RICHARD III SOCIETY
GLOUCESTER (& BRISTOL) BRANCH
Branch Programme 2024
SATURDAY 3 FEBRUARY
The Medieval Housewife
[ZOOM PRESENTATION - start at 13:45 for 14:00]
tickets are available online via the link to Eventbrite below, or by arrangement with our branch treasurer Angela Illiff at ardiliff@gmail.com
Toni's most popular talk, with anecdotes, recipes and shopping, we look at the lives of ordinary folk in the middle ages, including the instructions given by an elderly husband to his new young wife, plus child care, food and fashion. Based on her first non-fiction book The Medieval Housewife and Women of the Middle Ages.
a talk by Toni Mount
SATURDAY 2 MARCH
Richard III & His Mother
Maintaining Richard is much maligned in both history in general and Shakespeare, Charles Rees sets out to reflect on Richard’s relationship with his mother, Cecily Neville. Sharing the turbulent life of Richard she had the first of her 13 children at the age of 24. She outlived four of her sons, two of which became kings and died at the impressive age of 80.
Illustrated talk by Charles Rees
SATURDAY 6 APRIL
It's the Mortimers wot won it: the Wars of the Roses and the Mortimers
This talk shows how the origins of the Wars of the Roses lay in the feuds between Mortimer and Lancaster from the 1370s to 1425. Richard, Duke of York, inherited a feud already 50 years-old. It was their Mortimer blood and ancestry that enabled Richard and then his son, Edward, to argue a stronger claim to the throne than the Lancastrian one, and ultimately to win the crown. Furthermore, it was their Mortimer wealth and estates, particularly the Marcher lordships, that gave them the resources to win the throne. Thus, the Welsh Marches became a focal point of the conflict, whilst ultimately it was Mortimer blood and wealth 'wot won it'.
Philip Hume, Secretary of the Mortimer History Society
SATURDAY 4 MAY
TEWKESBURY BATTLEFIELD SOCIETY CONFERENCE
full details available via the link below:
https://www.tewkesbury.org.uk/conference-2024
* all day event (though participants should be able to attend part of the day)
An opportunity for members to attend the Tewkesbury Battlefield Society Conference on the Saturday and the annual guided battlefield walk on Sunday.
SATURDAY 18 / SUNDAY 19 MAY
FIELD VISIT : EVESHAM MEDIEVAL MARKET AND HIGH MEDIEVAL LIVING
HISTORY EVENT
Full details will follow shortly.
FIELD VISIT TO SUDELEY CASTLE WILL BE RE-SCHEDULED, POSSIBLY IN EARLY AUTUMN
* all day event (though participants should be able to attend part of the day)
We plan to make an am tour and, time permitting, go on to Winchcombe for a guided tour again led by Richard and/ or Hailes Abbey. Full details will be available later.
guided tour by Richard Goddard
SATURDAY 1 JUNE
50th ANNIVERSARY EVENT FOR THE BRANCH
Advance tickets now on sale via Eventbrite (linked above) or by arrangement with the branch Treasurer (ardiliff@gmail.com)
To mark our 50th Anniversary we will be joined by the Society Chairman Matt Lewis who will give two talks in a specially extended meeting.
The Buckingham Rebellion : The rebellion was a significant uprising, or collection of uprisings, against Richard III Duke of Gloucester taking place in October 1483 in England and parts of Wales. The city of Gloucester played a major role in the failure of the rebellion.
The Parliament of Richard III : Richard's only Parliament opened at Westminster on 23 January 1984, and sat for less than a month before being dissolved on 20 February. But this was only party of the story. Central to the Parliament's proceedings was a single item of business, the Titulus Regius which was Richard III's justification of his usurpation on the grounds of his brothers bigamy and the consequent bastardy of his nephews.
Matt is an author and historian of the medieval period, with a particular interest in the Wars of the Roses and Richard III. He also enjoys a high profile as a Senior Lecturer on the History Hit podcast series and is a regularly featured expert on many historical documentary series. He has written biographies of Henry II & Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry III, Richard Duke of York, and Richard III. He has also written accounts of The Anarchy, the Wars of the Roses, and Rebellion in the Middle Ages.
Illustrated talks by Matt Lewis, Richard III Society Chair
PLEASE NOTE THIS MEETING WILL BE HELD AT THE GREEN ROOM, CHURCHDOWN COMMUNITY CENTRE, PARTON ROAD, CHURCHDOWN, GLOUCESTERSHIRE, GL3 2JH.
This venue is easily found via Google maps. There is free parking available and a cafe on site.
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY 13/14 JULY
TEWKESBURY MEDIEVAL FESTIVAL
We participate in this superb annual event with our friends from the Tewkesbury Battlefield Society. Full details will be available later.
SATURDAY 3 AUGUST
The Mysterious Fate of Edward II in 1327
[ZOOM PRESENTATION - start at 13:45 for 14:00]
Edward II’s death by red-hot poker at Berkeley Castle in 1327, a few months after his abdication, is one of the most famously lurid stories in English history. The discovery of two remarkable letters, however, casts doubt on the notion that Edward died in 1327 at all, and it is possible that he survived for many years past that date. This talk presents the evidence that Edward II did die in 1327 and the evidence that he did not. It also leads to questions of how deposed monarchs are then disposed of.
Illustrated talk by Kathryn Warner
SATURDAY 7 SEPTEMBER
The Berkeley Inheritance and the Battle of Nibley Green
Two short talks by Richard Goddard. The first will focus on the legal aspects of the dispute over the Berkeley inheritance – reputed to be the longest legal contest in English legal history. He will then outline the events of the Battle of Nibley Green the last private battle fought on English soil.
Illustrated talk by Richard Goddard, Chairman Tewkesbury Battlefield Society
SATURDAY 12 OCTOBER
BRANCH AGM
[ZOOM - start at 13:45 for 14:00]
SATURDAY 2 NOVEMBER
Richard, Duke of York
What has become an annual and very popular event for the branch, a talk by historian, author, raconteur and thoroughly compelling speaker Steve David.
In 1452, after the debacle at Dartford, Richard Duke of York was in the political wilderness, yet three years later was able to challenge the king and court at St Albans. The genesis of York as a politcal force occured and the alliances that were to promote Edward IV to the throme were forged during this period. Conflict over Glamorgan saw the men of Hereford and the southern March mobilised by York and brought the Nevilles into alignment with York. If the Wars of the Roses could be said to start anywhere, it was here.
Illustrated talk by Steve David
SATURDAY 30 NOVEMBER
Medieval Christmas Food and Customs
[ZOOM PRESENTATION - start at 13:45 for 14:00] tickets due to go on sale in early October
While medieval Christmas also involved greenery, gift-giving, and lots of food, it also involved customs that are not so common these days: the boar's head processions, the Bean King, Boy Bishops, and other entertainments. The talk will explore the shared elements of Christmas between then and now, the food that was eaten and who would have participated in the feasting.
Illustrated talk by Professor Giles Gasper, Professor of High Medieval History, University of Durham
PLEASE NOTE : ALL LIVE MEETINGS, UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED, WILL BE HELD AT THE EMMANUEL HALL, FAIRFIELD PARADE, LECKHAMPTON, GL53 7PJ
Meetings commence at 2:30 pm with the exception of field visits which are by arrangement, and Zoom presentations. For meetings where there is an outside speaker a charge of £5 will be made to offset costs [ £6 for non-Branch members ]. When there is no visiting speaker fee there will be a general charge of £1 per person, again, to offset cost.
programme page updated 10 April 2024