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John Chapman’s 90th Birthday

John is a founder member of Project Purley, and has contributed a huge amount of research to the history of Purley on Thames, much of which is in our website archives.  He was also instrumental in organising the move of the Barn from Belleisle to Goosecroft, when the Trentham’s site was developed for housing.  All of us owe him a great debt of gratitude for his perseverance over several years in saving this beautiful building, which has become the main community space in the village.

John turned 90 on 30th September 2025, and to contribute to his celebrations, Project Purley gave him a birthday cake at the VJ day anniversary meeting in the Barn.  It was an excellent cake, and he didn’t get to take much of it home!

John Chapman and his 90th birthday cake; presentation by Marjorie Butler

VE Day 80th Anniversary in Words, Images and Music

An event hosted by Project Purley and other local organisations and individuals.
Monday 5th May
2:00 – 4.30 pm – doors open 1.45 pm
The Barn, Goosecroft, Purley on Thames, RG8 8DR
Tickets £5 per person from Marjorie Butler on 0118 941 8856 or at a Project Purley meeting

Pre-booking required

Doors open at 1.45 pm and our event begins at 2:00 pm.  Discover Purley during the Second World War.  Find out where Spitfire parts were made in the village, how we welcomed children, families and businesses evacuated from London, how Purley Park River Estate expanded into a village within a village and read about the eventful bops in their community hall.  Discover the stories of those who served in the armed forces and on the home front and our connections to the “Great Escape” and the infamous Thai-Burma Railway.  Maybe you’ll find a former resident of your home served in the war?

There will be an exhibition, Pathe Film news clips, music, images and a talk in two halves, by historian Mike Cooper on “The Collapse of Germany in 1945”.

The ticket price also includes tea/coffee and cake.

The afternoon will end about 4.30 pm. Pre-booking is required as numbers are limited.

 

Rain or Shine: The Rivals

The Rain or Shine Theatre Company is coming back to the Barn on Friday 20th June 2025, with a performance of Sheridan’s The Rivals.

The performance will start at 7:00 pm, doors open 6:15 pm, bar open from 6:30 pm, serving wine and soft drinks, card or cash.

 

The Rivals,  a 17th Century comedy adventure by Richard Brinsley Sheridan

When fashionable 18th century London society comes to take the waters in the spa-town of Bath, comic confusion, daring duels and romantic entanglements abound.

At the centre of it all is heiress Lydia Languish, who is determined to elope with the penniless Ensign Beverly rather than marry the eligible Jack Absolute.

Come and sample the sparkling wit and whirlwind plot of The Rivals, a Restoration Comedy which has delighted audiences for over 250 years with its collection of comic characters, including the formidable Mrs Malaprop, a creation so famous for the way she mangles the English language that her name is now immortalised in the dictionary.

This brand new adaptation combines Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s masterpiece with Rain or Shine’s fast and furious comic flair.

Tickets available online (card only) – click link below:

 

 

Or point your phone camera at the QR code below:

Or via the Rain or Shine telephone ticket line: 03306 600541.

Or from David Downs (cash only) at the April and May meetings in the Barn, or call him on 0118 942 4167.

 

Rain or Shine: Murder Most Wilde

The Rain or Shine Theatre Company will be back at the Barn in Purley on Friday 6th December with their new performance Murder Most Wilde.  Tickets from David Downs, 0118 942 4167, or from the Rain or Shine website:  https://www.rainorshine.co.uk/

The performance will start at 7:00 pm, and the bar will be open at 6:30 pm and at the interval.  Profits from the evening will go to Cancer Research.

Following their highly successful summer tour of The Importance Of Being Earnest, Rain or Shine Theatre Company is touring ‘Murder Most Wilde’, a new adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s comic and quirky tale “Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime”, a delightfully silly Victorian comedy chock full of muddled murder attempts and comic confusion.

Meeting dates 2025

Meetings are held at The Barn, Goosecroft, Purley on Thames RG8 8DR

Friday 17th January, 7:30 pm.  “The History of Greyfriars Church” by Malcolm Summers.

Friday 21st February, 7:30 pm.  “Tilehurst’s Big Houses: Dellwood, The Laurels and Kentwood” by Katie Amos.

Friday 21st March, 7:30 pm.  AGM followed by  “Getting Around in the 1960s” by Mike Hurst.

Friday 25th April, 7:30 pm.  “Amusing the Victorians – how entertainment developed” by Peter Halman.

Monday 5th May, afternoon. * VE Day 80th Anniversary in Words, Images and Music – Project Purley and other local organisations & individuals.  Advance booking required.

Friday 20th June 2025, 7:00 pm. * Rain or Shine Theatre Company – The Rivals.  Advance booking required.

Saturday 19th July 2025. * Visit to Douai Abbey in Woolhampton.  Full details and the ticket launch at the March meeting.  Advance booking required.

Friday 19th September 2025 7:30 pm. * 80th Anniversary of VJ Day event with talk “Over the Kwai: The Story of the Burma-Siam Railway in World War 2” by Richard Marks.  Advance booking required.

Friday 17th October 2025 7:30 pm.  “Horse Dealing in Reading” by Caroline Piller.

Friday 21st November 2025 7:30 pm.  “Along the Thames and railway from Tilehurst through Purley” by Gordon Adams.

Friday 19th December 2025 7:30 pm. * Project Purley Christmas Party.  Advance booking required

*ADVANCE BOOKING REQUIRED

Rain or Shine: The Importance of Being Earnest

Friday 7th June – 7.30pm
“The Importance of Being Earnest”

The Barn, Goosecroft

Profits from the evening will be donated to the Army Benevolent Fund.

Rain or Shine describe their adaptation as follows:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When two Victorian gentlemen assume the name of ‘Earnest’ to win the affections of two ladies, both determined to marry a man of that name, the scene is set. Join Rain or Shine Theatre Company for an evening of hilarious confusion in a world of handbags, perambulators, cucumber sandwiches, muffins, butlers, the English upper class, and of course, that theatrical tour de force – Lady Bracknell!”

Tickets are priced at £16 adult and £8 child, and you can purchase these from:

David Downs at 0118 942 4167 (cash purchases only)
The box office ticket line 03306 600541 (card only)

Website https://www.rainorshine.co.uk/   (card only)

Please do come and support, if you can, and bring your family and friends. Open to all.

 

Visit to Chiltern Open Air Museum Friday 12th July

Leave 8.30am from Goosecroft Recreational Ground, return approximately 5.30pm.
Price £27.50 per person (including coach there and back).

Step back in time and explore over 30 reconstructed historic buildings, including an Iron Age roundhouse, 1940s prefab, blacksmith’s forge, Victorian toll house, tin chapel, WW1 and WW2 Nissan huts, earthen cottage and working historic farm that is home to goats, sheep, chickens, cows and farm cats. All set in 45 acres of beautiful Chilterns countryside. As well as a collection of historical buildings, the Museum boasts a number of small traditional gardens that complement them and suit their time periods. These include a formal Arts and Crafts garden, a pretty cottage garden, and a ‘dig for victory’ allotment next to the 1940s prefab.

In addition to the buildings and gardens there are orchards, a woodland trail, sensory trail, gift shop and tearoom (serves lunches as well as tea/cake etc). If you prefer to bring your own lunch, there are a number of picnic benches scattered around the site.

Discover more at: https://coam.org.uk/
Book a place via Jean Chudleigh on email jeanchudleigh@btinternet.com. Open to members and their guests.

Pre-booking required – bookings close Sunday 7th July

 

D-Day Commemoration Event

Project Purley’s D-Day Commemoration Event
Saturday 8th June, 1pm
Purley Memorial Hall, Glebe Road
£10 per person

Any profits from this event will be donated to the Army Benevolent Fund.

In keeping with the spirit of 1944, we will begin with a fish and chips lunch, after which historian Mike Cooper will give a talk about the events of D-Day itself.

“D-Day” wasn’t a single event, but many. Mike will look at the context for the landings, the planning and assumptions behind the actions of both sides, and at each of the landing beaches. This can’t be a detailed study, but instead an introduction and overview to help understand the nature and significance of what happened.

There will be a small display about D-Day and we will also light one of the special D-Day lanterns.

Vegetarian options are also available – please request when booking.

Book a place via Jean Chudleigh on email jeanchudleigh@btinternet.com. Open to all.

Pre-booking is required. Bookings close Monday 3rd June.

 

Meeting dates 2024

Meetings are held at The Barn, Goosecroft, Purley on Thames RG8 8DR

Friday 19th January, 7:30 pm.  Nick Brazil:  Swan Upping – a 900-year Royal Tradition

Friday 16th February, 7:30 pm.  Sarah Somerville: The History of Shaw House in Newbury

Friday 15th March, 7:30 pm.  AGM followed by Richard Marks: Biscuits for Queen Victoria – the story of the early days of Huntley and Palmers

Friday 19th April, 7:30 pm.  Dr Stephen Goss: From Doomsday Book to listening in for doomsday: Caversham Park’s 930 years at the centre of history

Saturday 8th June, 1:00 pm.  D-Day Commemoration Event

Friday 7th June, 7:30 pm  Rain or Shine Theatre Company: The Importance of being Earnest (A Trivial Comedy for Serious People) by Oscar Wilde

Friday 12th July.  Outing by coach to Chiltern Open Air Museum

Friday 20th September, 7:30 pm.  Members’ meeting – Hobbies and Collections

Friday 18th October, 7:30 pm.  Ellie Thorne: The Shops, Trades and Businesses of Pangbourne, 1949 to the Present Day.

Friday 15th November, 7:30 pm.  Richard Marks: Berkshire’s Forgotten Railways

Friday 20th December.  Social: Christmas Party

Rain or Shine: Frankenstein

The Rain or Shine Theatre Company will be back in the Barn in Purley on Thames on Friday 8th December 2023, hosted again by Project Purley.  As usual, we look set for an evening of great acting and much laughter.

Mobirise

Victor Frankenstein is on a scientific quest. He believes that he alone is destined to break through the greatest boundary of the medical world and harness the power to control life and death. Along with his faithful assistant, Igor, he finds that the act of creation is not all it’s cracked up to be when his efforts finally bring a homemade man to life. The only true question is who is the monster? Victor or his creation? Join Rain or Shine this winter for their hilarious take on this Gothic classic. Expect gags, fast paced chaos, well-timed comic set pieces. And hats. Lots and lots of hats.

Tickets are on sale now at £12 adult and £8 concession either from David Downs face-to-face or on 0118 942 4167.