Peter Connelly, Curator

 East Surrey Museum has been collecting items that illustrate life in the local area for many years and now has a huge collection of artefacts.  Peter will bring a collection of everyday items from the 1950s and 1960s not seen today and that many of us will have forgotten about.

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July: Monday 13, 10.00 am

Richard Marks

The Industrial Revolution was not just a story of machines and inventions — it was a profound transformation of everyday life. This talk traces the journey from cottage industries and rural handcrafts to the rise of factories, steam power, and bustling industrial towns. We’ll explore how these changes affected the work our ancestors did, the homes they lived in, and the communities they built. Drawing on vivid examples from textiles, railways, and local trades, the session will show how industrialisation created new opportunities but also new challenges, from child labour and urban overcrowding to migration and social mobility. Alongside the big picture, we’ll highlight the human dimension: how ordinary men, women, and children navigated this upheaval, leaving behind records in census returns, parish registers, and family stories. By connecting economic history with genealogical sources, the talk will help family historians see the Industrial Revolution not as distant history, but as a living context for their own ancestors’ experiences — a time when the rhythms of work, home, and community were reshaped forever.

You are invited to a LIVE Zoom meeting.
Register in advance for this meeting:

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