The Annual General Meeting (AGM) happens in Spring at a different location in the UK each year. The location of the AGM can only be in the UK as the Society was founded and operates under the laws of the United Kingdom.

AGM 2013

Location: Comfort Hotel, St Albans
Date: Saturday 20th April 2013

Here is the 2013 AGM booking form (pdf)

What is an AGM?

The AGM is the formal business meeting where committee members are elected and the running of the Society is discussed. This is followed in the evening by a semi-formal Dinner with a Guest Speaker, often someone who knew J.R.R. Tolkien, a scholar, publisher or someone explaining how his works affected them. Past guest speakers have included Tom Shippey, Michael Tolkien and Brian Sibley, all are listed further down the page. These after dinner talks have been collected over the years and are being published under the auspices of the Peter Roe fund as series of volumes entitled Digging Potatoes Growing Trees (DPGT).

The AGM itself only takes up a few hours of a Saturday afternoon, but given the time it takes to get there, and the guest dinner, it is usually a weekend event for members. Beginning with an Innmoot on Friday night and then sitting and chatting or touring the town on Saturday morning. On Sunday there is often an organised tour of the town or a local heritage site, especially if it has Tolkienian connection or theme. The AGM in Chepstow included a trip to the Roman temple site at Lydney, where the information boards mentioned Tolkien’s connection with the site through his work on the name ‘Nodens’.

The locations of AGM weekends, towns and hotels, are normally the result of a member's or smial's own work. Seeking out suitable venues and then suggesting their location to the Executive Committee or the AGM itself.

Previous AGM Venues

Venue and Speaker Details
Year Location Guest Speaker(s) Talk Published in DPGT Volume
2012 Glasgow Farah Mendlesson  
2011 The White Hart Royal Hotel, Moreton-in-Marsh Dr Dimitra Fimi  
2010 Jury's Inn Hotel, Brighton Charles Noad Mallorn 50
2009 St Aidan's College, Durham Dr Allan Turner  
2008 Leofric Hotel, Coventry Edmund Weiner  
2007 The Astor Hotel, Plymouth Roger (& Linda) Garland Slideshow and Q&A session with Guests
2006 The Kings School, Canterbury Henry Gee  
2005 The Mayflower Theatre and Southampton Park Hotel, Southampton Brian Rosebury  
2004 White Hart Hotel, Lincoln John Garth  
2003 Blossoms Hotel, Chester Ted Nasmith Scheduled for Volume 4
2002 Moreton Park Lodge, Oswestry Brian Sibley Scheduled for Volume 4
2001 Wortley Hall, Sheffield Christopher Garbowski Scheduled for Volume 4
2000 New Inn, Gloucester Patrick Curry Volume 3
1999 King Charles Hotel, Gillingham Michael Scott Rohan Volume 3
1998 Plough and Harrow Hotel, Birmingham Michael George Tolkien Volume 3
1997 Old Course Hotel, Chepstow Colin Duriez Volume 2
1996 Lord Leycester Hotel, Warwick René van Rossenberg Volume 2
1995 Cairn Hotel, Edinburgh Charles Coulombe Volume 3
1994 The Lion Hotel, Shrewsbury Joanna Tolkien Volume 2
1993 The Moat House Hotel, Nottingham Mary Butler not yet published
1992 The Waterfront Hotel, Hull Colin Duriez Volume 2
1991 Maids Hand Hotel, Norwich Prof. Tom Shippey Volume 2
1990 Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Rayner Unwin Volume 2
1989 Ship Hotel, Chichester A.N. Wilson not yet published
1988 Park Hotel, Cardiff Graham Watkins not yet published
1987 Queen's Hotel, Leeds Rob Inglis not yet published
1986 Queen's Hotel, Cheltenham Geraldine Harris Volume 1
1985 St George Hotel, Liverpool Douglas Gray not yet published
1984 The Guildhall Hotel, Leicester Jonathan Simons not yet published
1983 YMCA, Cambridge Prof. Tom Shippey Volume 1
1982 The County Hotel, Canterbury Robert Giddings not yet published
1981 Annesley Hotel, Lincoln Brian Sibley, Barbara Strachey not yet published
1980 Royal Station Hotel, York Prof. Tom Shippey Volume 1
1979 Westmoreland Hotel, London John Ezard, David Fielder not yet published
1978 Grand Hotel, Birmingham Rayner Unwin, Prof. Tom Shippey not yet published
1977 Grosvenor Hotel, Chester Michael Hillary Reuel Tolkien not yet published
1976 Hampstead Town Hall, London Priscilla Tolkien, Humphrey Carpenter not yet published
1975 Bloomsbury Centre Hotel, London Priscilla Tolkien not yet published
1974 Ivanhoe Hotel, London Rayner Unwin, Austin Olney not yet published
1973 Sherlock Holmes Hotel, London Joy Chant not yet published
1972 Home of Keith Bridges, Welwyn Garden City No Speaker No talk to be published