A warm welcome ..
Welcome to the Upper Thames and Ridgeway National Trust Association (UTRNTA).
The UTRNTA is the local Supporter Group for the National Trust, covering parts of Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire not catered for by surrounding Associations.
We attract members from a wide area centred on Cirencester, Lechlade and Highworth.
In addition to your existing membership of the National Trust we offer events such as:
Local talks on a wide variety of topics
Day-trips to NT Properties and other places of interest
An annual spring holiday
The talks take place in the winter months and are held in Cirencester, Lechlade and Highworth. The outings are in the warmer months, and are typically day-trips by coach to NT sites which are further away. The holiday in 2023 was based in Sheffield and included five National Trust sites in that area.
Some of our funds are donated to the National Trust to help in their work locally.
Our upcoming Events
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NEXT TALK
Thursday 16th January
2 30 pm Lechlade Memorial Hall
Lew Lawton
Terracotta Warriors
The buried army built to protect an emperor for eternity was discovered in the 1970’s when a farmer was digging a well. In the 50 years since, the Army has become one of China’s most popular tourist destinations. In truth no photographs can truly portray the amazing view that befalls you when you first enter the pavilion covering Pit No 1. But in this illustrated talk which includes some of the history of Chinese culture, language and characters, Lew does his best to tell the story of this immense standing army.
FUTURE TALKS
2025
Tuesday 11th February Highworth
Stewart Smith
Coleshill
Wednesday 12th March Cirencester
Bill King
The River At War
Thursday 17th April Lechlade
Peter Williams
Life as a Military Spy
Peter Williams spent four years in Berlin in the 1980s as an officer in BRIXMIS, the British military liaison mission to the Soviet army in East Germany. At that time and throughout the Cold War British, American and French liaison teams took part in unarmed 3-man patrols which took great risks to check on the readiness for war of the Soviet and East German armed forces beyond the Iron Curtain. He will describe extraordinary activities that were shrouded in secrecy at the time, but which have been declassified and revealed to the public in recent years
Tuesday 7th October Highworth
Dr Richard Fisher
'Three Choirs and a Reformation: English Cathedrals under the Tudors'
In this illustrated talk Dr Richard Fisher explains how the nineteen cathedrals of medieval England were administered and funded, including their curious division into two very distinct organisational groups. Henry VIII is infamous for his dissolution of the monasteries, but not so well known for creating six new dioceses, bishops and their requisite cathedrals from abbeys spared destruction. Yet which did he choose to save and why? Using examples from the west of England, focusing on the cathedrals at Hereford, Worcester and Gloucester, the story is told of how our cathedrals survived the Reformation and contributed to the distinctive worship of the emergent Anglican church.
Saturday 15th November Cirencester
OUTINGS
Tuesday December 10th.
Christmas Tea
Sadly, the Christmas Tea is cancelled
Have you ideas for visits for next year?
Please let us know if you have
We are coming to the end of this year's programme so please look out for next year's programme
In the meantime why not visit the News and Gallery Section and see what we have enjoyed this year
Just click on the writing for a fuller report
2025
Wednesday February 5th 2025
NEW YEAR LUNCH
at
Blunsdon House Hotel
£40.00
Please contact Joan Craigie for more details
01793 762622
Wednesday March 5th
10 30am
A visit to the Bodleian Storage Unit at South Marston
SN3 4RY
Swindon to Shrivenham Rd.
A tour of the building which contains 16 million books
fascinating organisation
Limited Numbers, names, after Chtristmas, to Gillian millerwrde@icloud.com
SPRING HOLIDAY 15-19th June 2025
Suffolk
. We will be based at the Dragonfly Hotel on the outskirts of Bury St Edmunds. We will be visiting Knebworth House on our way to Bury. On the following day St Edmundsbury Cathedral and Ickworth House .On Tuesday we will travel to Long Melford,with one of the longest main streets in England, to a moated tudor House , Kentwell Hall, followed by a visit to Holy Trinity Church at the top of the village. Wednesday we will go a bit further to see Sutton Hoo, and on to Lavenham Guild Hall and the beautiful village in the afternoon. On Thursday we leave our Hotel and head for home stopping at Syon House for lunch and a tour of the house. Then carry on to our home destinations arriving around 6pm in Cirencester.
The Cost of the holiday will be around £600.00 plus extras like single supplements, booked lunches and guided tours. English Heritage and Historic Houses members will be discounted at those venues.
I do hope that many of you will join us to see the best of Suffolk.