Friends of the Centre for English Local History Annual General Meeting 18 November 2025.
Chair’s report highlights the launch of the Phythian-Adams Award.
This award provides financial assistance to students studying for the BA in History at Leicester University who are preparing their dissertation topics and need to visit and conduct research at an archive within the UK.
Another great success was Hoskins Day with 57 people attending. Professor Mark Gardiner gave the keynote address and his talk focused not on the rural landscape but the ‘dwellingscape’ and looked at the extant medieval houses. The day also featured two postgraduate students Chloe Phillips, researching Black Histories of Cornwall prior to 1900 and Rob Hedge, who is examining the patterns of small rural settlements in North Worcestershire and South Shropshire between the 11th and 15th centuries.
There have been two student placements this year at Spalding Gentleman’s Society who are currently running the Fenland Study centre at Ayscoughfee Hall.
There have also been two very interesting study days this year. The spring visit was to the Buddhist centre at Thornby Hall looking at the building and its history, followed by a tour of Naseby Battlefield. The autumn visit was to the local museum at Ashby de la Zouch, a talk about the history of Grace Dieu Priory and then followed by a tour of the ruins of Grace Dieu and the surrounding estate.
Anne concluded the Chair’s report by commenting on our social media presence which continues to expand with engagement increasing with both followers and other associations.
Treasurer reports that financial position remains sound.
Hoskins Day costs were again kept to a minimum as the Centre for Regional and Local History paid for the refreshments provided. Our two study days, at Thorny/Naseby in April and at Grace Dieu Priory in September, made a loss. (Some income and costs.for the latter study day will be included in 2025-26 accounts). Administrative costs are higher than last year, largely due to the provision of a Zoom Pro account for the AGM, committee meetings, and talks. The overall cost of printing and distributing the annual Newsletter has reduced significantly by digital publishing. The number of requests for student support grants was a little higher than last year but only £900 was paid out. Research support grants are now available to any University of Leicester BA or MA History student or PhD candidate who undertakes regional or local history research.
Changes to the Constitution.
The meeting approved the proposed changes to Section 9 (Committee) and Section 11 (Nominations) which were introduced to simplify the structure of the committee, remove anomalies in the wording, and amend the requirements relating to the re-election of officers. The revised Constitution is now available to view from our website.
Committee Elections.
| Chair |  | Anne Coyne |
|---|---|---|
| Secretary |  | Mary Bryceland |
| Treasurer |  | Karen Donegani |
| Membership Secretary | | Karen Donegani |
| Programme Secretary | Vacant | |
| Publications | | Mary Bryceland |
| IT |  | John Parker |
| Newsletter Editor |  | Mandy de Belin |
| Committee Member |  | Michael Gilbert |
| Committee Member |  | Sue Hughes |
| Independent Examiner | David Allan Postles | |
