Model Communities: Architecture, Politics and Social Improvement in the North Midlands coalfields

Speaker: Elaine Prichard

Orton & Spooner was a company based in Burton-upon-Trent that made fairground rides and equipment for fairgrounds. The business began in the 1890s and closed in 1977. Elaine tells their story.

Organised by the Local History Section

Speaker: Mark Dawson

If you buy a Christmas pudding in any UK supermarket there is a very high chance it has been manufactured on an industrial estate in Heanor. Food historian Mark Dawson will relate how the Derbyshire firm of Matthew Walker came to dominate this market and tell us about some less well-known local seasonal traditions.

Organised by the Industrial Archaeology Section

Speaker: Jennifer Alexander

Melbourne's parish church stands out as a fine Romanesque church, built in the 12th century and covered in sculpture. It was intended to be a royal church and presents a statement of power by a king eager to be regarded as a player on the international stage. Its later history was quieter, and it is one of the few churches of the period that comes down to us largely unaltered, and so we can see, by close study of the building, how King Henry I's master mason demonstrated the king's power in his design of the building.

Jennifer Alexander FSA is Professor of Art History at the University of Warwick

Speaker: David Mercer

Mrs Armitage (1841-1931) was a pioneer archaeologist and historian in the field of castle studies. Her book The Early Norman Castles of the British Isles (1912) is credited with establishing the principle that the motte-and-bailey castle was an early Norman innovation; rejecting the idea that mottes were of Anglo-Saxon date. With over a century of research into castles following this seminal thesis it is time to reassess Armitage's legacy and provide context for the earliest castles in England.

David Mercer read archaeology at St John's College, Cambridge. His doctoral thesis looked at the historical development of ideas in castle studies. Since then, he has been an active member of the Castle Studies Group.

Speaker: Laura Parker

Laura is the Community Archaeologist with York Archaeology (formerly Trent & Peak Archaeology). Over the last 15 years she has worked on over 30 community projects. She was heavily involved in the excavations at Darley playing fields during the flood alleviation scheme in 2016 and ran the training dig that took place in Summer 2025 looking for remains of the Derventio Roman settlement.

Organised by the Archaeological Research Group

Speaker: Elizabeth Woledge

Dr. Elizabeth Woledge will speak about the history of the Royal Crown Derby china works. The talk will be illustrated by some of the most interesting items from the Museum which you can handle as you learn about how they were made. Also hear about the flower painter who changed the way flowers were painted, the troublesome modeller and many other interesting snippets from its 250 years history.

Organised by the Local History Section

Speaker: Colin Merrony

The Premonstratensian monastic Order were relatively late arrivals into medieval England. One result of this is that they struggled to develop large agricultural estates and focused a lot of their economic effort on industry. The choices made by monasteries in the north Midlands and southern Yorkshire had a significant effect on the development of late medieval iron working in the area. This talk will consider the archaeological evidence for iron working related to the abbeys of Beauchief and Dale and how decisions made in the 13th century changed the geography of industry in this area in ways which still affect us today.

Organised by the Archaeological Research Group

Speaker: Jane Hawkes

Speaker: Robert Mee.

Almshouses have existed since at least the time of the Byzantine empire. In his talk local historian, Robert Mee, will look at the origins and growth of almshouses in this country. Then, using examples from Derbyshire from the Early Modern period onwards, he will show that they are still firmly a feature of modern society.

Organised by the Local History Section

Speaker: Michael Fulford

Silchester is one of a handful of the major Roman towns of Britain which did not re-emerge as towns in the Middle Ages. It was subjected to extensive excavation in the late 19^th and early 20^th century to give us a so-called complete plan of the town. The talk will show how modern archaeology has further illuminated its history, including its origins in the late iron age and the changing life and occupations of its inhabitants.

Michael Fulford CBE FBA is Professor of Archaeology at the University of Reading. A major theme of his research has been Roman Britain, with a particular focus on Iron Age and Roman Silchester which he has been working on for over 50 years.