Another chance to see our November 2024 lecture when Local Studies librarians from CILIP, the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, talked about their freely accessible online guide.

This lecture was  organised by CILIP’s Local Studies Group on behalf of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire

https://youtu.be/Hwrw5NXHE2I 

Heritage resources can make a difference to individuals: the young couple in their first house who visited because they had chopped down some trees which were inside their fence only to find that their neighbour claimed the land and the trees; the schoolteacher who said that her students’ A level results had improved as a result of class visits to the local studies library; the family who were helped to find essential evidence about a local company and were able to obtain compensation for the loss of a loved one.

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Another chance to see our September 2024 talk or catch it for the first time. Janet Barrie is the current chair of the Society for One-Place Studies and researches the people and activities associated with the Springhill area of Rossendale, Lancashire. In this talk she looks at the principles of conducting a one-place study by considering the nature of a ‘place’ and of a ’study’.

Janet Barrie is the current chair of the Society for One-Place Studies and researches the people and activities associated with the Springhill area of Rossendale, Lancashire. In this talk she looks at the principles of conducting a one-place study by considering the nature of a ‘place’ and of a ’study’. For all those interested in local and regional history…

Watch it here

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Dr Parkin, University of Chester, will explore the history of surnames, with a particular focus on the relationship between surname variation, surname distribution, and local dialect, using names which are common to Cheshire as examples.

Lecture by Dr Harry Parkin, Senior Lecturer in English Language, University of Chester and editor of the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain.

Wednesday, 19 June, 2pm. Online and free to attend but places need to be reserved by emailing our Programme Secretary at hslc1848@gmail.com and you will be sent a confirmation, and zoom link nearer the time.
(Please note it is not possible to book tickets via Eventbrite for this lecture).

Dr Parkin will explore the history of surnames, with a particular focus on the relationship between surname variation, surname distribution, and local dialect, using names which are common to Cheshire as examples.

The image here shows the distribution of the surname Hockenhull which is one of the names that will be covered in the lecture.

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Another chance to see our February 2024 Lecture: Northeast Wales and parts of Cheshire are traditionally thought to be areas where relatively little ‘high-status’ rural settlement existed during the Roman period but this view has been challenged by the discovery of a Roman villa near Wrexham in 2021. In this talk Dr Caroline Pudney from the University of Chester reports on the ‘In Search of Roman Rural Settlement’ project.

Lecture by Dr Caroline Pudney, Senior Lecture in Archaeology, University of Chester recorded on 21 February 2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gk-3b8Yq-ZA/

Northeast Wales and parts of Cheshire are traditionally thought to be areas where relatively little ‘high-status’ rural settlement existed during the Roman period. Instead the landscape is considered to be largely populated by military, industrial and associated settlements. However, the discovery of a Roman villa near Wrexham in 2021 potentially challenges this thesis. When considered in conjunction with broader evidence for Roman activity, such as from metal detected finds, it points to a more vibrant part of Britannia than previously thought. This talk introduces the ‘In Search of Roman Rural Settlement’ project, with updates on the Rossett villa excavations, the ongoing research and potential avenues for future developments.

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Another chance to see our November 2023 Lecture - Professor R.C. Richardson looks at the career of historian Joan Thirsk (1922-2013) who did so much to re-define what the properly contextualised study of English local history could be and could do. Although chiefly a specialist in agrarian history, her interests extended far more broadly and the lecture offers an overall assessment of her landmark status.

With an immensely productive career spanning several decades first at the University of Leicester and then at Oxford, Joan Thirsk (1922-2013) did so much to re-define what the properly contextualised study of English local history could be and do.

Chiefly a specialist in the field of agrarian history, her academic interests extended far more broadly and she made her mark in all the various subjects she addressed, among them food history, internal trade, inheritance customs, consumerism, cross-cultural contacts and the rural origins of industry. Her general editorship and part authorship of the monumental 10,000 page Agrarian History of England was her greatest achievement. This lecture offers an overall assessment of her landmark status.

Professor R.C.Richardson is Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Winchester and is President of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire. He is the author or editor of numerous books and articles on early modern England.

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Another chance to see Dr Alan Crosby's lecture marking the 175th anniversary of our Society. While across Europe 1848 was the 'Year of Revolutions' there was no popular uprising in Lancashire and Cheshire but a quieter yet even more fundamental revolution in society, economy and landscape was taking place in the two counties. Was the founding of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire in that year perhaps a counter-reaction to this revolution?

Lecture by Dr Alan Crosby (independent historian)
Wednesday 21 June 2023

Across Europe, 1848 was ‘The Year of Revolutions’. While in Lancashire and Cheshire there was no insurrection or popular uprising, a quieter yet even more fundamental revolution in society, economy and landscape was taking place. The rapidly evolving transport infrastructure, the social reshaping resulting from large-scale migration, the demographic and physical impact of unprecedented urbanisation, the emergence of new structures of government and administration … all these and much more contributed to a world which was changing at awesome speed. The founding of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire in that year was perhaps a counter-reaction to this revolution: as the old-established frameworks of society seemed to crumble, and as the familiar sights gave way to the radically new and different, some felt a growing nostalgia for the past. The HSLC was a child of its time. In this 175th anniversary lecture we explore some aspects of that turbulent time across the two counties.

Alan Crosby MA DPhil FRHistS is an independent scholar specialising in the local and regional history of North West England. He is editor of The Local Historian, chair of the Lancashire Local History Federation, and a council member of the Record Society of Lancashire & Cheshire, the Chetham Society and the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society.

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Another chance to catch Dr Mike Nevell's lecture exploring the revised regional research framework for the historic environment of North West England - compiled between 2016 and 2020 - summarising over a decade of archaeological, historic landscape, and historic building research within the region.

This work was undertaken by professionals, academics, and community-based individuals and groups and represents an extensive community effort in bringing this data together.

(This lecture was first delivered online on Wednesday 22 February 2023)

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