To a large extent this has been a week of meetings and preparations for events next week in Canterbury, not least because for much of the Middle Ages and under the early Tudor monarchs, the eve (6^th July) and the feast day (7^th July) of the Translation of Becket’s relics were the high points of the city’s and cathedral’s year. To which, in 1535, was added the execution of Thomas More, and while he remains a controversial figure for some, as a saint recognised by both the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches, his commemoration is an important date in the liturgical calendar of St Dunstan’s church near Canterbury.

Consequently, these are the upcoming events in which the CKHH is involved. Firstly, and coinciding with the start of the Gender and Medieval Studies conference, Lizzie Burton will be giving a presentation on Wednesday 2 July to the Kent History Postgraduates group, in large part as a practice for her paper at the Social History Society conference the following week which will be taking place at the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley: https://socialhistory.org.uk/events/conference/ . Also speaking at the conference will be another Kent History Postgraduate, Abi Kingsnorth and Lizzie’s and Abi’s supervisor Dr David Hitchcock.

We are at the beginning of the academic conference season and another of the Kent History Postgraduates who will be giving a paper next week is Kieron Hoyle. She will be speaking at the University of Bristol at the Society of Renaissance Studies conference on her research into the people involved in the improvements to Dover harbour in Elizabeth’s reign. Also speaking at the conference, but I’m not sure if in person or online is Dr Claire Bartram, while two more academics with Canterbury connections speaking at Bristol are Professor Catherine Richardson (now at UEA) and Anna-Nadine Pike from Kent MEMS: for more details, please see: https://www.rensoc.org.uk/srs-biennial-conference/11programme/

Returning to the GMS conference from 2^nd to 5^th July at CCCU, which is themed ‘Gender: Charity and Care’, among this year’s papers, I’ll be exploring some of the things we know about hospital sisters in medieval Kent, including what criteria the authorities seemingly used to select them, as well as what their daily life was like in the various hospitals. For further details, see https://medievalgender.co.uk/ and for bookings, please see: https://shop.canterbury.ac.uk/product-catalogue/faculty-of-arts-humanities/school-of-humanities  

This year the conference is followed on the Saturday by the ‘Canterbury Medieval Pageant’. I believe the CKHH team will be based in St Mildred’s church for ‘family-friendly activities’ after the parade, but I’m waiting for confirmation of this from Claire Bartram. I am hoping the information pop-up banners produced in 2020 by a CCCU MEMS MA student will be on display in the church, too. If you haven’t visited the church, this is an ideal opportunity not least because it is a fabulous building. Then on Sunday 6^th July it will be the annual commemoration service for Sir/St Thomas More at St Dunstan’s church. The service begins at 7.30pm and this year the address will be given by Professor Robert Bartlett (Professor Emeritus at the University of St Andrew’s). There will be refreshments after the service and all are welcome to attend.

Moving to Monday the 7th for the feast day of the Translation of Becket’s relics, the Canterbury Cathedral Dean & Chapter have as usual given permission for a sung Mass to be celebrated and, according to the website, this year the papal Nuncio Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendia will be the principal celebrant at the liturgy, which will be attended by the Vatican cricket team. Furthermore, the Tenebrae choir, directed by Nigel Short, will sing at the Mass. Please note, the Mass will begin at 7.30pm and include the blessing of the relics. As reported, a certificate will be issued for pilgrims, who may attend a subsequent reception with sparkling Kentish wine and chocolates in the Cathedral chapter house and cloisters after the liturgy. If you want more information or to apply for a place, please contact: info@canterburyjubilee2025.com  

From my perspective, next week will be my last blog for CCCU, so I thought it would be useful this week to provide notice of three events in the early autumn that may be of interest, and please save the dates if they are. Firstly, the Michael Nightingale Memorial Lecture with Brook Rural Museum will be taking place at 7pm on Tuesday 23 September at the University of Kent, to be confirmed but hopefully in the Templeman Library Lecture Theatre, where we’ll be working with Kent MEMS and CAMEMS, with the hope that Karen Brayshaw, in Special Collections, will provide a small display. Please note, there will be a wine reception from 6.30pm and this is an open free public lecture, all welcome. The speaker this year is Victoria Stevens who has worked in heritage collections for over 25 years, mainly as a written heritage conservator and collections care adviser but latterly as a learning and engagement lead, a perfect complement to her overall collections work. As well as being the current Subject Lead for Books and Library Materials at West Dean College of Arts, Design, Crafts and Conservation, she is a sessional tutor on the Archives and Records Management course at University College London. Developing the potential of students and providing them with the knowledge and skills they need to thrive in their chosen direction is a huge privilege.

She is very proud to be a strong advocate for the heritage profession. This means she currently serves not only as a Trustee of the National Manuscripts Conservation Trust but also as an Arts Council Museum accreditation mentor and an Institute of Conservation accreditation assessor. Additionally, she is a committee member and assessor for the Archive and Records Association’s Archives Training Scheme and sits on the Fabric Advisory Committee of Hereford Cathedral as their conservation advisor.

The title of Victoria’s lecture is ‘Conserving Intangibility: the significance of change in heritage collections’ which is a highly pertinent topic today as museums and other heritage establishments seek to make their exhibits understandable, relevant and approachable for 21^st-century audiences, whether they are Victorian or older farm tools or manuscripts and books from the same era. For as Victoria says “This talk will seek to identify where significance in heritage lies and demonstrate the opportunities for this to be explored and maintained through conservation and preservation interventions. Using a series of case studies, based specifically on the speaker’s specialist area of written heritage, this presentation will demonstrate that meaning can lie beyond the overt or apparent object and be held in evidence of human interaction, including what we have previously seen as damage. It will investigate the way that the changes an object has undergone in production, use or subsequent storage can impact the way heritage objects are interpreted and understood, and the added value and holistic view this can provide. Finally, it will seek to highlight some of the analytical techniques that are available to conservators to gain this information without invasive treatment.”

These Nightingale Lectures provide an excellent opportunity to bring together people from a range of areas, those working in universities, those working in heritage organisations, those who enjoying visiting museums such as Brook, and those with a working knowledge of agriculture past and present. Consequently, we shall look forward to seeing you at Victoria’s presentation.

Keeping with the twin ideas of history and heritage and moving into October, Peter and Jane Joyce, with the Royal Engineers Museum, Gillingham, have again organised the Medway History Showcase. This year it will be even bigger because it will be over two days: the 18^th and 19^th October, at the RE Museum, thereby making it the largest heritage show in Kent. There will be free entry for pre-booked tickets, see: https://www.re-museum.co.uk/whats-on and the CKHH has been a major supporter, having had a stall each year, as well as members giving talks on a range of Medway History topics, from medieval hospitals to oyster disputes.

Unfortunately, this year the first day clashes with the Southern History Society’s 1-day conference at Winchester in the Milner Hall on 18 October between 10am and 5pm. The theme is ‘Poverty and Parish in Southern England, Medieval to Modern’, with such topics as: ‘The making of the Elizabethan poor laws’, ‘Poverty and the domestic sphere’, ‘The writings and things of the poor: pauper letters and pauper inventories’ and ‘Gender, poverty and poor relief’. If this looks of interest, please submit a 250-word abstract to cindy.wood@winchester.ac.uk and similarly if you want more information.