Knowing Where You Stand: An Introduction to Local History

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 History Lectures - November 2023

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 History Lectures - October 2023

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

Staffordshire Regiment Museum - Home Guard Discovery Day

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.

Lichfield Cathedral Exhibition

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

You can visit the Lichfield Cathedral website here.

Staffordshire History Day 2023 - 13 May 2023

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 - Free On-line Lectures

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.

Dementia: A Cultural History

6pm, Thurs 11 May 2023

Gresham College, Barnard’s Inn Hall / Online/ Watch Later

https://www.gresham.ac.uk/whats-on/dementia-history

AIDS: A Cultural 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

 

Women in World Religions

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

 

Women, Islam & Prophecy 

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

 

Finding Britain’s Lost Gods

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.

 

Finding Lost Gods in Wales

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

 

Wren 300

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

https://www.gresham.ac.uk/whats-on/wren-courtier

Staffordshire Record Society - A new publication

Collections for a History of Staffordshire 4th series, XXVII (2022)
ISBN  978 0 901719 18 8

Local Histories: Essays in Honour of Nigel Tringham edited by Ian Atherton, Matthew Blake, Andrew Sargent, Alannah Tomkins

The essays which follow are a tribute to Nigel, reflecting the breadth of his own work and his support of that of others. They include contributions from a variety of often overlapping worlds including doctoral students he has supervised, and colleagues and associates from the English Place-Name Society, Keele University, the Staffordshire Archaeological and Historical Society, Staffordshire Archive and Heritage Services, the Staffordshire Record Society, the Victoria County History, and the William Salt Library. They range in time from the early-medieval period to the twentieth century, and though the focus is on Staffordshire (with one contribution taking a broader Mercia-and-beyond approach) the essays, like the best of local history, are not geographically narrow but treat their subject as illustrative of wider themes and developments across England.

  • Introduction: Ian Atherton, Matthew Blake, Andrew Sargent, and Alannah Tomkins

  • Where was Clofesho? Paul Everson

  • The Swine Woods of Domesday Staffordshire, Andrew Sargent

  • Fiefs, Fonts, and Parish Churches: The Emergence of Staffordshire’s Post-Conquest Religious Landscape, John Hunt

  • The Unlucky Family: Thomas, Earl of Stafford (d. 1392), Philip Morgan

  • Place-Names, People, and Landscape in Medieval Staffordshire, John Baker, Jayne Carroll, and Susan Kilby

  • The Archaeological Potential of Staffordshire Churches, Bob Meeson

  • Settlement and Change in the Upland Parish of Leek, Faith Cleverdon

  • ‘Members of One Another’s Miseries’: The Culture and Politics of War Relief in Seventeenth-Century Staffordshire, David J. Appleby

  • ‘There Never was a Viler Wretch in a Place of Dignity’: Thomas Wood as Dean and Bishop of Lichfield, and the Divisions of the Later Stuart Church, Ian Atherton

  • Rose Bagnall’s Books: Dissent, Reading, and Gender in Early-Eighteenth-Century Newcastle-under-Lyme, Ann Hughes

  • Colliers, Nailers, and Shoemakers: Richard Parrott’s Account of Cottages in the Parish of Audley and Hamlet of Talke, James P. Bowen

  • George Tollet (1725–79), a Neglected Staffordshire Historian, Randle Knight

  • Stafford Infirmary and the ‘Unreformed’ Nurse, 1765–1820, Alannah Tomkins

  • Family, Enterprise, Credit, and Community in the Early Nineteenth Century: The Willdeys of Lichfield, Peter Collinge

  • Ludchurch: A Staffordshire Wonder Revealed, David Horovitz

  • Clayton and Bell at Keele, Robin Studd

  • Here Lies the Hare, Matthew Blake

  • ‘An Admirable Collection’: Stafford’s Wragge Museum, its Origins, and its Fate, Chris Copp

  • A Neglected Source for a Farming Community Snapshot: Land Tax Valuation Survey (1910), Paul Anderton

  • The Early Days of the Victoria County History in Staffordshire, John Becket

Price to non-members is £40 plus postage and packing: £5 for UK and £15 for rest of the world. Orders to be placed with the Society’s honorary secretary: Dr Matthew Blake, Staffordshire Record Society, William Salt Library, Eastgate Street, STAFFORD, ST16 2LZ  or email: matthew.blake@btinternet.com

Registered Charity: 228205

Victorian Ceramics and the Potteries

Westminster Theatre, Chancellor’s Building, Keele University ST5 5BG
Saturday, 25 March 2023
11.30am & 2.00pm

ArtsKeele and the Raven Mason Collection are collaborating with the Northern Ceramic Society to present a day focussed on the world-renowned Staffordshire Ceramics Industry.

At 11.30am is a special screening of the Potteries on Film, with Ray Johnson MBE of the Media Archive for Central England (MACE), including the Staffordshire Film Archive. Rare archive films from newsreels, documentaries and factories’ own productions are edited to give a unique view of the Pottery industry in the 20th century.

To follow, at 2.00pm, Antiques Roadshow expert Paul Atterbury gives unique and expert insight into what many would say was the glorious heyday of the ceramics industry in his presentation Colour in Victorian Ceramics. This presentation is brought to Keele by the Northern Ceramic Society, of which Paul Atterbury is the current President, and is the annual Godden Lecture in tribute to the prolific author on British ceramics, the late Geoffrey Godden. Dr Godden held an honorary Doctorate from Keele University.

Itinerary

  • 11.00am - Coffee/tea and biscuits available

  • 11.30-12.50pm - Welcome; Presentation The Potteries on Film, with Ray Johnson MBE of the Media Archive for Central England (MACE), including the Staffordshire Film Archive

  • 1.00-2.00pm - Lunch break

  • 2.00-3.30pm - The Godden Lecture: Colour in Victorian Ceramics, by Paul Atterbury followed by Q+A

Tickets - Free of charge, available via Eventbrite, or email northernceramicsociety@gmail.com