What an event! Heritage open day – 12th September
Last weekend we were thrilled to welcome over 130 people to our combined History of Welton in St Martin’s church and a celebration of the art of Eric Fleming in the village hall. The exhibition got off to a great start on Friday with a visit by Year 6 pupils and staff from Welton Academy. They were excited to see and learn the history of the Combles bell, retrieved from a WW1 battlefield by Eric Fleming’s father, Jim, and to explore just what it was like to live here in the past.
Organised as part of the area wide Heritage Open Day, the exhibition gave us an opportunity to share the many fascinating things we have uncovered about our village and its people. Thank you to those members of the History Group who visited, as well as people from Welton and beyond.
We were very fortunate to borrow a wonderful collection of the paintings by Eric Fleming from family members and residents, which was also very well received. Thank you to all who helped us with this, both in lending the paintings and the ‘volunteers’ (John and Pete) who collected them for us, as well as others who gave their time to ‘man’ the village hall on the day. Too many to mention – but you know who you are!
We have received some fantastic feedback from visitors, as you can see below:
“Really nice to see all this old history of Welton” — Annette H
“Thought it was fabulous! Very interesting to find out about the history of the village I live in. Hope you can do it again next year” — Samantha D
“This was an excellent exhibition, very detailed and comprehensive! The paintings are beautiful! The history of the village is so very interesting! Thank you for all your hard work and effort!” — Sue D
If you were unable to visit the exhibition and would like to know more, please do visit – or even better, subscribe to – our website.
It’s free, easy to use and updated frequently with new stories. There is also entry into a prize draw for a £10 Marks and Spencer gift card for anyone who subscribes before 31st October 2026 – click here.
Terms and conditions of prize draw here.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my partner-in-all things historic, Karen O’Mahoney for her hours of help in organising this exhibition as well as developing the website, helping research new leads and enigmas, making my basic Word documents look amazing – and so much more!
It has been a huge undertaking to get this far in just seven months and, together, we are determined to continue to unearth those forgotten stories and celebrate Welton’s astonishing, world-encompassing past.
And so, to the new season!
Our first meeting for the new season is on Monday 28th September 2026 at 7.30pm in the Village Hall.
Our speaker, Susan Watkins, will be taking us on a Virtual Walk through Daventry.
From the relative comfort of our village hall chairs you will enjoy the stories about the people and places in Daventry that have made their mark on the history of our nearest large town. Do come along – you may think you ‘know’ Daventry, but there really is so much to discover, from our pre-Roman occupants to more contemporary figures!
As always, entry is £5pp payable on the door – cash or card, both welcome.
This cost includes tea or coffee and a delectable biscuit or two! Or if you fancy something stronger, feel free to BYOB! Our full programme for the year is available on the website here.
Please do share this newsletter with friends or neighbours. The work of this group is reliant on the income generated by these monthly talks and so the more who come, the better!
Have we enthused you? Why not join our committee?
The Welton History Group is a small group of enthusiastic volunteers – five in total! None of us would describe ourselves as historians. Although some of us might describe ourselves as fanatics. All of us believe that our village has a fascinating story that should be uncovered, shared and celebrated, as well as saved for future generations.
But we really need YOUR support.
You don’t need to be an expert, fanatic or otherwise, or have to give up hours of your time.
We’d just really value some extra, enthusiastic, interested people who would like to:
- muck in and contribute to the future of this work in any way you feel ok with
- help shape the future of the History Group
If you are interested, please email me or have a chat at one of our meetings.
And finally …… a few Welton related quiz questions
• What connects Welton to a house and botanic garden in New Zealand?
• Which Welton resident was connected to the moving memorial to heroic Londoners who saved the lives of others, at the expense of their own, in Postman’s Park in London?
• How did an Anglo / French family from India end up living at The Red Lion?
• How are Leo Tolstoy, Alice Liddell and Jane Austen connected to our village?
Of course, if you can answer these, you would definitely win the quiz!
If you can’t… do visit our website! The answers are all waiting for you there.
Many thanks, Suzanne Edwards – Welton History Group Co-Ordinator
Discover more from Welton History Group
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.