Calendar

Speaker: Richard Sheppard

A ‘behind-the-scenes’ look at Bolsover Castle by an archaeologist who spent a good part of his career investigating the site, from its medieval beginnings to its 17^th century heyday, and beyond to the time it came into the possession of the Ministry of Works and later English Heritage.

Richard is a ‘retired’ archaeologist who was a one-time illustrator, projects manager and buildings’ surveyor for Trent & Peak Archaeology (now renamed as part of York Archaeology). Between 1990-2012 he undertook a series of watching briefs and targeted investigations at Bolsover Castle for English Heritage; this included a lot of activity during a major re-vamp to the property in 1998-2000. Like the historian and TV pundit Lucy Worsley, who was an English Heritage Inspector responsible for the site during that time, Richard retains a fondness and a high regard for Bolsover Castle, considering it to be one of the most important, if somewhat quirky, historic monuments we have in the Midlands.

Organised by the Architecture Section

Library open upstairs on the 1st floor.

Speaker: Stephen Rodgers

The historic town of Southwell in Nottinghamshire is home to what some archaeologists believe to be the largest Romano-British ‘villa’ site in the East Midlands.  The development of an Anglo-Saxon church and then the Norman Minster may be linked to the religious significance of this site.  Southwell Community Archaeology Group (SCAG) have been active in trying to trace the history of Southwell and especially in uncovering the Medieval development of the town.  King Charles I spent his last night of freedom in what is now known as The Saracen’s Head, a former coaching inn with rooms containing examples of Elizabethan wall paintings. SCAG worked with professional conservators trying to understand more about these paintings.

Dr Stephen Rodgers is secretary of SCAG and this talk will explore some of the archaeology of Southwell, much of which is now hidden.

Organised by the Archaeological Research Group

Library open upstairs on the 1st floor.

Speaker: James Clark

Professor Clark has been working with the National Trust and their team at Hardwick Hall, on the ex-monastic, mediaeval vestments (more than 100 pieces) collected by Bess of Hardwick, some of which almost certainly originated at religious houses in the county which attracted the patronage of the Talbots. Some of what has been found in this work will feature in the talk together with other aspects of Derbyshire’s dissolution story.

Professor Clark is the Director of the Societies and Cultures Institute at the University of Exeter and his historical interests are focused on the period between the Black Death and the Break with Rome, exploring religion, learning and book culture in England. He is a regular contributor to TV, Radio, News Media and online coverage of medieval, Reformation and early Renaissance themes. He has been an historical consultant for TV documentaries such as Tudor Monastery Farm for BBC TV, for film dramas and has contributed to a two-part documentary on Thomas Cromwell and the Henrician Reformation presented by Tracy Borman for Channel 5.

His book The Dissolution of the Monasteries – a New History was published in 2022 and his publisher Yale University Press will offer paperback copies at a 20% discount at the time of the lecture.