Articles from 2017
December
Centre for Kent History and Heritage – looking back
28 December 2017
As in 2016, probably the high point this year for the Centre was the History Weekend in early April, which in 2017 featured the Tudors and Stuarts and was a…
Churchwardens’ accounts – from Canterbury to Bristol and back again
21 December 2017
For the Christmas and New Year fortnight I’ll take the opportunity to play Janus and look back over the past year before turning to the exciting new projects and events…
Paul Bennett and bringing Canterbury and Rochester together
14 December 2017
Before I give a brief report on Professor Paul Bennett’s fascinating ‘Part Two’ of his inaugural professorial lecture, I thought I would mention a few events the Centre is running…
Fighting, hunting and farming – from Canterbury to Leicester and back again
10 December 2017
One lot of exciting news is that Canterbury Archaeological Trust archaeologists have uncovered the burial of Abbot John of Wheathampstead at St Alban’s Cathedral (one of the most important monasteries…
Attracting youngsters to history and Hayes Award winner
2 December 2017
This week saw the awarding of the John and Peggy Hayes Canterbury Award for publications on the history of the city, and this year the recipient is Professor David Birmingham…
November
Medieval Pageant – Canterbury Award Winner
25 November 2017
I thought I would start by mentioning the upcoming lecture by Paul Bennett, the Centre’s Visiting Professor, where he will give an insight into his work as an archaeologist in…
Rivers and the sea – from Rochester to Canterbury
18 November 2017
Next week will bring the first Chatham Historic Dockyard conference at which Dr Martin Watts (CCCU lecturer and member of the Centre) will be speaking on ‘Chatham Dockyard at the…
‘Picture This’ Workshop 11th November, 2017
12 November 2017
‘Picture This’ is a web-based project run jointly by Canterbury Cathedral Archives and Library, the University of Kent, and the Centre for Kent History and Heritage (CKHH) at Canterbury Christ…
Trees, pigs and The Charter of the Forest
12 November 2017
It has been another busy week with several lectures, meetings, a workshop and planning for future events. Of the lectures, I’ll give a short report on Professor David Carpenter’s talk…
From Roman to Reformation Canterbury
2 November 2017
As we are now in November, I thought I would start off this week with news of the Centre’s three evening lectures this month and next, two of which are…
October
Alfred Smyth, Tim Tatton-Brown and Norman Canterbury
28 October 2017
Even though it is a couple of weeks away, I thought I would draw your attention to the Centre’s next joint evening lecture with the Friends of Canterbury Archaeological Trust…
Roman Canterbury and the American Southwest – similarities and differences
22 October 2017
This has been a busy week that has included a fascinating double-bill on Thursday about funerary archaeology and leading a Canterbury Festival walk around St John’s hospital yesterday, a medieval…
Ancestors at Canterbury and saints at Folkestone
13 October 2017
I have been asked to pass on news of an archaeology lecture that is being given at Canterbury Christ Church on Thursday 19 October in Newton Nf03-04 at 5pm. It…
Tradescants, Canterbury and garden history
8 October 2017
This week I decided to wait until after the Garden History Study Day yesterday to write the blog, but before I get to that I just want to announce that…
September
Hops in history – Nightingale Lecture and Ian Coulson Awards
30 September 2017
This week has brought the start of the academic year, I hope the final touches to the Medieval Canterbury Weekend 2018 webpages so that they can go live next week…
Crypts and caves – from Canterbury to Shanidar
22 September 2017
Many thanks to Dr Diane Heath for her blog last week about Professor Sandy Heslop’s lecture on St Anselm’s crypt in Canterbury Cathedral and the torchlight exploration of the crypt…
Sandy Heslop: The Organisation and Formation of St Anselm’s Crypt
11 September 2017
This week Dr Sheila Sweetinburgh has kindly suggested I write the blog report on what was for many of us a very exciting event. On Friday, we welcomed Professor Sandy…
Saxon history – linking Canterbury to continental Europe
6 September 2017
The 68th International Sachsenymposion is drawing to a close today after four and a half days of guided tours, workshops, poster displays, a public lecture, and academic debate following a…
Essex and Kent – discussing late medieval piety and charity
3 September 2017
Having spent the last few days at the Fifteenth Century conference, I thought I would focus on that this week and leave Professor Paul Bennett’s (Director of Canterbury Archaeological Trust)…
August
Maritime Kent – place-names, sea songs and Anglo-Saxon ‘invaders’
22 August 2017
Keeping with the maritime theme, at least for part of this blog, I thought I would report on a presentation I went to last Saturday at the Beaney in Canterbury.…
Whitstable – oysters, boats and the Harbour Day
6 August 2017
Before I get to Dr Martin Watts and his presence at the Whitstable Harbour Day yesterday, I thought I would just mention events in Northamptonshire.
July
Burial mounds, workhouses and maritime Kent
28 July 2017
Having had a number of meetings this week about prospective Centre events for 2018, I thought I would just mention them before reporting on the last of the Kent History…
Black Prince, Cinque Ports and Canterbury Cathedral
21 July 2017
Faversham’s history – attracting a growing audience. On Wednesday evening, the Canterbury Christ Church University bookshop hosted the launch of Michael Jones’ new book on the Black Prince, but before…
Medieval Pageant and Centre’s future events
11 July 2017
Before I come on to the report on the Medieval Pageant, especially the Centre’s contribution in the Greyfriars Garden as part of the Family Trail, I thought I would offer…
Roman, Norman and Stuart Canterbury
7 July 2017
I thought I would begin this week by mentioning Dr Michael Jones’ book launch for his new study on the Black Prince. This will take place at the Canterbury Christ…
June
Sense of place – Canterbury, Kent and beyond
28 June 2017
This week I want to catch up with events involving History and the Centre over the last week, but will leave Dr Mark Hutchinson’s paper to the Staff-Postgraduate Research Seminar…
Celebrating Canterbury conferences and Paul Bennett MBE
20 June 2017
I’m going to start this week with some news. Many of you will know Paul Bennett or have read about him in various blogs over the last couple of years,…
Becket’s legacy in Canterbury and beyond
12 June 2017
As I expect you have gathered, June has been a very busy month full of very exciting lectures, conferences and workshops, and last week was no exception.
Remembering the Baedeker Raid on Canterbury
6 June 2017
Just a couple of points before I turn to the focus of the blog this week: Dr Martin Watt’s Baedeker Raid on Canterbury half-day conference and afternoon guided walk last…
Baedeker, Tithe and Canterbury Crypt Creatures
1 June 2017
Yesterday marked a watershed in History at Canterbury Christ Church, as well as in the Centre, because Dr Stephen Hipkin finished teaching at CCCU having opted for early retirement.
May
Sandwich – Battle, Magna Carta, memory and constructing identity
24 May 2017
Keeping with the theme from last week of activities of those involved directly or indirectly with the Centre in ‘history in the community’, this week I’ll focus on the Kent…
Celebrating William Urry, Angevin Canterbury and Magna Carta
18 May 2017
This year marks a rather special anniversary in Canterbury’s history because it is fifty years since the publication of William Urry’s Canterbury under the Angevin Kings.
June events and Canterbury pilgrims
12 May 2017
Having discussed one event in the whole blog last week, I thought this week I would begin with news of three Centre events next month before turning briefly to one…
Canterbury phoenix, London elephant and ubiquitous pig
7 May 2017
Apologies to those, if there are any, who wondered what had happened this week but I wanted to wait until after the London Medieval Society conference that took place yesterday.
April
Professor Champion and the Making of the Modern Landscape
27 April 2017
Having attended the third Lambarde Annual Archaeology lecture last night, I thought I would concentrate on it for the blog this week.
Lambarde, Baedeker and Tithe at Canterbury
20 April 2017
Being back in Canterbury this week, I am now turning my attention to future Centre events, especially those due to take place in the next couple of months.
Canterbury and Huddersfield: medieval family power and religious material culture
13 April 2017
The Easter holidays are often busy as conference organisers seek to fit in their particular offering and this year is no exception.
Tudors and Stuarts Weekend
4 April 2017
Before I come to the Tudors and Stuarts Weekend, I thought I would mention the ‘Family and Power in the Middle Ages’ conference that will be taking place on Friday…
March
Magna Carta and the Faversham Custumal
24 March 2017
This time next week the Tudors and Stuarts Weekend will be just about to start, which means there will be quite a lot to do next week – all those…
Norman landscapes in Normandy, Kent and Derbyshire
17 March 2017
We are now just a fortnight away from the Tudors and Stuarts Weekend and excitement is growing as we look forward to welcoming speakers such as Alison Weir, David Starkey,…
Canterbury and International Women’s Day
10 March 2017
Even though you might say that all historians interrogate the evidence to uncover the past, this becomes ever more challenging when it concerns the lives of those below the aristocracy…
Canterbury’s changing landscape – telling tales
2 March 2017
It is often said, that in terms of Canterbury’s historic built environment the City Council in the post WWII years was far more effective in finishing off what the Luftwaffe…
February
Canterbury Museum – at a crossroads
23 February 2017
Due to it being half-term last week, I took the opportunity to visit the Canterbury Heritage Museum because now it is shut again for another month until the Easter holidays.…
From Rendlesham to Canterbury – valuing co-operation
17 February 2017
This week has brought another round of meetings. However, on Wednesday I also managed to attend a fascinating lecture given by Professor Christopher Scull, organised by Dr Andy Seaman and…
Museum of Canterbury – exciting opportunity
10 February 2017
This week I have been to two meetings among other things, and, although they may seem very different, they actually have common themes such as the value of bringing archaeology…
Exploring Canterbury’s past – material culture and female agency
5 February 2017
In many ways, I want to pick up the same theme as last week. This is because I discovered this week that among the elements within the new GCSE syllabus…
January
Canterbury’s History and Heritage
27 January 2017
This week has brought to the fore some different issues, albeit underpinning many of the lectures and discussions has again been the value to society of knowing and understanding the…
Becket Lecture and Operation Nightingale Heritage
20 January 2017
This week saw two events that were to a greater or lesser extent linked to the Centre. The first, and the one organised by the Centre through Professor Louise Wilkinson…
Gender conference at Canterbury
15 January 2017
For the last four days, History and the Centre at Canterbury Christ Church has hosted the Gender and Medieval Studies conference under the overarching theme of ‘Gender, places, spaces, thresholds’.…
Famous people in Canterbury: St Thomas and others
7 January 2017
Next week is the ‘Gender, Places, Spaces, and Thresholds’ conference that Dr Diane Heath is running for the Centre at Canterbury Christ Church – for details see: http://www.canterbury.ac.uk/arts-and-humanities/research-kent-history-and-archaeology/crkha-latest-projects/place-space-and-liminalities.aspx but I…
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