Welcome to the website of the Fishergate, Fulford and Heslington Local History Society

We are a group of people interested in the history and heritage of our city, particularly the Fishergate and Fulford Road area and the villages of Fulford and Heslington.  
Contact us at: [email protected]

This website is a local history mine - dig deep!
Use the headings at the top of the screen to find the 'drop-down' tabs and click on the links to discover further information
Use the Search on the top right of your screen
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If using a mobile phone, click HERE to reach the same links.

You can become a member (download the application form HERE) for the very small sum of £5, which gives you reduced entry (£2) to our events.  ​Non-members are very welcome at our events, but we'll ask £3 on the door.  This just about covers our cost of hall hire, but not much more, so we rely on generous donations and grants.  ​

Tea and coffee, biscuits (and often cake!) are usually served after our meetings, so you can chat with the speakers, meet new and old friends, look at our displays and buy our publications.
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Our Next Event: 
18 April -  Sarah Sheils - Irish Famine Refugees in Walmgate
Walmgate became an impoverished sanctuary for thousands of Irish seeking refuge from famine in the 1840s.  Squeezed into tiny overcrowded houses, they worked in local industries and the nearby cattle market.
To read an article by Sarah Sheils about the Irish in Walmgate click HERE 
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Our 2026 Programme - click HERE
We have a range of topics to suit many interests.  
Download a copy of our 2026 programme - HERE 
You can read about our past events and look at previous talks HERE 
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You may have heard that the Bayeux Tapestry is coming to the British Museum in the autumn.  With the battles of Fulford and Stamford Bridge, we have a close affinity to the momentous events of 1066 and we have three special events in our 2026 programme. 
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On 30 May we are holding a 1/2 day conference on the causes and consequences of the Norman invasion, particularly for York and the north.
We have three expert speakers from the University of York:
Sarah Rees Jones, Aleksandra McClain and Pragya Vohra
The chair will be Andrew Woods of York Museums Trust.
Read more HERE 
Download a poster HERE 
Booking for the conference is essential. 
​Tickets £5, including refreshments.  
Book via Eventbrite HERE 
If you need to message us, email [email protected] 
Or use our message box on the About Us page HERE 
​This will be our 10th event as a partner to the York Festival of Ideas

We have two further special events when the Tapestry exhibition opens in the autumn:

On 19th September Cristina Figueredo will give a talk entitled ‘The Bayeux Tapestry – The Tragedy of the English’

On 10th October Matthew Townend will give a talk entitled ‘Viking Poetry and the Battles of 1066’
What's new on our website
Photographs of Fulford and Heslington
Re-issue of a Brief History of Fulford by pupils of Fulford School 
​Julia Velva, a Roman Lady from York
Viking ship carving on Pikeing Well
​Life in a Medieval Manor
History of York Steiner School
The Lost Village of Water Fulford
Jane Austen's Fulford connection
The Smith families of Fulford
See our Past Presentations page for many more talks. ​
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Our oldest building​:
Read about the 12th century church of
​St Oswald's HERE
Hear Prof Jane Hawkes talk about the Anglo-Saxon cross HERE
Buy our Publications:
We have published booklets on Heslington Hall Gardens, the Fulford Grange Estate and St Oswald's church
For details of our publications click HERE 
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Two New Publications:
Picture
Heslington, A Portrait of a Village
First publisher by Alfred Colley in 1992 
Now re-published by FFH - £8
Picture
A History of Fulford
Joan Pickering & Irene Briddon, first published in 1975  ​Now re-published by FFH - £8
Download our colourful Newsletters
Our first 10 years - HERE
2020 - 2023 - HERE 
2018 - 2019 - HERE
2017 - 2018 - HERE 
2016 - 2017 - HERE
This website is founded on our members research.  Read more about the topics we have information about: HERE
Click HERE to read our ​NEWS page
(Apologies...we are working on our website so you may notice some oddities!)
Find out about other local history societies at this new History Hubs Portal HERE