Recent archaeological excavations at the site of the Milford bleach and dye works

Speaker: Dr Jane Ainsworth

Two flimsy pieces of lead can provide insights into a world we thought was familiar. This talk will discuss the context and content of Roman-period curse tablets found in Leicester, as well as similar discoveries at the Trent/ Soar confluence. The tablets show us everyday life in Roman Britain, while also offering tantalising glimpses of the imperial centre of Rome itself.

Dr Jane Ainsworth works in the School of Archaeology & Ancient History at the University of Leicester, where she is the Classics for All Regional Co-ordinator for the East Midlands. Her recent work has included the study of Roman curse tablets to create the Life in the Roman World and Roman Inscriptions of Britain Online teaching resources for schools.

Organised by the Archaeological Research Group

Speaker: Jennifer Browning

A new Roman villa was discovered during lockdown in Rutland in 2020, prompting a series of archaeological investigations, carried out primarily by the University of Leicester and Historic England. This extraordinary site is famous for the widely publicised figured mosaic, which depicts scenes from the mythical Trojan War. Having completed fieldwork in September 2022, work on the finds from the site is now underway. This talk will place the mosaic in its context within the villa estate, based on the evidence to date. It will also discuss the artwork of the mosaic and its significance.  Jennifer is a Project Officer with the University of Leicester Archaeological Services. She directed the University of Leicester excavations at the Rutland villa site and also co-directed the Historic England excavations.

Speaker: Robert Mee

A look at the history and use of village lockups - once a common feature in our communities. The talk begins with looking at the background to the subject, concentrating on evidence from Derbyshire and then a look at all known lock ups in the Midlands.

Organised by the Local History Section

Speaker: Colin Merrony

Castleton is a popular tourist destination in north Derbyshire and is well known for Peveril Castle around which the village is believed to have developed from the late 11th century. Fifteen years ago the University of Sheffield, in collaboration with the Castleton Historical Society, began to investigate the development of Castleton at first by investigating the site of the medieval hospital by the road between Castleton and Hope. Over the years this project has developed into one exploring the wider landscape of the upper Hope Valley from the Roman period right through to the 19th century. This talk will focus primarily on the discoveries around Castleton, including evidence of settlement there before the arrival of the Normans and the construction of Peveril Castle.

Colin Merrony has worked in the Archaeology Department at the University of Sheffield for the last 35 years and in that time has been involved in many of the University's projects in the local area. Even though the Department has now disappeared into the new School of History, Philosophy and Digital Humanities, Colin continues to undertake archaeological fieldwork in Derbyshire, South Yorkshire and further afield.

Organised by the Archaeological Research Group

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

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

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.

Speaker: Amy Bracey

In February 2024 an extensive archive came up for auction. Within its pages the daily workings and the lives of the workers are documented. Drawings, photographs and letters bring to life the people who worked for Holmes of Derby - a company who expanded to other towns and to the great coach making city of London. Spanning 150 years of a 500 year coach making history, the archive is of international importance. The talk will give an insight to the company history and explore the items within the archive. Amy Bracey has a degree in Art History and Heritage Management and has worked with museum collections relating to canals, archaeology and decorative arts, but her love of carriages became a career when working for the National Trust, cataloguing their carriage collection. She now works as Project Curator for The Carriage Foundation, an educational charity, and advises museums and individuals across the globe on the care, conservation, history and research of horse-drawn carriages.

Speaker: James Foulds

James will talk about the Foulds family which has been at the heart of Derby business and its musical life over four generations.

Organised by the Local History Section

Speaker: Graham Guilbert

The aim will be to explore something of what we know of hillforts in this region, covering considerable variety in their form and density of distribution, and extending west from Derbyshire into the Welsh Marches.  Only a few instances have been investigated sufficiently thoroughly and extensively to allow any confidence in interpretation, and those few can lead us into consideration of certain themes and issues having great influence upon general understanding of hillforts. Graeme’s first engagement with hillforts came in the late 60s, through excavating at Cadbury Castle in Somerset, thereafter focusing upon forts in Wales and its Marches, and more recently extending to those in Derbyshire.  He is never more content than when trying to get to grips with the earthworks of a fort located on some remote hilltop.