CVHS Programme for 2026
The Chearsley Village Historical Society is happy to announce its programme of Meetings and Other Activities for 2026. Further details will be provided in due course for the activities later in the year.
Thursday 12th February - ‘History of Haddenham Airfield’ Village Hall, 7.15pm
A presentation by Peter Chamberlain, author of ‘The First 70 Years of Haddenham Airfield’ which is a fascinating record of the history of this local airfield from its beginnings in the early 20th Century to the present day.
We will also be screening an edited version of a recent Croatian TV documentary, some of which was filmed in Chearsley last summer. The programme provides a flavour of the unique English ‘eccentricity’ with visits to a number of locations featured in episodes of the popular TV programme ‘Midsomer Murders’. Some will recall the TV crew that joined our ‘Beating the Bounds’ walk in May last year.
Tickets will be on sale at £5 each on the door (cash or card) or you can renew or take out CVHS membership for 2026 at £10 per individual members or £20 for families (unchanged from last year).
If you’d like to renew or take out membership ahead of the night, you can do so at CVHS Membership, or contact our Treasurer Sian Lewis at sian@chearsley.com.
Thursday 19th February - Building the Village Archive Village Hall, from 10.00am
The Society is building a Village Archive to store existing historic artefacts and provide a home for more recent items that will help future generations with understanding the history of their village.
The Online Archive was launched recently and on 19th February a CVHS team will start to put together a Physical Archive, to be located in the loft at the Village Hall. It will include photographs, documents and other materials of historical interest.
The day will commence at 10.00am and we’d welcome support from anyone who would like to help sort and catalogue the significant amount of material already gathered. We would also welcome you bringing along any items of your own that you would like to be either stored in the Physical Archive or photographed and stored in the Online Archive.
Sunday 22nd March - St Nicholas Church History Day At the Church
The Society will once again be supporting this fascinating event in 2026.
Sunday 7th June - ‘Made in Chearsley’ From The Bell
During the afternoon we will be staging one of our popular 'out and about' the village events (remember the Pub Revival in May 24 and the Treasure Hunt Quiz, October 23).
The event will enable participants to enjoy a ‘heritage trail’ of traditional countryside crafts previously carried out at various homes in the village, starting and finishing as before at the Bell. More details to follow.
Thursday 22nd October - ‘Notley Abbey and Chearsley Village’ Village Hall, 7.15pm
This presentation will reveal the relationship between Notley Abbey and our village over the centuries. Again, more details to follow.
Sunday 8th November - Chearsley Remembers
The Society will be supporting this important village day with display boards as reminders of the conflicts
Chearsley Heritage Trail
Later in the year we are hoping to make a start on the more permanent ‘Heritage Trail’ in our village. The aim is to highlight and celebrate the village structural history through QR Codes located at key points, perhaps linked to a heritage map. We would welcome support from anyone interested in helping to plan and implement this project.
Looking Back
Details of previous meetings of the Society are available here
What else might you like? Needless to say we also welcome any thoughts on things we might do to celebrate the fascinating history of our wonderful village. If you have any ideas or other comments on the Society, or if would like to join us, please contact us at cvhssg@chearsley.com. Or speak to any member of the Steering Group.