The Committee has organised a number of talks for the winter months catering for a wide range of interests.
These meetings will be held on a Friday evening in the Garden Room at St Matthews Church Hall, off Kettering Road Northampton (car park entrance in The Drive). Meetings commence at 7.30 pm and are free to NIAG members.
We welcome visitors to all our meetings; there is a charge of £2.00 per person per meeting.
Potential new members are always welcome at any of these meetings when you can join on the night.
Winter Programme 2021/22
Covid-19 precautions
To avoid overcrowding in the hall, members are asked to reserve their place for each meeting by contacting the Secretary on a first come, first served basis. Only visitors accompanied by a member will be admitted.
8th October
John Eunson – Northampton's Forgotten Hero
Frances Peacock
This is the story of a man who gave Northampton reliable supplies of gas and water. Frances will talk about John Eunson’s involvement with Northampton’s gasworks and his later role as a water engineer. The presentation will include the history of Northampton’s gasworks from 1823 through to the destruction of the gas holders and current efforts to ensure the preservation of the surviving building on the gasworks site.
12th November
NIAG Annual General Meeting
this will be followed at approximately 7.45 pm by
100 Years of SATRA
Ron Whittaker
The Shoe and Allied Trades Research Association was set up in 1919 by Northampton shoemakers to apply improved scientific principles to the traditional craft-based production of footwear following WW1. Initially SATRA was based in Northampton and then moved to London before finally settling in Kettering in the 1940s. Its main home for nearly 70 years was Avenue House in Rockingham Road which was previously owned by Kettering Furnaces and initially built as the Manager's residence. Ron will detail the history and some of the developments of this successful organisation over the last 100 years. SATRA currently employs over 200 staff and is the largest technical organisation serving the International Footwear Industry as well as a number of other industry sectors such as furniture and safety products.
3rd December
VC10s and Threepenny Bits
Joel Kosminsky
Joel joined BOAC – before it became British Airways in 1974 – as a management trainee, at the start of wide-bodied jets and Concorde. He worked in check-in and reservations in the 1970s and 1980s before leaving to join London Transport. His talk will include how and why the airline flew where it did, myths about the Boeing 747 and how BOAC 'saved' worldwide aviation!
14th January
Members' Evening
Our annual presentation by members of NIAG is expected, as usual, to cover a diverse range of topics. Members wishing to make a contribution are invited to contact the Secretary by email beforehand.
11th February
The Onion Barns of Bedfordshire
Mark Phillips
Mark, a buildings expert with Albion Archaeology, will talk on his research into onion barns, once used to dry and store onions. These unusual buildings are still a feature of the Bedfordshire landscape and reflected the importance of market gardening to the county.
11th March
Braunston Canal – Canal-age Transport Hub
John Pomfret
The talk describes the effects on Braunston of the arrival of the Oxford Canal and the later Grand Junction Canal and the many subsequent changes arising from the rise and fall of freight traffic and the development of leisure use.
