that brick wall.
London Branch Meeting – 6 July (1.00-3.45) at Wesley’s Chapel, London EC1Y 1AU
We enjoyed a very lively and varied afternoon, commencing with our AGM, featuring reviews of the year and discussion of our current and future working methods and organisation. Following this, some fascinating aspects of their research were shared by several of the seven members who attended.
Within the space of just one session, we learned about a wide diversity of subjects: for example, links to the Great Fire of 1854, tug boats and the Crowley ironworks at Swalwell; the process behind tracing the long career of a navy boatswain; researching family history in the medieval period; the use of copyhold documents, name-rich resources from the digitised records of the Bishop of Durham. The ensuing discussion with its exchange of information and ideas was helpful to presenters and audience alike. In summary, our session was an excellent illustration of the value of meeting up to explore our family histories.
For our next meeting, we look forward to a return visit from David Butler, Durham Archivist, who will talk about “The Building of the Durham Viaduct.” We will meet at Wesley’s Chapel from 1pm on 9 November.
Six members were pleased to welcome our speaker, Dr Winifred Stokes, and two members of her family.
In her talk, “Fat Cows and Railway Lines”, Dr Stokes demonstrated very clearly how the development and route of the first railway line connecting Stockton and Darlington was influenced by the transport needs of individuals dependent upon exploiting products derived from agriculture. This was set in the context of the period of intense agricultural improvement, particularly in animal husbandry, in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries when the Napoleonic Wars created a more pressing need to improve the nation’s food security. Dr Stokes introduced us to a number of individuals: those who were prominent in newly-established local agricultural societies, successful pioneers in selective breeding, and those who recorded the extent and impact of developments, such as land surveyors and journalists, as well as the sponsor of this line who influenced its circuitous route for the advantages it brought to his business. We gained a clear picture of the close interconnectedness of agriculture, agriculturalists and railway development which was also key in the development of mining and other industry. We greatly enjoyed this return visit from Dr Stokes who is extremely knowledgeable and who creates a relaxed rapport with her audience.
We finished our meeting with some information updates and a discussion about future meetings.
