THE 2012 WINTER PROGRAMME
All events are held at St. Mary’s Parish Centre, Darley Lane, Derby (DE1 3AU) at 7:30pm, unless otherwise stated.
The locations of the events below are correct.LHS – Local History Section IAS – Industrial Archaeology Section
ARG – Archaeological Research Group AS – Architectural Section
20 January 2012. ARG: Along Soar, Trent and beyond: prehistoric pottery production in Charnwood Forest. Speaker : Dr David Knight , Trent and Peak Archaeology.
Scientific studies of Early Neolithic to Late Iron Age pottery from Derbyshire and neighbouring counties have identified several distinctive fabrics containing granitoid inclusions that may be traced to rock outcrops in Charnwood Forest. This provides important evidence for economic and social links between prehistoric communities in the East Midlands and adds usefully to the growing evidence from Britain for the long-distance movement of prehistoric pots and raw materials. We will consider in this talk the evidence for pottery production and distribution centred upon Charnwood Forest and the wider implications of this work for studies of Derbyshire prehistory.
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27 January 2012. ARG: The work of Greater Manchester Archaeological Unit.
Speaker: Dr Andrew Myers, Greater Manchester Archaeology Unit.
Greater Manchester Archaeology Unit (GMAU) provides the curatorial advisory service and houses the Historic Environment Record for the 10 local planning authorities of Greater Manchester. Inevitably, much of the unit's work involves advising planners and developers about the important and extremely diverse physical remains of a relatively recent industrial past. GMAU's work also touches on the archaeology of other periods, embracing and coordinating a wide range of volunteer led and community based projects. In the present economic climate and with the emergence of 'localism' the variety of GMAU's established archaeological involvement is proving invaluable in securing the future archaeological curatorial service in 'Cottonopolis'.
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Friday 3rd February 2012. LHA: The Life and Work of John Harrison of Derby, Civil Engineer c1784 - 1861
Speaker: Dr Joan D’Arcy
John Harrison, an early 19th century Derby man and civil engineer (died 1861), had premises in Bridge Gate and boiler works on Mansfield Road close to St Mary’s Bridge. This lecture will place his life at the centre of industrial progress in Derby and its environs and describe the work he advertised such as hot air heating systems for churches, mansions and greenhouses and iron manufactory for many and varied purposes. His work has been identified on several estates including Calke Abbey, Elvaston Castle, Kedleston Hall, Warslow Hall and Wollaton Hall.
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Friday, 10 February 2012. AS: Keeping out the rain: a thousand years of roofs in the West Midlands.
Speaker: Bob Meeson, Historic Building Consultant
We now know that the West Midlands, extending from Gloucestershire to Leicestershire, has some of the most remarkable early buildings in England. Whether they were built with walls of earth, stone, or timber-framing, the defining characteristics are their aisled, cruck-framed, base-cruck, crown-post and box-framed structures. This liberally illustrated talk will show how tree-ring dating and building archaeology have revolutionised our understanding of the changing designs of the timber frames that were used to support roofs over a range of buildings including manorial halls, tithe-barns and churches. The narrative will range from Anglo-Saxon origins to the seventeenth century.
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17 February 2012. ARG: The Sheffield University Reuse of Prehistoric Monuments in Anglo-Saxon Settlements. Speaker: Dr Vicky Crewe, Sheffield University.
Dr Vicky Crewe was Assistant Site Supervisor on University of Sheffield excavations at West Halton (North Lincolnshire) from 2006-09. This multi-period site revealed evidence of Bronze Age, Anglo-Saxon and medieval activity and formed part of her research into the nature and extent of the reuse of prehistoric monuments in early to middle Anglo-Saxon rural settlements in the English midlands. The talk will discuss the reuse of features such as round barrows, long barrows and hill forts and consider which types of monument are most likely to be reused in settlement contexts. It is hoped that the project will contribute towards building a fuller picture of how the remnants of past landscapes were interpreted and treated by early medieval communities.
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Friday 24 February 2012. IAS: Brampton Pottery.
Speaker: David Siddon
The many potteries which evolved in the Brampton area now cease to exist, however they will come to life again in David's presentation.
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Friday March 2 2012. Society & W.E.A (Derby Branch).
Inquests in Medieval England
Speaker : Dr David Roffe
In room OL1, The University of Derby, Kedleston Road, Derby at 7.30pm
Inquests or surveys produced some of the most vivid records of local life to survive from the Middle Ages; they are basic sources for the history of medieval England. In this talk David Roffe suggests that historians have for too long misinterpreted them. Far from being an instrument of strong royal government, a manifestation of 'the Norman yoke', he argues that they embody the true voice of the people in times of crisis. When the king was in conflict with his barons and his local officials could not be trusted, he used the inquest to consult his subjects. Records like Domesday Book and the thirteenth-century Hundred Rolls properly belong to the pre-history of Parliament and in them we find the roots of our modern democracy.
Dr David Roffe is a research fellow in
the University of Sheffield with wide interests in English medieval
history.
His publications include books on 'Domesday: The Inquest and the Book'; 'Little Domesday Book, Norfolk' and many articles on 'The Lincolnshire Hundred' (1981); 'The Origins of Derbyshire' - DAJ 1986;
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Friday, 9 March 2012. AS: AGM followed by Litchurch – from green grass to red brick.
Speaker: Jane James
A look at the why and how of the development of Litchurch in 19th century. Why did the population grow from 35 in 1801 to 11093 in 1871? How did the development happen? What was the role of the railway? Who were the Litchurchians? What was the township’s relationship to the Borough of
Derby? These are some of the questions to be considered before a walk in the summer of 2012 to look at some of the evidence remaining on the ground.
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Friday 16 March 2012. IAS: AGM followed by North York Moors Railway.
Speaker: Mark Sissons
Mark was one of the original team of volunteers who devoted their spare time working on the line to enable it to be re-opened. He is now back at Pickering and involved with the latest restoration project which will be featured in his talk.
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Friday 23rd March 2012. LHS: The Nightingale Heritage.
Speaker: Clive Tougher
As a follow-up to his previous lecture to the Society on Florence Nightingale, Clive Tougher will examine the later period of Florence Nightingale’s life post 1856, and the lasting legacy of these years.
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30 March 2012. ARG: AGM followed by The Nottingham Caves Survey .
Speaker: Dr David Strange-Walker, Trent and Peak Archaeology.
Beneath the modern city of Nottingham are hidden over 500 man-made sandstone caves, dating from the post-war period to the city’s Anglo-Saxon origins. The caves have been used for a huge range of functions, including houses, wine cellars, beer cellars, air-raid shelters, summerhouses, chapels, dungeons, follies, malt kilns, pottery kilns, tanneries, sand mines, tunnels, stables and even a bowling alley. Some of these historic caves are well known and publicly accessible, but the majority are hidden beneath locked doors and trapdoors. These include important caves such as the medieval malting at 8 Castle Gate, a rare survival of a complete medieval industrial facility. This talk will demonstrate how the Survey is using laser scanning and the web to bring unknown caves to a new worldwide audience, and how visualisation is being used to help preserve fragile cultural heritage resources.
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Saturday 19 May 2012. IAS: EMIAC 83 - Trent 150: Trent Station 1892-1968.
Hosted by the Railway & Canal Historical Society in Long Eaton, Derbyshire.
Talks and site visits about the railways and waterways around Trent Lock and the Trent Triangle.
details at
http://www.northants-iag.org.uk/emiac.html
or from Paul Hudson, 64 Millers Way, Milford, Belper DE56
0RZ.