For over 10 years Bill Stead, retired primary school headmaster, has been an essential part of the second-hand book business at Jews' Court. He entered his 9th decade in mid-February and we had a celebratory cake.

His natural inclination is to take a back seat and concentrate on work in our bookstore but his enthusiasm and knowledge of books brings him into frequent conversation with customers and fellow volunteers.

Happy birthday Bill!  Don't retire yet.

SLHA made a contribution to the annual Open Lincoln weekend (26 & 27 March) by arranging a series of walks in the centre of Lincoln.

One of two groups looking at Lincoln in the Industrial period began their tour outside Jews' Court

Walks arranged by SLHA were on the themes: 'Uphill Roman Lincoln', 'Medieval Streets and Markets' and 'Lincoln in the Industrial Period'.

The leaders were Penny, Karen, Avril, Mal, Tom and Nigel - a keen group who have been training together at Jews' Court over the past few months.

The group in this photograph are considering the Usher Gallery.

Over the Open Lincoln weekend the Society threw open its doors at Jews' Court to show visitors the building and explain its historical significance.

Pearl Wheatley and Chris Hewis met visitors in the upstairs meeting room where Pearl spoke about the building's history and its links to the Jewish Community.

The attic over the west range of Jews' Court has a simple timber roof structure, some of which probably dates from the late medieval period.

Access to this space was improved as part of the refurbishment project in 2004.

Visitors were able to view the space over the Open Lincoln weekend.

The Local History Team arranged a successful and well-attended day conference in Skegness on 18 May.

The speakers were (left to right): Jim Snee; Sue Leese; Caitlin Green; Susan Barton; Mark Acton (LH Chairman); Tammy Smalley; Chris Hewis.

Stewart Squires led a 2-hour tour to the site of the Claxby ironstone mine on 31 May as part of the 2019 Wolds Walking Festival. 27 walkers made the tour, including four other members of the SLHA IA team offering moral and practical support.

Stewart Squires is the acknowledged expert on the former ironstone mines at Claxby (19th century) and nearby Nettleton (C20). On the walk he described in graphic detail the punishing routine of the Claxby miners and pointed out many features of the mine's operation still identifiable on the disturbed hillside slopes.

On Saturday 1 June a group of 40 people assembled at The Heneage Arms in Hainton to learn from the SLHA Building Recording Group (RUBL) about the historic Lincoln Lane Farmhouse (aka The Priory) in the centre of nearby Sixhills.

In the photograph: Ken Hollamby and Jenne Pape of RUBL discuss timber-framing with Norman Bonner (head caprenter at Lincoln Cathedral) during survey work in the building.

Survey of the building included special photographic techniques, including rectified photography in the hands of Richard Croft.

His brother Paul Croft (University of Lincoln) analysed and dated paint samples from the house’s internal decoration.

Photograph: Richard (left) and Paul (front right)

The annual Brackenbury Lecture was held at Raithby Methodist Chapel (recently restored) on Saturday 13 July.

The speaker was Professor Mark Seaward of Bradford University (and native of Lincoln) on the theme: 'Environmental Interpretation of the English Landscape, with particular reference to Tennyson, John Clare and Peter de Wint’.

This year's event was arranged by the Tennyson Society.

The 2019 SLHA Study Tour, led as usual by Ken Hollamby, was based in Exeter. The long journey down to Devon was broken in to visit Stonehenge.

In the photograph: John and Mary Wilford, Adrian Bailey

SLHA contributed to the Uphill Lincoln Week (July 15-21) by offering a guided walk each day. The walking tours had the themes of Roman Uphill Lincoln and Lincoln’s Medieval Streets and Markets.

Despite the indifferent weather, the seven tours attracted a total of over 90 participants, some of whom were locals and some visitors to the city.

SLHA made a contribution to Archaeology Week by providing a guided tour of the waterworks serving Gunby Hall.

On Wednesday 24 July Chris Lester and Eric Newton led a group of 13 to the site which included a 'holding tank', covered reservoir, ram pump and wind pump.

The annual service to mark St Oswald was held on the site of Bardney Abbey on Sunday 4 August.

The bones of St Oswald, King of Northumbria, who died on 5 August 642, were brought to the abbey, perhaps the most notable event in its life.

An information board about the railway bridge at Lincoln's Stamp End, with its historic box girders, was erected in August.

Chris Lester and Eric Newton of SLHA had played a crucial role in ensuring that this important industrial monument was duly recognised.

Industrial Archaeology team members visited the Wind Energy Museum at Repps in Norfolk on 23 August in order to understand the operation of wind pumps. A pump by E H Roberts in the Wolds at Oxcombe had been surveyed by the team earlier in the year.

In the photo: Eric Newton, Catherine Wilson, Barry Barton, Chris Lester (photographer: Ken Redmore)

The IA team organised the autumn East Midlands industrial Archaeoology Conference at British Steel in Scunthorpe on Saturday 5 October.

Speakers at the morning session were (l to r)  John Hill, Stephen Stubbins and Bryan Longbone.

The 2019 AGM of the Society was held in the Guildhall Arts Centre in Grantham on Saturday 12 October.

Members are here assembling in the early afternoon prior to the guided tour of the town.

On the afternoon of the AGM in Grantham John Manterfield led a walk around some of the streets in the centre of the town.

Front left is Dave Start, editor of Lincolnshire History and Archaeology and SLHA trustee. Is he having a short prayer or regretting his heavy lunch? or maybe he has heard all this before!

Thanks to the initiative of an SLHA member we were able to ensure the long term safe keeping of an important collection of photographs taken in the 1950s and 1960s for Soames, brewers of Spalding. These excellent black and white prints were of public houses in the south-east of the County.

The donor of the collection was John Bains, nephew of a former Soames' senior employee. The recipient was Richard Watts, senior officer of Lincolnshire's Historic Environment Record. Richard has since taken a digital copy of the photos for a current Historic Places project and the albums have been received by Lincolnshire Archives.

In the photo, l to r: Richard Watts and John Bains

The third Sunday Special of 2019, held in the meeting room at Jews' Court on 10 November, was the customary mix of three short talks. Speakers were Stewart Squires (archaeology of Nettleton ironstone mine), Richard Croft (Lincoln's local list) and John Manterfield (some notable residents of Grantham).

Stewart is about to give his talk. Ken Hollamby, in banded sweater, chaired the meeting.