2024

About Your House - discover the families who lived in your house

'Connections'

We once again welcome the national Heritage Open Days Scheme in September 2024 and Berkshire Family History Society is once again taking part.

The events run throughout the country from Friday 6th to Sunday 15th September, and this year's theme has been announced as ‘Routes, Networks and Connections’.

The Society will be focusing on 'Connections', and will be offering guidance to those wishing to discover the history of their house and its past occupants.

Horse drawn bys in Broad Street c 1900

Discover Historic Broad Street, Reading

Throughout this period we will be running a display in the events area of The Centre for Heritage and Family History on the second floor of Reading Central Library, in conjunction with Reading Local Studies Library. The highlight will be a panoramic view of Broad Street, Reading based on the 1881 census.

image Walton Adams, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Video Screenings: A trip around the Reading inner distribution road - before & after

On Saturday 7th September, we will be running a video screening of the areas of Reading affected by the creation of the Inner Distribution Road at 11am and again at 1pm. One of the video’s creators - Graham Turner - will be joining us for the day to chat to visitors about the area of Coley which was particularly altered by our ring road, sharing memories and tales of families displaced and houses lost.

Extended Opening Hours and Centre Tours

The opening hours of the Centre for Heritage and Family History will be as follows (hours additional to our normal opening are marked *)

DayTime
Friday 6th*10.30am-4pm
Saturday 7th10.30am-2.30pm
Monday 9th10.30am-3pm
Tuesday 10th10.30am-4pm
Saturday 14th*10.30am-2.30pm

On Monday 9th and Tuesday 10th, during our normal opening hours of 10.30am-3pm and 10.30am-4pm respectively, we will be offering free tours of the Centre for Heritage and Family History and the facilities we offer.

Refreshments will be available for a modest donation. 

Do come along and join us.