The Surrey Archaeological Society is pleased to be participating in Athel’s Town: Saxon Encampment and Reenactment, a major public heritage event organised by Kingston Heritage Service to commemorate the 1100th anniversary of the crowning of Athelstan as king of Wessex at Kingston upon Thames. Please come and visit our stall at the event on Sunday 27th 2025 (11am — 5pm), which will feature displays about the activities of the Society and Athelstan’s connections to Surrey, replica artefacts to handle, a mini archaeological digging experience, books, themed information leaflets and more.

We will meet in the Farthing Downs car park at 10am for a guided tour of the Downs by the ranger, Thomas Oliver. Tom, who is the Conservation Ranger for City of London Corporation, will talk about the use of the Downs throughout history, including the Iron Age site and the many Saxon graves. The leisurely walk will take about 1.5 to 2 hours with the route following a flat grassy path on the top of the downs with a few gentle slopes. In summer this should not be slippery. The total length of the route is around 1-2km and we will finish at the car park where there are toilets.

The AGM of the Medieval Studies Forum will be followed by a talk Professor Ian Freestone (UCL Institute of Archaeology) on Medieval Glass.

We will be returning for a third year of test pitting this season at Albury Park to investigate the deserted medieval settlement which once stretched across the course of the former road which continued all the way to Shere. The original village of Albury was displaced in the early 19th century (to its current location to the west), and little now remains standing of the former cottages. However, with the help of geophysical survey, LiDAR and - of course - a large-scale series of test pits spread across the site, we are working to uncover and learn more about the original settlement!

Surrey Local History Committee

A Meeting of the Forum has been arranged at which a series of talks will be presented by members of the Forum on a wide range of interesting topics.

The programme for the meeting is attached. The charge for the meeting is £5, payable on the door. All are welcome.

To help with practical arrangements including refreshments please e-mail medforum@hotmail.co.uk to register your intention to attend.

The Annual Symposium of the Society will take place in East Horsley Village Hall. Online booking via PayPal at £12 per person is now available by clicking on the BOOK tab above. Due to difficulty in paying them in cheques cannot now be accepted. Online booking enables us to assess the catering requirements and streamlines the administration process.

Payment by cash on the day is discouraged but will be possible and exact change would be appreciated. Tickets cost £12 per person.