Talks - Tales of the downs and
beyond.....
Evening Talks programme
2010
All the speakers are experts in their
fields, who will share their knowledge on these evenings in a relaxed talk,
with illustrations. Questions are welcome. The talks will start at 6.30pm,
with tea/coffee and cake served from 6pm. The ticket allows entrance to the
museum site from 4pm on the day of the talk.
All talks cost £10 per person/ £5 for
Weald & Downland Open Air Museum volunteers. Price including refreshments.
Book 6 places, pay for 5! Places must
be booked at the same time for any 2010 talks.
For further information please contact
us on 01243 811021 or
email
A history of the scythe and practical grassland
management
Monday 19 April 2010
The talk will investigate the history
of scythe use in this country compared to other areas of Europe, from the
perspective of an experienced scythesman. It will also cover the role of the
scythe today in grassland management and conservation, and explain how
small-scale haymaking can be carried out with a scythe.
Simon Fairlie is an experienced scythesman who has been teaching the subject
for many years. He is passionate about the reintroduction of the art of
scything in the British Isles, has an extensive knowledge of the subject. He
imports scythes from Austria.
[Index]
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Magic and ritual for protecting the home from
the Tudors to the 19th century
Thursday 29 April 2010
The speaker will draw upon his long
experience of secreted archaeological finds to show the ways in which
householders attempted to protect themselves and their livelihood from
witches and their familiars, fire, illness and misfortune. Bring along your
own finds.
Timothy Easton is an artist and
architectural historian who has lived in Suffolk for 30 years. He argues
that poor transport links and relative poverty in the 19th and 20th
centuries in that region helped preserve the evidence from a wealthy
medieval and post-medieval building tradition, with much surviving historic
evidence of practices that are less easy to see elsewhere.
[Index]
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Calligraphy: past and present
Thursday 6 May 2010
Calligraphy has a splendid history of
beautifully written manuscripts and illuminated letters. See how the skills
of using gold, and writing with quills on vellum were practised over many
centuries, at a time when literacy was the preserve of the rich and
powerful, and how differently those skills have been interpreted by today's
calligraphers.
Mary Noble has taught and practised
calligraphy for over 20 years and written and co-written several books on
the subject. Whilst her preferred style is contemporary rather than
classical, she has always drawn on the traditional skills for her
inspiration.
[Index]
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Photographing Sussex nature
Tuesday 18 May 2010
A journey in images through Sussex and
through the year, looking at the magnificent heritage of wildlife, habitats
and landscapes in this richly diverse county, and the thrills and challenges
involved in capturing them all on camera.
Neil Fletcher began his career as a
photographer at London’s Natural History Museum, and also spent six years
managing nature reserves for the Sussex Wildlife Trust. He is now a
freelance writer and photographer, and has written, edited or contributed to
numerous books on just about every subject of natural history.
[Index]
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A reduced history of the Museum…as
you've never heard it before!
Wednesday 9 June 2010
Forty years of the museum in forty
images and audio clips - a gallop through the history of the museum in this
special ruby year given by Richard Harris.
Richard became the Museum’s director in 2001, having started as assistant to
the Research Director (Roy Armstrong) in 1975, and he has been intimately
involved with most of the developments at the Museum. His teaching career
also started in 1975, as a tutor at the Architectural Association, and he
contributes to our Historic Building Conservation programme, as well as
being course leader on the MSc in Timber Building Conservation which is run
at the Museum. He is the author and illustrator of Discovering Timber-Framed
Buildings.
[Index]
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Britain in colour
Tuesday 15 June 2010
A pictorial journey from the Highlands
of Scotland through the Yorkshire Dales, the Snowdonia National Park, South
Wales including the long distance costal path in Pembrokeshire, then finally
into Southern England to our beautiful county of Sussex, an area of which
has recently been awarded 'National Park' status.
Derrick Ellwood has spent 50 years
working in horticulture and his last appointment in his long and varied
career was Head Gardener for the Royal Greenwich Observatory, at
Herstmonceaux Castle, East Sussex. Derrick's other main interest is his
great love of the English countryside. He is a skilled photographer who has
won numerous awards and the talk will be illustrated with his own
photographs.
[Index]
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The wonderful world of natural navigation
Thursday 24 June 2010
A talk that starts with solo crossings
of the Atlantic in a light aircraft and then a small yacht, before plunging
into the very rare art of natural navigation. Tristan describes how his love
of the subject grew from realising that electronics were getting in the way
of a good journey and explains how he learnt to find his way using the sun,
moon, stars, weather, plants and animals.
Tristan Gooley is the founder of a
natural navigation school, author of 'The Natural Navigator' book and the
only living person to have both flown and sailed solo across the Atlantic.
He is a Fellow of both the Royal Institute of Navigation and the Royal
Geographical Society and the Vice Chairman of Trailfinders.
[Index]
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Inns and taverns of old Arundel
Monday 28 June 2010
Discover more about the 40 ale and
beerhouses of Arundel, of which only seven have survived. They were mainly
owned by families, from whom the widows often survived to a ripe old age to
manage the sale of the products of brewing. This talk is a details where
these old houses can still be found in the town, what they were called in
their heyday, who the publicans were at the time and how the families helped
each other and carried on through the generations. Anecdotal reminiscences
of the past and recollections of how the old premises looked have helped to
create the atmosphere of these drinking places in old Arundel.
Rupert Brooks is a local historian who
has undertaken fascinating research which included spending time in the
archives department of Arundel Castle thanks to the kind permission of His
Grace the Duke of Norfolk, in the West Sussex Records Office and
interviewing long-standing residents who remember Arundel's old drinking
establishments. He has also interviewed descendants of the most significant
families, uncovered their photographs and delved into their family trees.
[Index]
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The Mary Rose: a floating parish
Wednesday 30 June 2010
This talk concerns what can be learned
of the nature of religious observance on board 16th century ships. The Mary
Rose affords rich evidence on this topic that has largely been neglected,
partly due to the problems of assigning functions to particular artefacts.
It will address issues of heritage interpretation as well as wider questions
of historical knowledge by asking basic questions about what religious
observance might have entailed on board ship in the 1540’s and by offering
thoughts on how some of the artefacts recovered might be best classified by
museum professionals. It will also aim to shed some light on some of the
many complex problems affecting heritage sites when considering exhibitions
and the presentation of artefacts.
Catherine Flower-Bond has degrees in
both history and heritage, with further studies in theology. She writes,
teaches and researches a wide range of historical topics including religious
observance during the English Reformation (published) and Tudor women’s
social and domestic history. She works with various local museums by day and
gives regular lectures and workshops at local heritage venues, U3A, schools
and societies. She has appeared in historical television programmes such as
BBC4’s Christina of Codicote, The History of the Home and Ready, Steady,
Cook.
[Index]
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From nettle soup to chicken tikka masala
Thursday 15 July 2010
How did those staple foods get into
your shopping basket? When and from where did they come to this country? A
brief overview of how and why our everyday diet has changed over the last
2000 years. Some tasters will be available.
Lesley Parker has a BA (Hons) in
history and has taught history and been involved in museum education in
Sussex for the last 15 years. She currently works at the Weald & Downland
Open Air Museum interpreting the social history of the buildings for museum
visitors. Food is one of her life-long passions.
[Index]
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Shopping for clothes in
seventeenth-century Sussex
Monday 26 July 2010
If you needed a new item of clothing in
seventeenth-century Sussex how did you get it? Did you go to a shop, buy it
from a peddler or make it yourself? This talk will look at the type and
variety of clothing worn by the rural poor and at the options available to
them for acquiring it.
Dr Danae Tankard is a historian based
at the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum, who has researched and written
social and economic history of ten of the Museum’s houses. She has an MA and
PhD in history from the University of London and also teaches at the
University of Chichester.
[Index]
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John Ruskin (1819-1900), the 'Good Steward', and
his continuing influence on conservation and wholeness today
Thursday 9 September 2010
In this talk Ruskin's thoughts and
writings will be considered, which the speaker passionately believes contain
many messages of importance for us today. The speaker is a Companion of John
Ruskin’s Guild of St George, founded in 1871.
Peter Burman studied History of Art at
Cambridge University and Wall Paintings Conservation at ICCROM, Rome. He has
been successively head of the Church of England’s office for the care and
conservation of its churches and cathedrals; Director of the Centre for
Conservation Studies, University of York; and Director of Conservation &
Property Services, The National Trust for Scotland. He divides his time at
present between being Visiting Professor in Cultural Management (World
Heritage Studies) at the Brandenburg Technical University, Germany, and
being an independent consultant working for Nic Boyes Stone Conservation. He
is chairman of the Fabric Advisory Committee of St Paul’s Cathedral, London,
and of the Buildings of Scotland Trust, and a trustee of two major Scottish
country houses, Hopetoun House and the House of Falkland.
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