Our social:

TAG: Thomas Becket

Kentish martyrs, saints and the ‘middling sort’ – Nightingale Lecture

To a degree this is a catch up week in that there were the final three talks for Kentish Saints and Martyrs and the Nightingale Lecture, as well as Dr Diane Heath’s stall at the Ash Heritage Centre 10th anniversary celebration last Saturday and a meeting of the Lossenham Project History group coming up this Friday. After that, we have a slight breather before the Centre’s events at the Canterbury Festival: six online evening events, with Diane’s talk also being face to face and my two guided walks in conjunction with FCAT. Oh, and the book launch at Faversham Guildhall of Maritime Kent through the Ages which is also coming up soon.

From local to global and back again – exploring historical Kent

Stop press, calling all schools – do you want to design a Thomas Becket giant? Now is a great opportunity, but you need to be quick because the deadline is 1 July!! Here is the link to the competition pack with the necessary details: https://www.canterburybid.co.uk/canterbury-medieval-pageant/ For the KS1&2 version, please contact:  Rachel Pilard: rachel.pilard@canterburybid.co.uk who has the details.

Becket, Lossenham and Magna Carta – amazing week!

Due to wanting to check a statistic that I had seen in a report, I thought I would do my own calculation because the number seemed wrong. As a result, I can report that the total views of the Centre’s blog since its start in late 2015 are now approaching half a million. So thanks very much to everyone who has viewed it and even more to those of you who are regular viewers, we appreciate your company!

Tudors and Stuarts, Becket and much, much more

We have now started the countdown to the online Tudors and Stuarts History Weekend on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 March having had the first practice with one of our speakers this morning. Currently Dr Diane Heath, Toby Charlton-Taylor and I have another tomorrow and three scheduled for Friday with the rest to take place next week.

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

Becket, Canterbury – new, exciting research discoveries

I thought I would first bring news of the next and hopefully last online events the Centre will be running as we inch towards getting back to physical rather than virtual events. Again, please come and join us for Professor Paul Bennett’s Becket Lecture next Wednesday 16 December starting at 7pm.

Becket, Canterbury and helping communities

Dr Diane Heath is in the process of ‘building’ the ‘medieval tile’ floor. So if you want to help her by providing your ‘medieval animal tile’ design, even if you cannot make it of gingerbread, please do send a photo of your design to her at diane.heath@canterbury.ac.uk and in return she will send you a certificate. For after 800 years, it is important to remember that 7 July this week was a major anniversary of Thomas Becket’s Translation, and one of the main features of the new shrine in the Trinity Chapel was the magnificent pavement.

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.

Celebrating women – as queens and historians

This blog appears in the final week of Professor Louise Wilkinson’s time at Canterbury before she takes up her new appointment at the University of Lincoln. I, Diane Heath, am writing it instead of Sheila Sweetinburgh, but all of us at the Centre of Kent History and Heritage, and everyone (staff and students alike) in the School of Humanities at Canterbury Christ Church University shall miss her very much and wish her a wonderful time in Lincoln.