50th Anniversary Conference
Wednesday 29th July- Saturday 1st August 2026
Crown and Mitre Hotel, Carlisle CA3 8HZ
For Sat Nav and parking use CA3 8HB
PROGRAMME
Wednesday 29 July
a.m. Carlise Archives CFHS help sessions/chance to visit the microfilm room (no need to book BUT booking is required if original documents are required in the map room)
16.30-18.00 Registration
18.00; Dinner
20.00 Putting your ancestors in their place: an introduction to one place studies Jane Barton; Janet Barrie
Thursday 30 July
Morning session
09.30-10.30 Echoes Across the Borderlands; The Buildings, Landscape & Sounds of Border Reiving Times [revised] Christine Craghill
Tea/coffee Break
11.00-12.00 Landowners & Farmers in the 19th Century. Mike Winstanley;
Lunch this is not booked so members can choose to eat in the Crown and Mitre or at locations close by
Afternoon Session
14.00-15.00 Work on the Land in North West England Mike Winstanley
Tea/coffee break
15.30-16.30 German Miners in Caldbeck in the 16th century Ian Tyler
18.00 Dinner
20.00 The Paternal Line (or: Illegitimacy runs in the Family) Petra Mitchinson
Friday 31 July
Morning session;
09.30-10.30 From Carlisle to Gallipoli in the Great War John Mather
Tea/coffee Break
11.00-12.00 Carlisle in 1745 Stephen White
Lunch
Afternoon Session
13.45 -14.15 AGM
open to all members whether attending the Conference or not
14.30 Tour around Carlisle with John Mather
For those not undertaking the Carlisle tour
Chris Craghill, together with members of the CFHS Committee will run a Q&A session, "Ask the experts"
18.00 Anniversary Gala Dinner
20.00 Talk and film show from Cumbria Film Archives
Saturday 1 August
Check out by 12.00 (luggage storage is available at the hotel)
10.00-16.00; Anniversary Fair
During the fair there will be two talks, one am and one pm by Chester Foster; How to Trace your Family Tree and House History
SPEAKER PROFILES
Jane Barton and Janet Barrie; One place Studies; This talk will introduce the principles of One-Place Studies in the context of family history, illustrated with examples from our Cumberland studies: Janet’s study of the Newlands Valley and Jane’s work on the parishes of Westward and Boltons. We will look at how One-Place studies draw on the techniques of
both family and local history to give a rounded picture of people in their localities. Janet and Jane are the chair and treasurer of the Society for One-Place Studies respectively, Jane also has a professional genealogy practice.
Christine Craghill; Echoes Across the Borderlands; The Buildings, Landscape &; Sounds of Border Reiving Times: Set against the landscape of the Anglo/Scottish Border Chris shows how the onset of war between the two countries, which ultimately led to cross border reiving raids, brought about a change in construction and land management in the region. Feel the reverberations of rustlers, kidnappers, blackmailers, counterfeiters &; murderers, who operated on both sides of the border under the clan system known today as the Riding Names and look at their posthumous legacy.
Dr Mike Winstanley (Retired Senior Lecturer in Social and Regional History, Lancaster University); Both talks will have a focus on North Lancashire and South Westmorland.
Landowners and Farmers; An exploration of the families who owned and farmed the land in the North West of England in the 19 th century and some sources for studying them.
Work on the Land in the NW; A discussion of the workforce; men, women and children how it changed over the course of the century and how it differed up and down the country and region. with a focus on North Lancashire and South Westmorland.
Ian Tyler (Mine Historian and Author); Ian was the owner of Keswick/Threlkeld and Caldbeck Mining Museums for thirty years. He has written seventeen books on mining history, explosives and the RAF in Cumbria and is the three times Winner of Lakeland Book of the Year; he will be talking about the Influx of German Miners in the Caldbeck area during the 16th Century
Petra Mitchinson; is a long-standing member of the CFHS and will be well known to many for her invaluable work on newspaper transcriptions and regular postings in the Facebook group. This talk is based on her own research.
John Mather; Carlisle to Gallipoli (The Border Regiment in the Gallipoli Campaign, 1915): John commemorates and unravels the complexities of this terrible campaign. As well as featuring the lives of several local servicemen from Cumbria to highlight their hardships, endeavours and fates, he also describes a recent trip to the battle site
Stephen White; Carlise in 1745; Stephen is a retired local history librarian from Carlisle who has a wide range of talks about the area, including looking at the events in Carlisle during the Jacobite rebellion of 1745.
Chester Forster; Chester is a resident of Carlisle who regularly provides a wide range of family history talks. During the Fair, in a side space, he will be talking about how to begin tracing your family history.
BOOKING
For prices, please see the adjacent booking form.
Rooms at the Crown and Mitre are limited, so please book as soon as possible.
Bookings must be received by 30th June 2026.
After submitting your booking, please scroll up to see your confirmation