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TAG: St Augustine’s Abbey

Becket 2020, Cluniac rituals and the Cod’s revenge

We are now gearing up for the Tudors and Stuarts History Weekend on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 April. I have recruited a great group of postgraduates and undergraduates who will be the Welcome Team, and several staff members – both full-time and associates have volunteered to chair various events or ‘back-stop’ the tours. It looks as though it is going to be a busy and exciting time! There are still some tickets available, so if you are interested do check out the website at www.canterbury.ac.uk/tudors-stuarts we shall be delighted to see you.

Folkestone, Faversham and Canterbury – medieval saints and other matters

Now that we are in March, I thought this week I would start with news of the book launch next Thursday which features Gender in Medieval Places, Spaces and Thresholds, and among the three speakers will be Professor Louise Wilkinson, who attended the conference at CCCU this publication came from and Dr Diane Heath, one of the three editors and the contributor of a chapter on ‘tombscape’. If that sounds intriguing, please do come along to the CCCU bookshop at 5pm. Copies of the book will be on sale at a special CCCU Bookshop discount. We will be having a wine reception, too, courtesy of the School of Humanities and organised by Professor Jackie Eales. Here is a link to this and other events taking place as part of International Book Day: https://blogs.canterbury.ac.uk/studentnews/celebrating-academic-book-week/#.XHjwF_vMLGw.twitter

Women’s History Month – gender matters in the workplace

Now that it is just a week away, I thought I would highlight Paul Bennett’s annual Frank Jenkins Memorial Lecture on Saturday 23 February at 6pm in Old Sessions House. As Visiting Professor in the Centre and Director of Canterbury Archaeological Trust, it is always excellent to hear about the work of the Trust, and this year I expect two of the key sites will be in Canterbury: Slatters Hotel and Canterbury Cathedral. This event is another joint enterprise involving the Centre, the Friends of Canterbury Archaeological Trust and the Canterbury Historical and Archaeological Society. All welcome to attend, so please come along.

Medieval Gender Studies book launch and Canterbury Castle

So 2019 has arrived, which means firstly I want to wish all readers of the blog a Happy New Year! The new year looks very exciting because we have the Tudors and Stuarts History Weekend 2019 coming up on 13th and 14th April. For those interested, please refer to the webpages at https://www.canterbury.ac.uk/tudors-stuarts and I’ll be featuring some of the Weekend events in the blog next week – when I’m not marking essays!!

Michael Wood on Canterbury’s Anglo-Saxon treasures

I must admit I thought the Centre was busy in October, but things really move up a gear in November. Starting with the event in the Powell Building next Friday to mark the centenary of the signing of the Armistice that Dr Martin Watts is heavily involved in. For details of the talks, readings and music, please call 01227 922994. The following week will see Professor Louise Wilkinson speaking to Canterbury Historical and Archaeological Society on ‘Women and chivalry’ in Newton, Ng03 at 7pm on the Wednesday and then on Saturday 17 November will be the ‘Exploring Kentish Naming Practices’ conference (with Kent Archaeology Society) www.canterbury.ac.uk/kent-names .

Showcasing medieval Canterbury – more TV coverage

I’m delighted to say that the ‘Tudors and Stuarts History Weekend 2019’ website is almost there and all being well it will be possible to book tickets for the tours from later next week, including those led by Paul Bennett (Canterbury Archaeological Trust). These tickets always go pretty quickly, so if you are interested, please do book early to avoid disappointment.

Polar Bear and Pilgrims visiting Canterbury

This week I thought I would start with Paula the Polar Bear’s visit to Canterbury Cathedral precincts on Wednesday. She only visited her adoring public for short periods due to the warm weather – Canterbury is hardly the Arctic even with global warming and deep ice sheets melting to the north of Greenland.

Regional and local history at Durham and Canterbury

This is just a short piece before the Centre’s blog has a fortnight’s break for the summer. Consequently, I thought I would bring you up-to-date with things, including the fact that all the information for Tudors and Stuarts History Weekend 2019 has now gone to Matthew Crockatt, the Faculty’s web designer and organiser, and to Ruth Duckworth at Canterbury Christ Church’s box office, who handles the booking part of the web site. In addition, Finance has received the initial budget and although they are extremely busy with the financial year end, hopefully in the next few weeks the Centre will receive the relevant finance codes to ensure matters are set up properly. Among the many speakers who are due to come on Saturday 13 or Sunday 14 April are Dr Clive Holmes (Why Oliver Cromwell didn’t persecute witches), Dr Amy Blakeway (The downfall of Mary, Queen of Scots), Dr David Starkey (Henry VII’s Chamber), and Dr Miranda Kaufmann (Black Tudors). As at previous History Weekends, the idea is to generate a surplus which goes to support postgraduates researching Kent’s history through the Ian Coulson Memorial Postgraduate Award fund.

Exploring the past at Faversham, Brook and Canterbury

This week has been more a matter of meetings and looking forward to future events rather than events themselves. Included in the latter is most definitely the last of the ‘Young Medievalists’ Corner’ activity days on Saturday 21 July at 12 Market Place, Faversham. If you are in the area, please do drop in between 10am and 4pm, it is free to explore the ‘Medieval Faversham’ exhibition and to take part in the activities organised by Dr Diane Heath and Harriet Kersey.