South East Staffordshire Association of National Trust Members
Winter talks are held in the Guildhall, Bore Street, Lichfield on the third Wednesday from September to November (excluding December), starting at 2.30pm. The cost is £5 for members and £7 for non members. From January 2027 the venue for our talks will change from the Guildhall to Martin Heath Hall in Lichfield starting at 2pm
Wednesday 16th September 2026, 7.30pm "What Lies Beneath?"
Local historian and good friend of SESANTM, Jono Oates pays a return visit to tell us what can be found beneath our feet around Lichfield Cathedral and it's surroundings. With his vast knowledge of Lichfield and it's history, he is sure to reveal some surprises.
Wednesday 21st October 2026, 2.30pm "The Great Central Railway"
Steve Evans will tell us about the history of the original railway company and the development of the current heritage railway following it's closure.
Wednesday 26th November 2026, 2.30pm "The Art of the Christmas Card"
Danny Wells will be delivering an illustrated talk on the Art of the Christmas Card from around 1846 to the 1940’s; a history enthusiast with an MA in Architectural History and a background in providing historical themed talks going back 20+ years, Danny’s talk will cover Christmas Cards from the Victorian period to the late 1940’s.
Wednesday 27th January 2027 2.00pm "Lichfield Military Uniforms 1640 - 1815
Lichfield was very much featured in the English Civil War. Rob Elliott, a local military historian who specialises in period military uniforms will be bringing a wide range of "samples" to demonstrate. This will include the sort of uniforms that would have been present during the various sieges of Lichfield in the Civil War.
Tuesday 23rd February 2027, 2.30pm "Murder Most Foul"
This talk takes place at Erasmus Darwin House in Lichfield
Sheelagh James returns to entertain and inform us with a new stand-alone talk entitled “MURDER MOST FOUL”. Through thirteen cases Sheelagh will look at the path taken by some to the gallows in the 18C and how others escaped the “Newgate Jig”, Policing, crime detection and criminal forensics were not as we know them today, so how were murderers brought to justice?
From highwaymen to duellists, bungling burglars to ghost slayers and more, these crimes illustrate how the 18C was still a period where life could be brutal and short but that punishment was not always as gruesome as we might think.
Wednesday 31st March 2027, 2.00pm "Vintage Fashion"
Following her last visits to SESANTM telling us about her time working for Patrick Lichfield at Shugborough Hall and her love of the 1950’s décor and fashion, Joanne will be demonstrating items of vintage fashion (largely female) and will be bringing examples to show us.
Wednesday 28th April 2027, 2.00pm "Historic Almshouses"
Following his last talk to SESANTM about castles in Derbyshire, local historian Robert Mee is making a return visit and this time closer to home, will focus on historic almshouses in Lichfield. For most of us, St John’s Hospital and Doctor Milley’s Hospital are two familiar sights but there are others which we may not know about!