welcome to fisherton history society

Fisherton History Society is open to people with an interest in the history of Salisbury and in particular, the Fisherton area of the city.
The society aims to promote the study of life and culture through meetings, talks, the Fisherton Informer Magazine and The Salisbury History Festival.
We hold six Official Meetings per year with a guest speaker, and six Interim Meetings with a chance to meet like-minded people and talk about local history.
 
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Next Meeting Wednesday 14th February 2024
7:30pm

SIDNEY HERBERT A TALK BY CHRISTINE MATTHEWS
UPSTAIRS AT:- THE PHEASANT, SALISBURY

AND IN THE BEGINNING.

In 2014, my good friend George Fleming and I presented a talk entitled ‘Who Killed Teddy Haskell’ at the Duke of York pub, Salisbury. The murder of 12 year-old Teddy Haskell in 1908 had happened just around the corner from the pub and a historical presentation seemed like a good idea - particularly as I had written a book on the case with Bruce Purvis in 2008 and we had plenty of books left to purchase! The meeting was a sell-out and another meeting was planned, this time charting the ‘1906 Salisbury Railway Disaster’ which George and I had spent many years researching. This meeting was also packed. It seemed obvious to me that a local history society would be an excellent idea and the Fisherton History Society was born.

A NEW SOCIETY IS BORN.

In 2015, I invited the wonderful local historian John Chandler to be the very first speaker at our newly formed society and John presented a wonderful talk called ‘My Fascination with Fisherton.’ This set in motion my own desire to focus more on local research based in and around the Salisbury area. I have to admit that I had no idea what to expect regarding the formation of a local history club but I soon became astonished by the response – local history was definitely very much alive! I decided that the new society would host six meetings per year, each with a guest speaker, and our venue would be the Duke of York public house - these meeting would be free to everyone. In a short space of time we had outgrown the Duke of York, and moved to the upstairs function room at the Pheasant in Salt Lane. This venue also had the benefit of a large car park opposite the pub for those coming from further afield.

THE MAGAZINE.

An in-house magazine ‘The Fisherton Informer’, followed one year later containing historical feature articles on Salisbury and the surrounding area – this would allow a platform for local historians and first time writers. Many memories that would probably never have seen the light of day have since been published along with photographs, letters, postcards etc. 6 magazines are published per year to coincide with official meetings where they are made available.

THE FHS FACEBOOK PAGE

Another addition has been the ‘Fisherton History Society Facebook Page’ which now has nearly 9,000 members. It has provided many vintage photographs of old Salisbury – not to mention old cine camera film charting areas that have been demolished and redeveloped. I wonder how much more will be discovered in the darkened recesses of local loft spaces?

THE SALISBURY HISTORY FESTIVAL

In 2019, I decided to organize the first ‘Salisbury History Festival’ and the original idea was that this would take place over two days. However, it soon became apparent that the interest was far greater than I had anticipated and two days soon became five. I was aware that this first festival would be something of an experiment and that I stood the chance of being out of pocket as I didn’t apply for any funding. But sometimes you have to take a chance to get the job done! Salisbury History Festival has gone from strength to strength and we now enjoy partnerships with other local organisations like Wiltshire Creative, History at Large, and the Timezone Group.

FROGG’S MESSAGE

In running Fisherton History Society, my mission is to bring the fascinating history of Salisbury to the attention of as many people as possible. Since receiving the ‘Local History Personal Achievement Award’ from the ‘British Association for Local History’ back in 2010, my passion for Salisbury History has become something of an obsession! I am grateful to everyone involved with FHS, the Salisbury Journal for allowing me to write a weekly history column and to everyone associated with the fascinating subject of local history. Frogg Moody FISHERTON HISTORY SOCIETY OFFICIAL MEETINGS: We host 6 Official Meetings per year with a guest speaker. These take place at The Pheasant Inn, Salt Lane at 7.30pm on the second Wednesday of - February, April, June, August, October and December. INTERIM MEETINGS: We host 6 Interim Meetings per year where we encourage members to engage with others over a drink and to talk about local history. These take place at the Duke of York, York Road at 7.30pm on the second Wednesday of - January, March, May, July, September and November.

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