Our Society

Harpenden & District Local History Society was founded in 1973 to research and record the history of Harpenden and District and make this known by means of our Museum,  meetings, publications and archives.

  • Museum: first opened to the public on Saturday 9 December 2023 and is now open every Saturday (from 27 January 2024) 11am to 3pm.  We aim to open for longer and on other days as we build up our rota.
  • Meetings: Our evening meetings take place on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 8pm in Function Room 1 in the Eric Morecambe Centre.
  • Newsletters: We also produce three Newsletters a year containing photographs and articles relating to historical events in and around Harpenden.  Some of these articles can be found on the individual pages of this website.
  • Website: You are looking at it!  Home page!
  • Archives : We have an extensive collection of maps, photographs and artefacts relating to the past history of Harpenden which are housed in the Les Casey Archive Room (LCAR), part of Harpenden Museum in the Eric Morecambe Centre. Items not on display can be viewed at other times by appointment with our curator or archive adminstrator, and we will be pleased to help with your research - please contact us.
  • Mission Statement : Like many towns and villages in north Hertfordshire, Harpenden has a rich and varied history and the Society’s objectives, as enshrined in our Mission Statement below, are to bring our history to life for the people of the town:

Preserve and promote the area’s local heritage in order to excite, educate and engender a long term interest in local history and, as contained in our constitution, ‘to undertake research into the origins and development of buildings, organisations, crafts, trades and other aspects of historical interest and to publish the results of such research.'

Please DONATE - Like all small charities, the Society depends on the ongoing financial support of members and other stakeholders to continue to flourish and progress in achieving our objectives. Please click on Financial Support for the Society to see how you can provide such support, including one-off donations