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KEELE HISTORY SOCIETY EVENT

The Keele History Society would like to invite you to come along and join our search to uncover Keele’s Templar past. Our search will involve some geo-phys work carried out by the Geo Science discipline at Keele, but also why not try your hand at metal detecting?  You never know, we may uncover some ancient Templar treasure or artefacts along the old medieval road.

Our Event is to be held on the 28th March 2013 and will begin around 10am; we have some guest appearances from Teresa Gilmore from the Portable Antiquities Scheme and also Stephen Dean the county’s archeologist. Our aim is to find the buildings that made up The Templar Preceptory at Keele, which was given to the Knights Templar in 1162 by King Henry II.  It was later taken back by Thomas of Lancaster in 1307 though in 1322, after Lancaster’s execution, the land was given to the Knights Hospitaller, and remained in their hands until the 15th Century.

Please come along if you wish to join us on this day of history and meet us at St John’s Church Keele.

 Georgian dress 

Lesley Smith, curator of Tutbury Castle Museum, has generously loaned a facsimile of Georgian dress to eighteenth-century historian Alannah Tomkins.  The costume was created by a seamstress for the Royal Shakespeare Company, and has been worn by Lesley in the character of Hester Thrale, a notable friend of Samuel Johnson.  The dress graces Alannah's office for the majority of its time, but it did enjoy an outing on Friday 26 November when Alannah wore it for the purposes of illustrating points to her third-year class. 

Keele Historian on 'in our time'

Dr Kate Cushing (Reader in Medieval History/Research Institute for the Humanities) took part in the renowned Radio Four programme 'In our Time with Melvyn Bragg' yesterday on a panel discussing the Concordat of Worms in 1122.

Together with Henrietta Leyser (Oxford) and John Gillingham (emeritus LSE), Dr Cushing discussed the background, context and nature of the famous agreement that ended one of the most serious conflicts of Church and State, known as the Investiture Contest, that had divided the medieval west since 1075, if not before.

Success for Keele/Staffs Collaboration

Dr Alannah Tomkins, Research Institute for the Humanities, and Dr Mark Webster, Staffordshire University, have been awarded nearly £30K by the Arts and Humanities Research Council for their collaborative project 'Medical Histories: stories about health, illness and medicine in North Staffordshire'.

Their work will bring together creative writers, Staffordshire residents, industrial representatives, primary care trusts and charities to explore aspects of the local history of medicine, via a series of creative-writing workshops.  The first workshop will be held in March 2012.

Each workshop will be run by a local writer living and working in North Staffordshire, with experience of publishing or performing regionally, nationally or internationally, supported by at least one academic from Staffordshire University and at least one from Keele.  The writings will form part of a touring exhibition to be shown at venues around North Staffordshire, but participants will be able to stay involved after the events by checking the project website, uploading creative writing, and contributing to the 'medical histories' blog.

The aim of the project is to generate momentum in advance of applying to fund a 'writer in residence' at one of the partner organisations.

The Historian as MP -  a lecture by Tristram Hunt MP for Stoke on Trent Central. 4 March 2011 Chancellor's Building, CBA0.060 at 1.00p.m.

Tristram Hunt was elected as MP for Stoke in the last general election. Prior to that he had been a historian at Queen Mary College London. In another generation Josiah Wedgwood MP for Newcastle under Lyme was a politician who worked as a historian. This lecture will be an opportunity to hear how the two roles have intersected.

Tristram Hunt lectured to a large audience of fellow academics, students and the occasional politician. He described the historicism of the Houses of Parliament, and their seductive qualities, before speaking about his role as an MP. There was a lively discussion which covered matters such as the future of Stoke on Trent, the attack on the Humanities in Universities and awareness of history amongst MPs of all parties.

Dr Christopher Harrison

The final lecture given by Dr Christopher Harrison before his retirement was marked by an unusual gesture.  Given to lecturing in a gown, partly as an affectation, partly as a piece of theatre, Chris's colleagues responded by waiting outside the lecture hall until its final flourish before filing in to give him a standing ovation. No other Keele historian has  received a similar accolade. The lecture, on Chaucer as a social critic, thus finished with an impromptu drinks party shared between staff and students to mark a transitional moment in the department's own history. Pictured is Dr Harrison returning the toast.

 

History Matters

The Annual Newsletter of History of History at Keele