| Burton Latimer Heritage Society was formed in 2000 to promote an interest in the history of Burton Latimer and its people. Its formation was prompted by a gift of £2000 by Weetabix Ltd to Burton Latimer Town Council to refurbish a room in the council offices at ‘The Poplars’, High Street, for use as a small museum, later to be known as the Heritage Room.
It was felt that the museum would be best managed by a group of volunteers, rather than the Town Council, and a public meeting was called to gauge support. It was a successful meeting and the Burton Latimer Heritage Society was formed. In October that year the Heritage Room Museum opened with its first exhibition and continued to mount exhibitions, at first three times a year and subsequently twice a year.
The Society was granted charitable status in 2002 and has an executive committee of twelve trustees. Its present officers (elected in March 2019) are: Chair: Chris Long; John Meads, secretary; Ian Watson, treasurer. Other trustees are: Godfrey Bigley (minutes secretary), Linda Gregory, Ian Hebden, Janet Meads and John Peck. Since the 2019 AGM, the Society has lost two trustees, Trevor Cooper who has passed away and Nick Smith who has moved from Burton Latimer and resigned. As a replacement, Tony Dacre has been co-opted and will be standing for election at the 2022 AGM.
Councillors Jenny Davies and Ruth Groome are currently (2021) the Town Council representatives.
Click here to read the Burton Latimer Heritage Society Constitution
The Society issues four newsletters a year to its members; they carry news of the Society’s activities and articles of historical interest about the town and its past inhabitants. Copies of photographs from all the previous exhibitions are contained in a series of folders which can be seen when the museum is open. Regular audio visual presentations of ‘old Burton ’ photographs and other talks of an historical nature are a regular feature of the Society's programme and Coffee Mornings are held at least twice a year. Walks around the town led by Society guides take place in the summer - please phone for details or visit our Facebook page Burton Latimer Heritage
In 2010, the museum moved from 'The Poplars' to rooms in the Civic Centre, once the town’s medical centre, which has the great advantage of being on the ground floor, unlike at ‘The Poplars’ where it was on the first floor. It also has a large free car park. A successful application to the Heritage Lottery Fund meant that in 2011 the museum was refitted with modern conservation standard display cabinets and the research room with a touchscreen computer on to which have been installed forty Burton Latimer indexes with thousands of references to Burton Latimer people. There is also a microfiche reader which can be used to look at parish registers with baptisms 1558-1972, marriages 1558-1996 and burials 1558-1973, a large LCD screen showing old photographs and dozens of books with hundreds of photographs from past exhibitions and other general reference material.
2018 Annual General Meeting
Click here to read the minutes of the 2018 AGM, held at the Civic Centre 15th March 2018
2019 Annual General Meeting
Click here to read the minutes of the 2019 AGM held at the Civic Centre 22nd March 2019
2020 Annual General Meeting
Due to the Covid-19 restrictions the AGM scheduled for March 19 was not held and because of the continuing social distancing advice the Trustees made a decision to cancel it. The annual accounts are usually agreed by members at the AGM, but as this was not possible they were circulated to the Trustees for their approval before being sent to the Charity Commission. This complies with the Charity Commission’s Covid-19 emergency advice.
The accounts are attached here for the information of BLHS members.
2022 Annual General Meeting
The 2022 AGM covering the year ending 31 December 2021, took place on Thursday 17th March. Two new committee members, Penny Lucas and Tony Dacre were appointed to replace Janet Meads who stepped down after 22 years, Trevor Cooper (deceased) and Nick Smith (who had left the area). Gwyneth Mellors was co-opted on to the committee at its first meeting after the AGM.
Click here to read the minutes of the 2022 AGM (to be approved and signed at the 2023 AGM)
2023 Annual General Meeting
The AGM covering the year ending December 2022 took place on Thursday 16th March. The Chair, Chris Long, stood down and retired from the committee. Tony Dacre was elected to replace him as Chair. The remaining officers and members were re-elected. Click here to read the minutes of the 2023 AGM, to be approved and signed at the 2024 AGM.
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