History group

Monday 5 th October 2026 – Gainsborough & Constable - seen through the eyes of a
professional artist by Chris Bennett ROI

Monks Eleigh resident Chris, will cast his professional eye over the works of Suffolk’s own Thomas Gainsborough RA FRSA and John Constable RA. Chris studied at the Slade School of Fine Arts in the early 80’s – he is a member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters and exhibits at the ROI December show at the Mall Galleries. His paintings have been exhibited and sold in prestigious galleries around the UK, including the Royal Academy Summer Show.

Monday 2 nd November 2026 – Medieval Timber Framed Houses: Secrets of their construction
by John Walker

This talk will explore the way carpenters from 13 th – 17 th centuries constructed historic timber framed buildings, leaving clues enabling us to interpret and date their original form. John is one of Suffolk’s leading architectural historians.

Monday 7 th December 2026 –The History of Kentwell Hall by Dave Stewart

Dave will present the complete history of Kentwell Hall and Gardens from its earliest records right up to the present owners. Dave is also related to the Clopton Family who owned the hall for a significant time. Dave is a professional speaker , and family history researcher for over thirty years – he currently presents twenty five different talks with more being written!

Monday 4 th January 2027 – ‘For The Rest Of Your Natural Life’ by Pip Wright

Pip tells stories of some 2,200 Suffolk Convicts sentenced to transportation to Australia during the period 1787-1867. Find out not only what happened to them, but also to the families they left behind. A regular contributor to our group, Pip is a retired primary school teacher who lives in Stowmarket. He has written a number of local history books.

Monday 1 st February 2027 – Aspects of Monks Eleigh by Sue Andrews

Winner of the Suffolk Local History Council ‘Bob Malster Award’ 2025, Sue will be returning to the group after her successful talk on Bildeston. She will be casting her researchers eye over Monks Eleigh in photographs and pictures.

Monday 1 st March 2027– HMS Ganges by John Arbon

This talk will be about the origins of training boys for the Royal Navy specifically related to HMS Ganges. On completion of her active service, she became a training ship for boys, arriving in Harwich harbour. The story then moves ashore when the shore base was built. The talk examines the whole experience from arrival at the shore base in 1906, to 1976 when it closed. John signed on for the Royal Navy, starting at HMS Ganges in 1959 for 12 months training before serving in the fleet for 12 years.

All meetings start at 7.30pm, at Monks Eleigh Village Hall. Annual membership is £10.00, £3.00 for admission to a single meeting. For more information contact Jan Kelsall (07855 035896) or John Naylor (07825 575896)