An opportunity to look at one of the most important, hand-dug, historical brine extraction sites that was so important for salt making. from the late 1800s
Painstakingly restored by volunteers, this facility provides a fascinating insight into the way brine was pumped out from a shaft sunk deep into the salt layers below Middlewich.
Brampton Museum have told us about a film showing, featuring Betley in the 1960s…
Join us for a free virtual tour of some of the historic villages and parishes which make up the borough of Newcastle under Lyme. A series of archive films, shot in the 1960s onwards by local veteran filmmaker Brian Nixon, will take us from Newcastle town centre out to Silverdale, Apedale, Audley and Betley.
Book here for the 45-minute film about Betley. Tickets are free for BLHS members.
Refreshments will be available from the little vintage tea room which you can take into the film room.
Schedule
10:30am Newcastle: the road to re-invention
11:30am Jamland (Silverdale)
Lunch break
1:30pm Apedale
2:30pm Audley
3:30pm Betley
About the film
Betley is a small village dominated in the past by its two big houses. It is a village of contrasts: a rural village that was once an important iron-making centre; an agricultural village from which men went to work in the mines; a remote village that found itself on the main west coast railway line: a quiet place that hosts two major social events.
Please note these are original films made in the 1960s. Comments are those of the people interviewed and the 1960s filmmaker and may reflect the views of the times. Subtitles are not available on this occasion.
Brampton Museum, Newcastle-under-Lyme, ST5 0QP
Gresham College write to let us know about their free, online history lectures coming up during June:
Wed 5th, 6pm, Witch-Hunting in European and World History, Professor Ronald Hutton; central London Venue tbc / Online/
Watch Later gres.hm/witches-europe
Staffordshire Archives and Heritage Service will be running their annual online Staffordshire History Study Day on Saturday 4th May.
This free event will include researchers, subject specialists and authors in a range of talks throughout the day.
Book your free place through Eventbrite here.
Gresham College write to let us know about their free, online history lectures coming up during April:
Wed 24th, 6pm, The Western Magical Tradition, Professor Ronald Hutton; central London Venue tbc / Online/ Watch Later gres.hm/western-magic
Gresham College write to let us know about their free, online history lectures coming up during March:
Wed 6, 6pm, Ritual Nudity in History and Religion, Professor Ronald Hutton; central London Venue tbc / Online/ Watch Later gres.hm/ritual-nudity
The first newsletter for 2024 is now available in the Member’s Area.
View of open cast mine, pit had and slag heap at Berry Hill, between Fenton, Hanley and Stoke on Trent, 1937
Where: Ancient High House, Stafford
When: From Saturday 27 January until Sunday 24 March 2024
Admission free
The history of Staffordshire has been shaped by the rich wealth of resources found beneath our feet. In this family-friendly exhibition we explore the rocks, minerals and soils found below the ground, and how these natural resources have helped shape the county we know today.
You can find out about the people who worked in coal mining, ironworking, pottery making and other industries which have altered the landscape. Large areas of Staffordshire are still agricultural, but these too have undergone great changes.
The extraction of these materials and the pollution from industry have affected the environment, but much is being done to heal the landscape.
Featuring objects and documents from Staffordshire Archive & Heritage’s collections you can explore Staffordshire’s past and find out what lies underfoot.
Gresham College write to let us know about their free, online history lectures coming up during February:
Wed 14, 6pm, Dragons: A History, Professor Ronald Hutton; central London Venue tbc / Online/ Watch Later gres.hm/dragons
Staffordshire Archives and Heritage Service write to let us know…
After the successful first term of our local history course, delivered in partnership with Keele University, we are pleased to announce bookings for the second term are now open. This term will look at the ‘long revolution of modernity’; the transition into urban and industrial landscapes, the rise and plight of the working classes, and notions of a ‘crisis of faith’ to name a small selection.
The course runs every Tuesday for 10 weeks, from 23rd January-26th March. Each week consists of a two-hour session (7.30-9.30 pm) led by a Keele University academic and learners interacting with original archival material from Staffordshire Archives that supports the week’s topic.
To book, please email hannah.grangesales@staffordshire.gov.uk.
Gresham College write to let us know about their free, online history lectures coming up during November:
Tues 7, 6pm, Pilgrimages, Pandemics and the Past, Tom Holland; Gresham College Barnard’s Inn Hall Holborn/ Online/ Watch Late gres.hm/pilgrimages-holland
Wed 8, 6pm, Were There Pagan Goddesses in Christian Europe?, Professor Ronald Hutton; central London Venue tbc / Online/ Watch Later gres.hm/pagan-goddesses
Wed 22, 6pm, Antisemitic Conspiracy Theories: Past, Present and Future? Professor Richard Evans, Gresham College, Barnard’s Inn Hall, Holborn/ Online/ Watch Later gres.hm/antisemitic-conspiracy
Gresham College write to let us know about their free, online history lectures coming up during October:
Tue 3, 6pm,Writing after Windrush, Dr Malachi Mclntosh; Gresham College, Barnard’s Inn Hall, Holborn/ Online/ Watch Later gres.hm/writers-windrush
Thu 5, 6pm, Women of the Harlem Renaissance,Professor Kate Dossett; Gresham College, Barnard’s Inn Hall, Holborn/ Online/ Watch Later gres.hm/women-harlem
Thu 12, 6pm, Literary Activism in Contemporary Africa, Professor Madhu Krishnan; Gresham College, Barnard’s Inn Hall, Holborn/ Online/ Watch Later gres.hm/literary-africa
Join the Archives and Heritage Service, Staffordshire Library Service, local history societies and museums for a delve into the history of our county.
Speakers will include Dr Mike Rogers from The National Archives, the Finds Liaison Team from Birmingham Museums Trust and Chris Welch from Historic England. The day will include workshops supporting family history research and local history societies and museums will be on hand to chat about their work and sites.
The event is free and runs from 10am until 3pm.
Refreshments will be available in the Chasewater Innovation Centre cafe.
Ample parking is available (charges apply).
Staffordshire Archives and Heritage Service have a free talk from 11am - 12 noon, on Thu. 7th Sept.
Postgraduate researcher Hannah Smith introduces her project; Staffordshire & Slavery.
Venue: 79 Eastgate Street - Stafford. ST16 2NG
Gresham College write to let us know about their free, online history lectures coming up during September:
Wed 20, 6pm, Ancient Goddesses of Sex and War, Professor Ronald Hutton; Central London Venue TBC/ Online/ Watch Later gres.hm/ancient-goddesses
Staffordshire Regiment Museum
Home Guard Discovery Day
Sunday 14 May
10am - 4pm
The Staffordshire Regiment Museum near Lichfield is hosting a Discovery Day to celebrate the 83rd anniversary of the Home Guard (14th ay 1940) and pay tribute to the 1.7 million Home Guard volunteers. This event is supported by the volunteers of South Staffs Living History Group.
If you have relatives who served in the Home Guard you are welcome to bring photographs, memorabilia and stories to share with the museum team.
More information is available on their website here.
Library & Legacy: the story of Lichfield Cathedral Library and the Seymour Collection
Saturday 22 April - Sunday 3rd September
This exhibition in the Chapter House at Lichfield Cathedral tells the story of why the Cathedral’s Library is unusual - possibly unique - amongst cathedral libraries.
The mediaeval library at Lichfield was almost totally lost during the English Civil War. In the 1670s, a new library was established with the gift of more than 400 books from the collection of William Seymour, Duke of Somerset. His wife, Frances Devereux, had family links with Drayton Bassett and spent extended periods of time there. Having inherited her husband’s library on his death in 1660, she bequeathed the collection to Lichfield. She wrote in her will: “for the respect which I and my family have received from the City of Lichfield, I give the books which were my late deceased husband’s, to the Church of Lichfield to be put in the new library there.” Lichfield Cathedral’s Library thus contains a wide range of books which are associated with the library of a wealthy 17th century intellectual rather than with a cathedral.
This exhibition explores William Seymour’s library, illustrating the types of books which he (and his ancestors) chose to include in their libraries and how this reflected the culture of their time. Perhaps this will encourage us to consider what books we choose to have in our homes nowadays and, indeed whether books are still relevant in a digital age.
The exhibition also includes the only three books known to have survived at Lichfield from the mediaeval collection.
Free admission. Open during normal Cathedral opening hours
Staffordshire Archives & Heritage Service return with their online History Day for this year on Sat, 13 May 2023 from 10:00 - 15:30 BST.
The programme will include news on the new Staffordshire History Centre where construction work is well underway. There will be updates on the Victoria County History project and the County's archaeology programmes together with research papers from post-graduate researchers at Keele University.
The keynote speaker is Dr Imogen Peck who will explore the impact of the British Civil Wars in Staffordshire.
Tickets for this free online event are available through Eventbrite here.
Gresham College have written to us again to highlight the free lectures they have on offer during the spring and summer.
HISTORY LECTURES BY MONTH AT GRESHAM COLLEGE 2023
March
Thurs 23, 6pm, The Medieval Agricultural Revolution: New Evidence, Professor Helena Hamerow; Gresham College, Barnard’s Inn Hall, Holborn/ Online/ Watch Later gres.hm/agricultural-rev
Tues, 28, 6pm, Portraits of Native Americans from Pocahontas to Sitting Bill, Professor Stephanie Pratt; Gresham College, Barnard’s Inn Hall, Holborn/ Online/ Watch Later gres.hm/american-portraits
April
Tues 04, 6pm, Who Benefited From the British Empire?, Professor Martin Daunton; Gresham College, Barnard’s Inn Hall, Holborn/ Online/ Watch Later gres.hm/benefit-empire
Wed 05, 1pm, Women Leaders in Early Christianity, Professor Morwenna Ludlow; Gresham College, Barnard’s Inn Hall, Holborn/ Online/ Watch Later gres.hm/women-christianity
Tues 25, 6pm, Reclaiming Women in the Hebrew Bible, Rabbi Dr Deborah Kahn-Harris; Gresham College, Barnard’s Inn Hall, Holborn/ Online/ Watch Later gres.hm/women-hebrew-bible
Wed 26, 6pm, Finding Lost Gods in Wales, Professor Ronald Hutton; David Game College, Barnard’s Inn Hall, Holborn/ Online/ Watch Later gres.hm/wales-gods
May
Thurs 04, 6pm, A History of Barts, Britain’s Oldest Hospital, Professor Charles Knight; Gresham College, Barnard’s Inn Hall, Holborn/ Online/ Watch Later gres.hm/barts-900
Tues 09, 1pm, Women, Islam and Prophecy, Dr Shuruq Naguib; Gresham College, Barnard’s Inn Hall, Holborn/ Online/ Watch Later gres.hm/women-islam
Thurs 11, 6pm, Dementia: A Cultural History, Professor Joanna Bourke; Gresham College, Barnard’s Inn Hall, Holborn/ Online/ Watch Later gres.hm/dementia-history
Tues 16, 1pm, The Mathematical Life of Florence Nightingale, Professor Sarah Hart; Central London to be confirmed/ Online/ Watch Later gres.hm/maths-nightingale
Weds 17, 6pm, Christopher Wren’s Medical Discoveries: the ‘Architect of Human Anatomy’, Professor Jaideep Pandit; Gresham College, Barnard’s Inn Hall/ Online/ Watch Later gres.hm/wren-medical
Tues 30, 6pm, AIDS: A Cultural History, Professor Joanna Bourke; Gresham College, Barnard’s Inn Hall/ Online/ Watch Later gres.hm/aids-history
June
Thurs 01, 6pm, Sickle Cell Disease: A Cultural History, Professor Joanna Bourke; Gresham College, Barnard’s Inn Hall/ Online/ Watch Later gres.hm/sickle-cell-history
Weds 07, 6pm, How Pagan Was Medieval Britain?, Professor Ronald Hutton; Central London, to be confirmed/ Online/ Watch Later gres.hm/medieval-pagan
Weds 14, 6pm, Sir Christopher Wren: Architect & Courtier, Professor Simon Thurley; Central London, to be confirmed/ Online/ Watch Later gres.hm/wren-courtier
…AND BY SERIES…
A Cultural History of Disease (Medical History)
Professor Joanna Bourke
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/series/cultural-disease
Acclaimed cultural historian Professor Joanna Bourke will be exploring six physical maladies that have afflicted people throughout the world: tuberculosis, polio, breast cancer, AIDS, sickle cell disease, and dementia.
6pm, Thurs 11 May 2023
Gresham College, Barnard’s Inn Hall / Online/ Watch Later
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/whats-on/dementia-history
6pm, Tue 30 May 2023
Gresham College, Barnard’s Inn Hall / Online/ Watch Later
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/whats-on/aids-history
Sickle Cell Disease: A Cultural History
6pm, Thurs 01 June 2023
Gresham College, Barnard’s Inn Hall / Online/ Watch Later
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/whats-on/sickle-cell-history
More History of Medicine:
The History of Barts' Hospital: Barts at 900
Professor Charles Knight
6pm, Thurs 4 May 2023
Gresham College, Barnard’s Inn Hall/ Online/ Watch Later
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/whats-on/barts-900
In this series, three historians will discuss: Reclaiming Women in the Hebrew Bible, Women Leaders in Early Christianity and Women, Islam and Prophecy.
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/series/women-religions
Women Leaders in Early Christianity
Professor Morwenna Ludlow
1pm, Wed 05 April 2023
Gresham College, Barnard’s Inn Hall/ Online/ Watch Later
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/whats-on/women-christianity
Reclaiming Women in the Hebrew Bible
Rabbi Dr Deborah Kahn-Harris
1pm, Tues 25 April 2023
Gresham College, Barnard’s Inn Hall/ Online/ Watch Later
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/whats-on/women-hebrew-bible
Dr Shuruq Naguib
1pm, Tues 9 May 2023
Gresham College, Barnard’s Inn Hall/ Online/ Watch Later
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/whats-on/women-islam
Professor Ronald Hutton
In this series, Hutton looks at the pre-Christian religions of Europe, defined in Christian tradition as paganism. These were suppressed as religious systems at the time of conversion to Christianity but elements of them survived as major components of literature, art and folklore.
6pm, Weds 26 April 2023
David Game College/ Online/ Watch Later
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/whats-on/wales-gods
How Pagan Was Medieval Britain?
6pm, Weds 7 June 2023
Central London, to be confirmed/ Online/ Watch Later
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/whats-on/medieval-pagan
Sir Christopher Wren is probably the most famous Gresham Professor in history: a polymath, architect, mathematician, astronomer, anatomist and courtier. On the 300th anniversary of his death, this series will explore different aspects of his work.
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/series/wren-300
Christopher Wren's Medical Discoveries: The 'Architect of Human Anatomy'
Professor Jaideep Pandit
6pm, Wed 17 May 2023
Gresham College, Barnard’s Inn Hall/ Online/ Watch Later
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/whats-on/wren-medical
Sir Christopher Wren: Architect & Courtier
Professor Simon Thurley
6pm, Wed 14 June 2023
Central London, to be confirmed/ Online/ Watch Later
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