Monday, 02 October 2023
Nottingham’s annual History Festival returns to the city later this month, featuring musical performances, historical reenactments, a Viking-inspired arts and craft workshop, and gory historical talks by local experts.
The festival, organised by the University of Nottingham, runs from 23rd-28th October. It will feature family-friendly activities and talks by specialists. This year’s programme includes:
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A dark histories evening talk at the site of Lenton Priory, Nottingham’s largest and richest medieval monastery. The talk will feature live musical illustrations and it will explore the role of night and darkness in medieval monastic life, from the priory’s foundation in the twelfth century to its gory end under Henry VIII.
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A medieval health and disease walking tour of Nottingham, where visitors will be taken back in time to explore places of health, illness and pollution in the pre-modern urban landscape. What was the standard of health and medicine, and where did people go to seek treatment? And were medieval towns as dirty and disease-ridden as popular myth would have us believe?
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A talk and workshop by multi-award-winning poet, Dr Panya Banjoko. ‘When Poetry, Politics and Black Women Meet’ will explore the legacy of Nottingham women who used poetry as a tool to create cultural awareness and instill confidence in young Black people.
The programme also includes film screenings and discussions, and exclusive tours of upcoming exhibitions, as well as rarely seen special collections.
We have an exciting programme of free events resulting from fantastic collaborations with staff, students and community partners. This is a great opportunity to discover more about diverse aspects of history, meet with specialists and explore hidden histories. We look forward to welcoming you.
The events are all free to attend but booking is required for the talks and walks. The events will take place at locations right across the city and there’ll also be a full afternoon of drop-in activities at the university on Wednesday 25th October.
More information about the festival can be found here.
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 32 in Europe and 16th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the second most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2022 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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