Old herbals, marginalia, saffron cultivation and Tudor poet, Gabriel Harvey of Saffron Walden will all be discussed in the next talk of the Gibson Library Society. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, England's printing presses churned out dozens of instructional manuals or 'how-to' books for the aspiring gardener or herbalist. This talk explored why these […]
The meeting was held in Saffron Walden Library on Wednesday 14th January at 7:30 pm, when author Ian Patterson talked about his new publication, Books: A Manifesto, or, How to Build a Library. This is a book about books and "the subversive power of reading and the strange, enduring magic of books as objects". "Ever […]
Rachel Morris talked about her new book, The Year of the Wizard, a lyrical and highly atmospheric history of Renaissance magic. It is also - by an act of historical […]
In his talk Jonathan discussed how witchcraft cases in Elizabethan Essex were reported in pamphlets of the time and what readers might have made of the strange stories they were […]
Hertfordshire puddingstone is one of the world's most remarkable stones. Beautiful and very distinctive, giant boulders of it can be seen in Saffron Walden and the surrounding villages. The talk […]
Members of the Society are invited by the Collecott Family to the launch of After the Thaw: An Essex Mystery, by Nan Collecott (Little Owl Books, 2026), (the late Ann […]
Gibson Library Society AGM, followed by a talk. Full details will be circulated to members later in the month. This will be followed by : Saffron Walden 1647 - a […]
To be held in Saffron Walden Library, Wednesday, 14th May 2025 at 7:30pm Notice & Agenda 1. Apologies for absence 2. Minutes of previous meeting & matters arising 3. Chair's Report […]
An evening of two halves, with four poets* in each half, includes 'open mike' sessions. *If you would like to read please arrive by 7.15 pm to let the compere […]
We take a look at Emery Walker (1851-1933), the 'Universal Samaritan' of England's Arts and Crafts and private press movements of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which were […]
