SIHG holds regular short talks at Leatherhead Oddfellows Hall and by Zoom between September and April, and also occasional days out. Membership is FREE until April 2026. To join, please email membership@sihg.org.uk(link sends e-mail)
Our programme covers a variety of topics from wide-ranging presentations on railways, air transport and canals, to very specific talks on (usually local) industries and talks with a strong element of social history, often focusing on the lives of industrial workers of the past. We'll even have a few talks with a strong arts and crafts content in 2025.
Many, but not all, of our talks pertain to Surrey industries, including aviation, brewing, automobile development, brickmaking, glassmaking and iron working, among many others.
Our talks cover all eras up to and including today, with a large number of them relating to the Industrial Revolution of the late 18th and 19th centuries, when the introduction of steam power transformed the United Kingdom from an agricultural to an industrial nation….indeed, the world’s first industrial nation! More recently, however, we have also hosted talks on the social history aspects of industrialization, with several talks focusing on people – from the great inventors, engineers and entrepreneurs to "the man on the shop floor". Other talks have included a strong element of arts, crafts and architecture.
SIHG grew out of an adult education course on industrial archaeology in 1975. It differs from other groups in the Surrey Archaeological Society (SYAS) in that, because of the nature of SIHG's activity, it is not necessary to belong to SYAS in order to become a member of SIHG.
SIHG is a founding member of the Southeast Region Industrial Archaeology Conference (SERIAC) and is affiliated to the national Association for Industrial Archaeology (AIA).
SIHG grew out of an adult education course on industrial archaeology in 1975. It differs from other groups in the Surrey Archaeological Society (SYAS) in that, because of the nature of SIHG's activity, it is not necessary to belong to SYAS in order to become a member of SIHG.
SIHG is a founding member of the Southeast Region Industrial Archaeology Conference (SERIAC) and is affiliated to the national Association for Industrial Archaeology (AIA).