Our 2026 AGM was held at Spalding Baptist Church on 7 April 2026. The guest Speaker was James Darwin, Head of Casework at The Georgian Group. He was also formerly an Inspector in the Midlands Team at Historic England and a Caseworker for the Victorian Society, another national statutory consultee in the planning system in England & Wales.
James provided an excellent talk about the history of the Georgian Group from its aristocratic and often eccentric founders who were primarily concerned to avert the destruction of Georgian London, to the present. The talk also provided an overview of the wide variety of cases the Georgian Group now advises upon on a day-to-day basis, from the conversion of houses in Lincolnshire market towns to houses of multiple occupation, to church reordering schemes, major works to country houses, and large-scale city centre redevelopment projects.
We were reminded that one of the founders of the Georgian Group was Sir John Betjeman, who coincidently encouraged a campaign in Spalding to save Holyrood House from demolition. Holyrood House like Ayscoughfee Hall next door – was a late mediaeval mansion. Its front and interior were given a handsome makeover in Georgian times, hence the interest from Betjeman and the Georgian Group at the time. It was the outrage caused by the wanton neglect of Holyrood House by Spalding Urban District Council, and eventual demolition that galvanised Stanley Woodward, librarian of Spalding Gentlemen’s Society, and others to form Spalding & District Civic Society a few years later as explained here.
New Constitution
Members approved a new constitution that was presented by the Society Trustees as it was felt that our previous constitution which was adopted in 1991 no longer met our needs.
Subscriptions
Members also approved a proposal to increase membership subscription rates. The last increase in rates was in 2011 when they were increased from £5 a year to £8 a year. The new rates will come into force on 1 January 2027.
The new rates effective from 1 January 2027 will be:
£12 for individual membership
£18 for two people in the same householdFree to those in full time education
Subscription rates for organisations are determined on an individual basis.
