A warm welcome ..
Welcome to the Upper Thames and Ridgeway National Trust Association (UTRNTA).
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The UTRNTA is the local Supporter Group for the National Trust, covering parts of Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire not catered for by surrounding Associations.
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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:
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​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.
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​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
2025
Tuesday 7th October Highworth
Wayne Gregory
Jewel of Arabia
Please note
This is a change to the published talk
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UTRNTA: new season ticket starting Autumn 2025/26 for talks
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Introducing the new UTRNTA season ticket for the next series of winter talks. The cost is £20 per person. In other words, you get 6 talks for the price of 4. The plan is that each season ticket will be numbered so that all we need to record on arrival is your number. Hopefully, this should reduce queueing and make things easier. The season ticket is only available to members, but members and guests will be welcome at all talks as before.
There are several ways to purchase the season ticket. The preferred method is via BACS transfer direct to the UTRNTA account. If you do this, please send an email (dave@davang.co.uk) to let me know who you are, etc. Other methods include payment by cheque payable to UTRNTA and sent to Dave Richardson, 34 Reeds, Cricklade, Swindon SN6 6JF, cash, and contactless card. Initially, I will send an email to allow you to print out a paper version of the season ticket. This will be replaced with a card version when you arrive for your first talk.
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2025​ ​​
Saturday November 15th
​Cirencester
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Stewart Smith
Minster Lovell, Lord Lovell and the Chartists
Old Duffer's talk
I Was a Minster Boy.
The story of my village where three became one
Meeting a Saint,The Cat the Rat and Lovel the Dog and that Chartist bloke Feargus O’Conner.
The AGM will follow the talk​
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2026
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Wednesday 14th January
Highworth
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Dr Richard Fisher
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'Three Choirs and a Reformation: English Cathedrals under the Tudors'
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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 have developed
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Wednesday 11th February
Cirencester
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Wayne Gregory
Hidden Arabia
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Friday 11th March
Lechlade
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Bill King
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The Magic and Mysteryof Glenn Miller
Thursday 16th April
Highworth
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Jennifer Cowling
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Those Extraordinary Things We Say
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Are you the kind of person (as I am) who happily uses phrases such as a turn up for the book, cupboard love, being taken to the cleaners, sod’s law, having a whale of a time or tickled pink in your everyday conversation oblivious to the fact that many of your listeners have no idea what you’re talking about?? Why is our language so strange and difficult to analyse at times? What are its origins? A light-hearted look at English figures of speech and how we use them.
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Wednesday 7th October
Cirencester
2 30pm
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Medical Dectection Dogs
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more information later
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Saturday 21st November
LECHLADE
2 30pm
please note the venue
Dr Gillian White
Henry V111 and the Field of the Cloth of Gold
In June 1520 the king of France and the king of England met in a field outside Calais to celebrate peace. The celebrations that accompanied this meeting were so magnificent and luxurious that they have become known as The Field of Cloth of Gold. The diplomatic negotiations were ultimately worthless but for Henry VIII and François I it was a chance to compete for honour and glory and no expense was to be spared in the competition to be top dog. This talk explores the reason for their meeting, the extravagant celebrations themselves, and the aftermath of this magnificent yet futile event.
The AGM will follow the talk
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FUTURE TALKS
OUTINGS
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2025​​
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Wednesday
August 27th​
visit to
Kelmscott Manor
near Lechlade
starts at 13 30pm
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There will be a guided tour and afterwards a cream tea at the
Manor Tea Rooms
Cost £30
early ​booking advised, places are limited
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Visitors to use their own transport
to reach the venue GL7 3HJ
A free bus service from the car park or make a 10 minute walk to the house
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please apply by e mail
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Wednesday
September 17th
an outing to
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Coughton Court
Warwickshire
​Coughton Court is an imposing Tudor house set in beautiful gardens with a collection of Catholic treasures
This National Trust property, which is reverting to private ownership next season, has recently been featured on television in the series Treasures of the National Trust, which has been focusing on the activities of conservators at various properties Coughton, which is near Alcester in Warwickshire, has been home to the Throckmorton family for more than 600 years. Facing persecution for their Catholic faith, they were willing to risk everything. You can discover their story and find out about a family’s struggles and perseverance, including their link to the infamous Gunpowder Plot. The Throckmorton family still live here, and they created and manage the gardens, including a riverside walk, bog garden and beautiful display of roses in the walled garden. The Through the Roof conservation project to replace the roof has recently been completed.
This will be a free-flow tour, though a talk is available if required. Lunch is available at the café, and picnics are welcome in the picnic areas, but not in the formal gardens.
COST £18 per person, maximum of 50
Pick up points:
HIGHWORTH, Brewery Street car park at 9.00 a.m
CIRENCESTER, The Beeches at 9.30 a.m.
Departure for home at 3.30pm
Please pay by BACS if possible using the sort code 60-05-41,
account number 24586269
and put CODEsurname in the reference box.
please apply by e mail
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Monday
December 1st
2 15pm
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Afternoon tea
Tea/Coffee​ scone and cream
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Stanton Fitzwarren Hotel
SN6 7SD
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£7 50
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This venue was much enjoyed at the last coffee morning and it was suggested by some of our members as an ideal place and simple menu to enjoy a pre Christmas get together.
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limited numbers
Booking essential
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New programme of courses released by Heritage and Rural Skills Centre
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Painting, blacksmithing, block printing, traditional lime plastering, leaded stain glass, pargeting, wood carving, lettercutting in stone or wood, landscape oil painting, making a willow bird feeder, glass painting, textures weaving, working in silver ..... these courses are on offer at the Heritage and Rural skills centre here in our area in Coleshill. Lasting one or two days these are EXTREMELY popular So if you are interested contact the national trust or 01793762209
pargeting, plaster or mortar applied to a wall typically with an ornamental pattern
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