Members celebrated the end of another successful year for the group with their annual Christmas lunch at Seaham Golf Club
In April 2019 SFHG organised our fund raising event at Seaham Town Hall for the Seaham Mayor's Charity Fund. This included a meal for guests with entertainment by singing duo "R & R" followed by raffles and tombola. The event succesfully raised over £700 towards the Charity Fund which supports various Seaham group activities each year. Following this event SFHG was very generously awarded a donation from this Charity Fund by the Mayor of Seaham in recognition of our work in the community. A very entertaining evening for members attending in support of a good community cause.
The Society houses a vast collection of documents, newspapers, photographs, maps and much more relating to Sunderland and the surrounding district. Every week sees further material added to the collection which we were able to examine during a fascinating
guided tour. Our sincere thanks to both the Society Secretary, Phil Curtis, and our own Secretary Linda Baker for organising the visit.
Three eminent Seaham gentlemen of the SFHG easily felt at home in the palatial surroundings of John and Josephine Bowes' French style museum in Barnard Castle.
A highlight of any Bowes Museum visit is the demonstation of the Swan automaton, dating from the 18th Century and after refurbishment working better than ever.
Members were given a brief history of the Museum by one of the volunteer guides before having plenty of time to look round the galleries and the exhibitions. Pride of place was the exhibition of "Queen Victoria in Paris 1855" watercolours.
Between art and history we found time to fit in lunch and afternoon tea in the cafe.
Our thanks to Linda, our Secretary for organising the visit.
The Seaham Mayor's Charity Fund Event and Awards Evening 2018
In April 2018 SFHG organised another fund raising event at Seaham Town Hall for the Seaham Mayor's Charity Fund. This included a meal for guests with entertainment by the folk duo "Fools Gold" followed by raffles and tombola. The event succesfully raised over £700 towards the Charity Fund which supports various Seaham group activities each year. Following this event SFHG was very generously awarded a donation from this Charity Fund by the Mayor of Seaham in recognition of our work in the community. A very entertaining evening for members attending in support of a good community cause.
In September SFHG members enjoyed a visit to the Sunderland Glass Centre. Our visit included an informative and entertaining guided tour of the Museum and the various exhibitions on display. Refreshments were provided during the break which was then followed by a demonstration of glass blowing.
Photo above - Members admire some of the glass jewelry on display
Photo left - Eddie demonstrates his stamina and skills in glass blowing
SFHG Display at Seaham Library
During January and February 2017 SFHG members illustrated some of their research into family and local history by mounting a display at Seaham Library.
SFHG ended 2016 with our Christmas Lunch at Seaham Golf Club. The food and service was again excellent and our thanks to the staff at the club.
During September 2016 SFHG visited Wynyard Hall for afternoon tea in the Londonderry Room followed by an arranged guided tour of the Hall. Our excellent guide brought the history of the Hall and the Londonderry family vividly to life during his tour which made the day special for our members. Our thanks to Linda and Bill for organising both the event and the transport to the Hall.
During September 2016
SFHG members visited Wynyard Hall for afternoon tea in the Londonderry Room followed by a guided tour of the Hall. Everyone enjoyed the event which was made special by our tour guide who entertained us by describing the history of the Hall and the family.
Group members celebrated the arrival of summer with a dining out evening at Martino's Restaurant in Seaham.
Everyone had an enjoyable evening with good food and company.
We look forward to repeating the experience.
Following last year's successful Charity Dinner for the Mayor's Fund, SFHG responded to a request from the new Mayor of Seaham to organise another fundraising event at Seaham Town Hall on Thursday 17th March, 2016.
This year a very successful Pie and Pea Supper was held which included a short after supper talk by the Mayor, Councillor Bruce Burn bringing together aspects of Seaham past and present. As in the previous year a display of historical artifacts was arranged around the room for guests to look at. A highlight was the showing of a new promotional video looking at Seaham past and present which was the work of Bruce Burn and colleagues at Seaham Town Hall. It made use of a wood town layout model created for the Paris Exhibition and allowed a visual comparison of the landscape of Seaham then and now. Although the Mayor described it as a work in progress project everyone was impressed with the quality and style of the video.
Our thanks to everyone who supported the event and contributed generously to the raffle and tombola on the night. As last year, special thanks to Linda and Bill Baker who togther with Oldfields put together another successful evening and promoted Seaham Family History Group in the town and beyond. In total over £600 was raised to support community groups and projects.
As posted on our Home Page, SFHG were represented at Bill & Linda Baker, Fred Cooper, Stuart & Isabel Watkin
the Mayor's Awards Event in May 2016.
On Wednesday 25th February 2015, SFHG celebrated its 10th Anniversary by organising a Charity Dinner at Seaham Town Hall. The event was hosted by the Mayor of Seaham, Councillor Bruce Burn with catering by Oldfields of Durham.
After a very enjoyable meal our after dinner speaker was Prof. John Heckels, who entertained guests with the story of the African adventures of one of his ancestors, "Chiripula Stephenson". An accompanying display of Seaham WW1 events, including the submarine bombardment in 1916, was shown in the adjoining room.
SFHG would like to express our sincere thanks to all those individuals and organisations in Seaham who contributed to the successful evening. Special thanks must go to our Secretary, Linda Baker, for all the work she put in to make the event memorable. Our thanks to everyone who attended and contributed generously to the raffle and tombola.
The event was successful in raising £750 which we have donated to the Mayor's Charity Appeal Fund which supports local charities in the Seaham area.
Event supported by : Murton Heritage Centre, J. Calvert Electrical Ltd, Asda Foundation, Weatherspoons, The Crows Nest, Oldfields, Seaham Town Council and Durham County Record Office.
We ended 2014 by enjoying an excellent Christmas Lunch provided by the Golf Club. Once again our thanks to Linda for organising the event.
On 17th September, members of the group visited Eden Camp near Malton in North Yorkshire.
This award winning museum is dedicated mainly to telling the story of the People’s War during the period 1939 – 1945 but also in other conflicts during the 20th Century.
Originally built as a camp for German and Italian prisoners of war during WW2 it still retains the original huts used to house the prisoners. These are now put to good use in housing the huge variety of exhibits covering a variety of wartime themes. Many make use of audio/visual displays to bring alive the experience to visitors. These displays are complimented by a collection of military vehicles such as tanks, trucks, aeroplanes etc. Together with period music it all provides a 1940’s experience to the visitor young and old.
All the group agreed that the visit was a thoroughly enjoyable and informative day out and as a venue is highly recommended.
Our thanks go to Linda for organizing the visit and we look forward to our next visit with anticipation.
Seaham - Colliery Street
Seaham Lifeboats · Skynner crew circa 1895
