A day conference will be held to mark the bi-centenary of the birth of Handel Cossham (1824-1890), celebrated local mine owner, philanthropist, educationalist and politician, who also left money for the founding of the Memorial Hospital which bears his name.
Venue: Turnberries Conference Centre, Thornbury, BS35 2BB.
Saturday 13 April 2024, 10 am to 4.30 pm.
Cost £15.00 per person.
Booking via Eventbrite or the ALHA website, or by post to William Evans, 5 Parry’s Grove, Bristol BS9 1TT.
Provisional Programme
9.45 am: Opening of conference by Chairman.
10 am: Handel Cossham: family and early life; mines overview (David Hardwick, S Gloucestershire Mines Research Group).
10.35 am: Handel Cossham, mining and geology (Steve Grudgings, SCMRG).
11.10 am: Coffee (extended break for those wishing to visit library exhibition nearby).
11.55 am: Handel Cossham and the British Schools (Terry Ransome and William Evans).
12.30 pm: Lunch.
1.30 pm: Handel Cossham and the temperance movement (Alan Clarke).
2.05 pm: Handel Cossham: His public and political life (John Stevens).
2.40 pm: Tea.
2.55 pm: The Cossham Hospital (Michael Whitfield, former lecturer in General Practice and medical historian).
3.30 pm: Questions and panel discussion.
4 pm: Chairman’s closing remarks.
4.15 pm: Close of conference.
John Stevens
8/xii/2023