On Sunday, 21st October, Warlingham Church Hall was packed with visitors for the first ever Warlingham Heritage Showcase event. Hundreds of visitors went along to find out all about Warlingham and Surrey's past and meet experts in archeology, family history, historical buildings and other related subjects. The hall featured stalls from Surrey Heritage and other partner organisations including the East Surrey Family History Society, East Surrey Museum, the Bourne Society and the Surrey Archaeological Society.

One of the organisers, Surrey Museums Learning and Support Officer, Haidee Thomas, said: "We are delighted that this event has been so well attended. Everyone is so excited that this is going on in Warlingham.

Surrey Heritage has events going on all year but this is the first time we have come together with other organisations in East Surrey."

The leader of Surrey County Council, David Hodge, came up with the idea for the event in Warlingham. He said: "As leader I want to get the county's services out into the community so people can learn about what is going on. It has been an excellent afternoon. The feeback is that everyone has found it really interesting."

For more information about local history visit www.surreycc.gov.uk/ surreyhistorycentre and www.exploringsurreyspast. org.uk