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Category: Second World War

Kent History Postgraduates, Becket and Tudors and Stuarts 2021

As we draw near to the Tudors and Stuarts History Weekend this coming weekend, Dr Diane Heath and Toby Charlton-Taylor are very busy having practice sessions with our great speakers. This has been interesting if at times nerve-racking and Diane and I are exceedingly grateful to Toby for his expertise, patience and ingenuity. However, we are almost there! For details and booking see: https://www.canterbury.ac.uk/tudors-stuarts

Giraffes in churchyards and saints in barrows – more exciting discoveries

I thought this week I would start with a short plug for the Tudors and Stuarts History Weekend on 27th and 28th March this year: https://www.canterbury.ac.uk/tudors-stuarts where you will find all the details and how to book. Moreover, I am very excited because we have now picked our film maker who is Alex Durham, a CCCU alumna in Film Studies, to produce the second film on Paul Bennett exploring ‘Early Tudor Canterbury’. This we hope will give a feel for the Weekend ‘being in Canterbury’.

New Centre pages and Kent History Postgraduates

I thought I would just start with a couple of good news items, although, of course, the Kent History Postgraduates are always good news. Firstly, we have had several compliments about the work of Beth Brown and Dr Diane Heath on the St Mildred’s church banners, and a request for something similar at another church if we have another internship. Secondly, we have had a very positive response from the publisher regarding the complete text for Maritime Kent through the Ages, which means I am hopeful that the rest of the process will go smoothly. 

Exploring remembrance at Canterbury

This week I thought I would take my cue from the events of last weekend and the idea of significant anniversaries – the international remembrance of VE Day 75 years ago and a local remembrance of Sir Roger Manwood’s foundation of his almshouses in Canterbury 450 years ago. Of course, the ceremonies and other events planned for both of these either didn’t happen at all, especially in the case of Manwood’s almshouses, or were very different than first planned, the VE Day commemoration of those who had come through WWII , but even more those who hadn’t. However, the actual focus of this blog is neither of these, and hopefully I’ll be able to report on the Manwood event next year, nor is it Becket 2020, which seems to becoming Becket 2020/21, although Becket might be said to have a walk-on part.

Celebrating Canterbury history exhibition by CCCU Masters students

Professor Peter Vujakovic’s brainchild, the Heritage A – Z, has now reached ‘Q’ is for Queen Eleanor of Provence, and you can read a fascinating piece by Professor Louise Wilkinson, with some lovely illustrations at: https://medium.com/the-christ-church-heritage-a-to-z

Challenging times throughout the centuries

I thought I would begin where in a sense I left off, and now that the programme for Women’s International Day and Women’s History Month is now up on the CCCU website, I thought I would give you the link: https://www.canterbury.ac.uk/equality-and-diversity/edi-events/international-womens-day-and-womens-history-month.aspx so please feel free to check out what will be going on next month, including the two events involving the Centre.

Exploring place and space in Faversham and Canterbury

Now that we are into October, it is great to report that the School of Humanities’ taught Masters degrees in both Modern History and Medieval and Early Modern Studies are up and running, which is in addition to a taught Masters in English Literature. There may be others but these I know about. The reason I mention it is that my option module group, who are studying late medieval and Tudor Canterbury, might be said to be benefitting from the Centre’s presence at Canterbury Christ Church. For those who may be interested, we had an enjoyable and instructive walk through ‘medieval and Tudor Canterbury’ last Wednesday and will be exploring the city’s topography through maps this week.

Canterbury postgraduates and Maritime Kent conference

Before I come to ‘Maritime Kent though the Ages’ this weekend and the great array of speakers, I thought I would very briefly mention that I attended two of the sessions last Saturday of the University of Kent’s Medieval and Early Modern Studies Summer Festival that featured six speakers from Canterbury Christ Church University.

Humans and Animals in Faversham and Margate

Before I report on the first phase of the ‘Medieval Faversham’ exhibition that has been installed in the Town Council’s new Heritage Hub, I want to mention the Centre’s conference (jointly with Maritime Museums Greenwich and Kent Archaeological Society) on ‘Maritime Kent through the Ages’ that is now just a month away. On Friday 22 June after the wine reception [no need to book just come along that evening – wine reception from 6.30pm], Richard Holdsworth will give a free, open lecture on ‘Kent, the Royal Navy and the defence of Britain’. Then on the Saturday we have a great group of speakers who will explore four themes: ‘coastal topography and the environment; ‘coastal communities’; ‘trade and industry’, and ‘defending the coast’, looking at different periods of Kentish history. For more details and information about tickets for the Saturday, please check out the website: https://www.canterbury.ac.uk/maritime-kent