Yorkshire Gardens Trust AGM 2025 - Members Only

Running order of the day:

Coffee/tea and cookies from 9.45am

Annual General Meeting 10.30 - 11.25am

Talk 11.30am

Hot Lunch starting at 12.45 - 1pm.

2.00pm Guided walk - a 5 minute drive to Thornborough Henges. Car parking space is very limited, please be prepared to share cars

Dr Jan Harding’s talk: ‘Where Earth Meets Sky: the Monument Complex of Thornborough, North Yorkshire’

A remarkable cluster of at least nine giant henges were built in central Yorkshire between about 3000-2200 BC. Sited relatively close to one another, they suggest an extraordinary dynamic of building and religious worship across this small part of Neolithic Britain. The best known of these are the three henges that make-up the impressive and totally unique alignment at Thornborough. Collectively, they represent one of the greatest achievements of their age, but why were they built here, what did they originally look like, and what did they mean to those who visited and used them? The presentation and tour will address these questions by focusing on the results of my extensive fieldwork at Thornborough, charting this ‘sacred landscape’ from its origins in the early Neolithic, to its apogee in the late Neolithic, and then subsequent redevelopment during the middle Bronze Age. It is evident that during its three thousand year story Thornborough became a major centre of religious worship and a place of pilgrimage for people scattered far and wide. Its renown depended on the complex’s strategic siting, and also on beliefs and practices that drew on the wider landscape and the sky above. As such, Thornborough is a prehistoric landscape of both national and international significance - a jewel at the heart of Yorkshire’s sweeping and spectacular countryside.

Jan is an archaeologist with a particular interest in Neolithic and early Bronze Age Britain. He has extensive teaching experience of archaeological theory and later European prehistory, and has completed large-scale fieldwork, most notably at the Thornborough monument complex in North Yorkshire. His seven books and numerous academic papers and articles explore a range of subjects, including the monuments, burials, and religions of the fourth and third millennia BC.

Lunch menu options

Please make your food choice at the time of booking for both mains and desserts. If wine is ordered please also select either red or white at booking.

Mains:

Chicken Chasseur and a selection of vegetables

Vegetable Lasagne and a selection of vegetables

Dessert:

trio of sweets per person - small meringue, cheesecake & lemon posset

Wine: Pre-order £5.00 a glass.

Tickets for all events will be available electronically, using Eventbrite as last year. Each event has its own link to the Eventbrite page which will allow you to book a ticket.  The Eventbrite page will give you the name, date and time, location, refund policy and description which includes information about directions and parking. We are sorry but you can only book tickets for one event at a time.

If you want to buy tickets for multiple events on-line, please use the booking form and send this to events@yorkshiregardenstrust.org.uk. Please pay for your tickets on-line by bank transfer to Yorkshire Gardens Trust, Reference ‘Surname’ Events, Sort Code 05-09-94, Account No 25555237, or you can send a cheque to Lynn Watkinson, 5 Belle Vue Terrace, Bellerby, Leyburn DL8 5QL. Tickets will be sent to you by email.

If you are unable to buy tickets on-line, please can you either ask a friend or relative who has access to the internet to buy the tickets for you either using Eventbrite or using the booking form as above. Payment can be made by bank transfer to Yorkshire Gardens Trust, Reference Events, Sort Code 05-09-94 Account No 25555237, or you can send a cheque to Lynn Watkinson, 5 Belle Vue Terrace, Bellerby, Leyburn DL8 5QL. Tickets will be sent to you by email.

Otherwise please post the booking form with your selection of events, a self-addressed envelope and a cheque made out to Yorkshire Gardens Trust to Lynn Watkinson, 5 Belle Vue Terrace, Bellerby, Leyburn DL8 5QL.