talk by Professor Catherine Clarke, who is Director of the Centre for the History of People, Place and the Community in the Institute of Historical Research, University of London, and head of the VCH Central Office

This talk will take as its starting-point a medieval text with a local Wiltshire connection: the eleventh-century Life of King Edward (the Confessor), written for his wife and later widow Queen Edith, who had lifelong associations with Wilton Abbey. A text which grapples with the rupture and trauma of 1066, the Vita Ædwardi Regis reminds us that all history – even the most cataclysmic – is local, and personal.

Enlarging our understanding of history through the most detailed local research is what the Victoria County History of England (VCH) has been doing brilliantly for over 120 years. What’s changed in VCH emphases and approaches over that time, and how might the VCH develop in future? And, in a present moment characterised by an ever-increasing emphasis on the local – from a growing recognition of the importance of placed heritage in shaping thriving and resilient communities, to the government’s Levelling Up agenda – how can the VCH contribute to a world in which the local is once again at the heart of our cultural imagination?.

Location:
Zoom webinar. The link is sent to ticket-holders on the day of the event.

Tickets and booking:
£9 each – All proceeds to the Victoria County History Wiltshire Trust, who have organised this lecture.

BOOKING ESSENTIAL – ONLINE below.

Ticket sales close at 5pm on the day of the event.
The Zoom link will be sent on the day – and before 7pm.

Date and Time: Wednesday 13 October, 7.30pm