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Friends’ Events 2011 Calendar
Booking your place on an Event
All events must be booked in advance to guarantee your place. Admission to Friends’ events is normally free to members of the Friends (unless otherwise stated), or is £3.00 to non-Friends.
To book your place please contact Membership Secretary Mary-Rose Ridley via our Contact Page.
Saturday 26 February – 2.00pm
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
...followed by a talk by Alastair Robertson on “The Radcliffe Documents”. These 84 scraps of paper (featured in previous Reviews) are a collection of financial transactions, but from their dry dust they tell stories and give insights into the lives of the Radcliffes during the 1620s and 1630s.
Saturday 26 March – 2.00pm
FROM TYNE TO TIBER: NORTHERN CATHOLIC FAMILIES ON THE GRAND
TOUR
A Talk by Anne French. Anne French is a freelance art historian and curator living
and working in Northumberland. A specialist in British 18th-century art, she has
recently written a major book about the Grand Tours made by men and women from Northumberland
and Durham in the 18th and early 19th centuries, Art Treasures in the North: Northern
Families on the Grand Tour. Her talk will focus on the important contribution to
the Grand Tour made by Catholic families from Northumberland such as the Swinburnes,
the Riddells, the Haggerstones, and of course the Radcliffes themselves, after they
had received a Catholic education abroad.
Saturday 7 May – 2.00pm
THE SIEGE OF NEWCASTLE 1644
A Talk by John Sadler. The Siege of Newcastle, which took
place during the Civil War, is the subject of Military Historian John Sadler’s latest
book to be published in 2011 by the History Press. Tyne and Wear Museums are mounting
an exhibition on the subject in the spring to co-incide with the publication of the
book.
11 - 12 June
COMITATUS Romano-British Weekend
Comitatus presents full living history interpretations from within an authentic tented encampment based on the craft skills of the legionaries and their families. Rather than ‘battle re-enactment’, their field displays show authentic training based on manuals of the period, complete with Latin drill, missile competition, sharp weapons demonstration, combat sparring and, whenever possible, an opportunity for young members of the audience to experience things first-hand.
18 -29 July
ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIELD SCHOOL
This year the North Pennines Archaeology Limited
field school will be focusing on excavating and recording the remains of the south-east
corner of the 17th century Queen Anne House. Please click here for more details.
Saturday 16 July – 2.00pm
JACOBITISM IN PRINTS
A Talk by Richard Sharp. Richard Sharp is author of The Engraved Record of the Jacobite Movement, published in 1996. His lavishly illustrated talk follows the subject of his book, which charts the large number of engravings that were produced c.1688-1773 to include numerous images of the exiled Royal Stuarts and individuals associated with the Jacobite cause. Richard will discuss how patterns of publishing activity coincide with political and military crisis, indicating the importance of prints as propaganda.
Wednesday 20 July – 7.30pm
EVENING LATIN MASS in DILSTON CHAPEL
The Mass will be held by Father Michael Brown to mark the Feast Day of St Mary Magdalene to whom the chapel is dedicated.
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Sat 20 August – 2.00pm
THE HISTORY OF ALSTON MOOR
A Talk by Alastair Robertson. “Alston Moor is home to the source of the River South Tyne; it is part of the Church of England diocese of Newcastle; it has other associations with the east rather than the west, yet Alston Moor sits uncomfortably, like a square peg in a round hole, within the County of Cumbria. At one time in the lordship of the Radcliffes, Alston Moor has a history quite distinct from the counties that surround it”. Alastair Robertson is author of A History of Alston Moor and Vice-Chair and Archivist of Alston Moor Historical Society.
8 – 11 September
ENGLISH HERITAGE OPEN DAYS
Historic Dilston is open to the public free of charge over this four-day period when Members of the Friends will be on site leading guided tours around the castle and chapel. The programme will include archaeological tours and talks on the history of Dilston and the Radcliffe family. Further details available from the English Heritage website.