An archaeologist is leading a talk on excavations in Watford between 1999 and 2001 at the Grove on Wednesday, June 24.

Charles LeQuesne, consultant archaeologist, will speak on the 1999 to 2001 investigations during the construction of the Grove Hotel and golf course, which are said to have provided an exceptional portrait of a Chiltern landscape across the past 6,000 years.

Highlights of the excavations included remains of Beaker-period feasting in the Gade Valley, a transitional Iron Age-Roman smallholding including evidence for pottery manufacture, enigmatic post-Roman structures and burials, and the remains of the medieval origins of the Grove Estate.

These archaeological sources have now been enriched by extensive archival research to produce a unique narrative history, right through to the reuse of the house during the Second World War as a base for the London Midland and Scottish Railway.

The lecture will present the results in the context of the latest research in the Thames Valley and beyond. The meeting will be held at West Herts College, Hempstead Road, Watford. Lecture starts at 7.30pm (doors open 7pm).

Visitors welcome but need to book by calling 07957421009. Members free, non-members £3.