Our social:

TAG: Canterbury Castle

Canterbury, Dover and Becket on 6th July

This week I am going to concentrate on events linked to 6 July, but first, as promised, herewith details of Dr Ben Marsh’s talk on Tuesday 20 July at 7pm online through Teams, which promises to be a fascinating exploration and very timely considering the political, social and cultural climate we live in today.

Canterbury, Tonbridge and Newenden – what riches!

Another busy week but I thought I would start with the Tudors and Stuarts History Weekend 2021 to say the web site has gone live for bookings, and Matthew will set it up more fully early in January. Please do check it out because we have great speakers and fascinating topics: canterbury.ac.uk/tudors-stuarts

Exploring Kent’s history, maritime, monasteries and medieval animals

I will come to Jane’s presentation for the meeting of the Kent History Postgraduates Group shortly, but first I wanted to let you know about a few other matters involving Centre staff, including, of course, the Kentish Book Culture book launch (see last week for the booking url). Furthermore, Dr Diane Heath has just heard that she can apply again to the HLF because they have just reopened for bids, having closed suddenly last March. This means Diane can revive her ‘Medieval Animals’ project, and she has been talking again to her external partners, and will do so more fully this week with the intention of applying for a grant very shortly.

Kent History Postgraduates, Maritime Kent, and Canterbury matters

Just to say thank you very much and more ‘animals’ have been making their way to Dr Diane Heath’s door, including several dragons, a stag, a pig, a bee, an octopus and a bonnacon. I’ll leave you to find out about the latter! If there are any more budding tile-makers out there, please do send in your design to diane.heath@canterbury.ac.uk as the more the merrier.

Medieval Pageant and schooling now and then

Having caught up with Dr Claire Bartram, as Co-Director of the Centre, and Dr Diane Heath, the Centre’s Research Fellow, I thought I would report on their involvement with the forthcoming Medieval Pageant on Saturday 4 July (the closest Saturday to the Translation of St Thomas on 7 July), which this year will be a virtual experience: https://www.canterburybid.co.uk/canterbury-medieval-pageant/ . Working with the Medieval Pageant team, Claire has been liaising between them and the Creative Writing staff and students at CCCU on some short creative pieces that relate to Thomas Becket.

Kent History Postgraduates and Wincheap

With all Centre and other events in Canterbury cancelled until the autumn at the earliest, and even September may be in doubt – more news when matters become clearer; and the Prime Minister remains in intensive care, the gravity of the situation at all levels is clear. Hence, developing ways to adjust to the present circumstances are paramount in order to fulfil government requirements to help those on this ‘war’s’ frontline.

Graduation and Holocaust Memorial Day

Stop press: Dr Claire Bartram’s edited collection Kentish Book Culture: Writers, Archives, Libraries and Sociability 1400-1660 (Oxford and Bern: Peter Lang, 2020) arrived yesterday and it looks a very fine volume. Then today the first group of taught MA students in MEMS and Modern History graduated, congratulations to all and especially Katie Brooke as the winner of the first Lawrence Lyle Memorial MA Dissertation Prize.

Shields at the Ready! The Dering Roll and Medieval Education Day

As Dr Sheila Sweetinburgh reminded me (Dr Diane Heath), it has been a year since our participation in the first Medieval Education Day for primary schools in the East Kent area, a scheme launched by Lyndsay Ridley at The Canterbury Tales visitor attraction (see Sheila’s blog from last year https://blogs.canterbury.ac.uk/kenthistory/young-medievalists-and-medieval-animals-in-canterbury/).

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