Newsletter - March 2026
Our first event for 2026 was Alice and her Sampler. It was a huge success considering the information we started with.
We were first given the Sampler by Gilmorton school back in September 2025 and we decided to run an event based on the sampler. There was little to go on except the name on the sampler, which was Alice Smith.
Lorna, our committee member, took the lead on this and began her research gaining invaluable information with the addition of a family tree from Malcolm Butcher. Further investigation came up with a living descendant of Alice, her great, grandson, Mark Wakelin, father of the professional snooker player Chris Wakelin.
Mark attended the event and brought along, the icing on the cake, a photo of Alice herself, something we'd be unable to find.
With only a name to go on for this event, our displays showed what can be achieved with diligent research. Alice Smith’s sampler is now on display in the village hall.
The remaining 2026 events are:
APRIL – Tuesday 7th and Wednesday 8th – “Rugby School” An event about Rugby school and the sport of Rugby, with a guest speaker from Rugby school on both days.
JUNE – Tuesday 9th and Wednesday 10th – “Gilmorton Memories” We are looking at getting a few village residents in a group discussion to talk about their memories of Gilmorton.
SEPTEMBER – To coincide with National Heritage week we are joining forces with Gilmorton church.
Heritage Week is held nationally by museums and history related groups and organisations and entry is free for visitors. The event will be held in the church itself and will be open from Sunday 15th. All opening dates and times will be confirmed nearer the event.
NOVEMBER – Wednesday 11th – “Polish Settlement Camps” Bozena Kunzewicz will be a guest speaker on the Wednesday morning ONLY and will give a talk on the Polish settlement in the UK and especially the displaced Poles after the war in camps such as Husbands Bosworth.
This was initially advertised as a two-day event but now will run on the Wednesday morning only.
A reminder that you can always log on to our website where you will find details of all our upcoming events. Our archives section contains 26 different categories with over 340 documents which include write ups and photographs. Everything on the website is freely available for both downloading and printing.
Another reminder that 2026 membership subscription is now due. You can renew at any of the events or pop your subs in an envelope at 4 Lutterworth Road, Gilmorton. Remember to include you contact details. Still good value for money at £10 for the year. You will receive a monthly newsletter, free entry to all regular events and first chance to any ticketed event.
Please do continue to support our Group as we are currently struggling for funds to pay the ongoing costs of running the events and the maintenance of the website.
January saw no newsletter, so January’s quiz question was posted on Spotted Gilmorton, but we received no correct entries, so, like the Lottery, we had a roll over.
The question for February was: What connects a house in Monmouth to Gilmorton?
The correct answer is: The Cruck construction method used in some Gilmorton buildings.
The first correct name out of the hat was Suzanne Hudson. Congratulations to Suzanne who receives a tin of chocolate chip cookies (from last month’s roll over) plus a £20 M & S Voucher.
The question for March is: What caused a 300-year-old industry to cease in 1915?
Answers by e-mail to
All correct entries go into the draw for the prize which this month is a £20 M & S Voucher.
Don’t forget that the quiz is based on the two Gilmorton display boards. One situated on the front wall of the village hall and the other is in the recreation ground near the entrance to the tennis courts on Lutterworth Road.
We are still on the lookout for suitable people to join us on our committee. Alternatively, if you feel you could offer any help without being committed to a committee you are just what we need. So, if you feel you could be part of the team and get involved in Gilmorton’s fascinating history, we would love to hear from you.