Special Show Offer. £10 off Membership Subscriptions!!
The Society will be waiving its joining administration fee (usually £10) for anyone who wants to become a member of the SoG at the Society of Genealogists Family HistoryShow which is an integral part of Who Do You Think You Are? Live at Olympia February 26-28 2010.
This means your first year’s UK subscription will be £45 instead of the usual £55 (£27 for overseas members instead of £37). In addition we are including a free 2G SoG usb memory stick as a welcome present to all our new members – perfect for downloading or backing up your family history files. Hurry while stocks last.
Come and see the SoG at stand 1025 where you can fill out the membership application form and meet our staff and volunteers.
Society of Genealogists at Who Do You Think You Are? Live 2009
As part of its lecture and education program, the Society carries out a number of outside visits and walks. Today I was lucky enough to attend an outside visit to the parish church of St. Bartholomew the Great in London excellently conducted by the Verger.
This Norman church is said to be the oldest church building in London, founded by Rahere, a courtier of Henry I in 1123. It has been the scene of many films and TV series, such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, the latest being the current Sherlock Holmes film in cinemas as I write. The church is just a little way out of the City walls in Smithfield which was originally a field used for jousting and a venue for executions and of course well known today as the site of London’s former cattle market.
The building has gone through many changes and today it is possible to see some of the original 12th Century church with many of the additions that have taken place up to and including the 20th Century.The original Priory was surrendered to the tyrant King Henry VIII who passed them on to Sir Richard Rich who took up residence in the Prior’s House. Under “bloody” Mary it became a Dominican convent until an Act of Parliament of 1559 once again restored it to a Parish Church.
The church had a Charnel House under the Sanctuary which today is a dressing room. Here we saw some of the vestments that are quite old and only used on special occasions such as a rose coloured set used on Mothering Sunday.
The visit finished with a look at fifteen minute film about the church and a fascinating look at some photographs showing the graveyard and local Elizabethan housing from 1877; then off to the tea room in the Cloisters for a well deserved cup of tea!
The church is open to visitors most days and charges £4 for entry but of course you will have to look around yourself and not get the expert commentary of the Verger or the camaraderie in company with other Society members. In fact the next two outside visits to Lambeth Palace and Goldsmiths’ Hall are both fully booked, and the next after that is the visit to Wesley’s Chapel on 31st March 2010.
I highly recommend an afternoon or day out led by the Society but suggest you book early to avoid disappointment!
The Society of Genealogists will be 100 years old in 2011 and we intend to celebrate our anniversary in style. There will be different activities to commemorate the occasion and we hope all our members and friends will join us in our celebrations.
Details of all our commemorative events planned for 2011 will be posted on our website and in the Genealogists’ Magazine. Here are the first two events to note in your diary
The Society of Genealogists Centenary Conference will take place on
Saturday 7 May 2011
Venue: Royal Overseas League,
Over-Seas House,
Park Place
5 St James’s Terrace,
London SW1A 1LP
Royal Overseas League, London SW1
This will be an all day event culminating in a Conference Banquet in the evening. More details including lecture streams, prices etc will follow but this is definitely a date to book in your diary.
Society Centenary Celebration Dinner
Friday 6 May 2011
Venue: Royal Overseas League, London
This will be a high profile dinner to formally celebrate the Society’s 100th Anniversary. Spaces will be limited, ticketing information and pricing will be available soon.
In case anyone gets fed up with mince pies and Christmas TV we’ve got a bit of a challenge for all our members and friends. Can you tell what these two baby plaques signify? They are high on the wall of the sandwich bar at the beginning of the cul-de-sac that leads down to the SoG.
We’ve never noticed them before but they are fairly high up and we could be very unobservant!!
How long have they been here? What are they and do they have any meaning?
There is no prize and the answers won’t be published – because we just don”t know. But if anyone has a clue do feel free to let us know, because it has us stumped!!
The Genealogists’ Magazine is the flagship publication of the Society of Genealogists distributed free quarterly to all members. Here Else Churchill the Genealogist at the Society interviews Michael Gandy who has been the editor for the last ten years. Sign up to our mailing list below and get a free copy of this quality magazine
