Aldbourne Heritage Centre

Liddiard Family Gathering – 13/14th August 2016

Stephen & Mary Ann Liddiard and their family
Stephen & Mary Ann Liddiard and their family

Over the weekend of 13/14th August, Aldbourne will play host to a world-wide gathering of the Liddiard family with many guests coming from as far afield as Canada, the USA, New Zealand and Australia. Several hundred people called Liddiard (as well as Lydiard, Lydiat, Lediard and many other spellings of the family name) are expected to attend the event .

The family has been brought together by the dedication and industry of Karen Rogers (née Liddiard) who lives near Sydney, Australia. Karen has spent 20 years tracing every line and every lead of the family’s history back to its origins in Rockley in the 15th century. Ogbourne St Andrew in the 16th century and Aldbourne in the 17th, 18th and 19th were the major centres from which the family spread across England and the colonies. The results of Karen’s research will be shown in a dozen or more family trees detailing some 9,000 individuals which will be displayed in the Memorial Hall.

Activities

On Saturday morning there will be talks in the Church and another in the afternoon. A marquee on the Green will have displays from a number of Family History Societies. And of course the Heritage Centre will be open with Photos and stories of the Liddiards of Aldbourne as well as the usual displays of village history.

On Sunday the Memorial Hall will be open with the family trees on display, while at lunchtime our guests will be treated to lunch provided by the Crown. In the afternoon a large party will be taken on a coach tour of the local area to take in some of the sites important in the history of the family.

Clearly we need volunteers from the village to help make our guests welcome and to direct them around the village to the various venues. If you would like to help us make the weekend a success and have an hour or two to spare that weekend, please make yourself known to John Dymond (540371) or any member of the Heritage Group committee.

Programme

Saturday 13th August

11:00-11:15 – Welcome – St Michael’s Church

11:15:12:00 – Liddiards: Who are we and where did we come from? – Karen Rogers –  St Michael’s

12:00:12:45 – This Wonderful Village – the story of Aldbourne – John Dymond – St Michael’s

3:00:3:45 – William Liddiard of Aldbourne: a murder story of the 1880s – Karen Rogers – Memorial Hall

5:00-5:30 – Close of day; Raffle draw & other prizes.

Sunday 14th August

9:30-11:00 – Trees on display in Memorial Hall

11:30-12:20 – Lunch – Memorial Hall

12:30 – Coach Trip.