Iron Age Archaeology in Norfolk

Tomorrow, members of the Norwich Community History Club will be listening to Norwich Castle Museum's chief curator, Dr John Davis, talking about the county's fascinating Iron Age archaeology. These are exciting times in this particular field of study, so I'm sure our members will find it very interesting indeed. Unfortunately, I won't be there myself, so I hope everyone has an excellent time. 

Cheers,

Colin

Historic River Walk

Next Tuesday, club members we gather (as ever!) at Marzanos Cafe in the Forum, before going on a river walk between Fye Bridge and Bishop Bridge. This won't be a formal 'tour' - more of an opportunity for club members to share our knowledge and thoughts as we go. It should also prove excellent for our wellbeing. Looking forward to it!

Cheers,
Colin

'Saints & Sherlock: Decoding a Medieval Church'

For tomorrow's History Club session Dr Carole Hill and I will be doing a presentation entitled, 'Saints & Sherlock: Decoding a Medieval Church'. Hope to see you there!

~ Colin Howey ~

A Unique Performance

Random Image: a huge key to the medieval door of a tower
staircase in a church in central Norfolk

On many occasions I have been heard to state that the Norwich Community History Club is unique. Until last Tuesday, that 'uniqueness' referred to the fact that we're the only group I know of who formally combine learning about history and archaeology with the aim of improving/maintaining wellbeing. However, following a PowerPoint related hitch, me and Nick (the Vice Chair) gave another meaning to 'unique' as we desperately improvised in front of club members. 

Our 'ramble' took in - among other things - medieval graffiti, historical periodisation, the saints' emblems and, towards the end, wandered off to the extraordinary history of Nick's various injuries and accidents. I can only imagine how strange it must have been to witness this. However, our members are a generous bunch and took it all with good heart. Whatever their reaction, I am confident that they will not have experienced anything quite like it before!

Next week, we will endeavour to return a semblance of order and make sure that all bases are covered so that Nick can deliver his first ever public historical presentation. He will be talking about his grandfather's fascinating life. Part of our ethos and approach is that we carry valid history in our heads. Thus, it will be really interesting to learn about an 'ordinary' person's life who lived and died in Norwic

Next Week's Meeting... Tuesday 21st June

At next week's meeting in the library, we will be returning to an activity that proved to be a resounding success last time we did it. Can members please bring along an historical item along. with them? It could be a photograph, a book etc - or something relating to your family history (no 'live' grenades though please!). We will then break up into groups and talk about the story behind the object. This is a great way for us to share our interests and enthusiasms and to learn about each other too. 

Looking forward to it!

Tuesday 4th June Meeting - the River Wensum

At next week's meeting, club member, Mike Hudson, will be screening a film about Norwich and the river Wensum, entitled, 'Beside Still Waters'. Having had a preview myself, I think we're really going to enjoy this one! I will be adding some additional thoughts about the history and archaeology of the river in the form of a short presentation. I'm sure members will have plenty to add as well.

Meeting Place & Times: 
10:30 in Marzanos Cafe in the Forum
11:00 Training Room in the Millennium Library 

~ Colin Howey ~

What Have We Been Up to & What Next?

The Cathedral of St John the Baptist, at night...

Our thanks go out to Paul Greener who gave a talk based on his MA thesis about the 1945 Norwich Plan to club members. It was not an area I was familiar with and it certainly opened my eyes to lots of issues, clues and 'what ifs' that will inform my thinking about our city's past and present. Anyway, the feedback I have received from members has been very positive, so thanks to Paul.

Next Tuesday (21st May), we'll be meeting as usual in Marzanos cafe before going to the library's Training Room. We have Gary Standley from the BBC Voices project coming to talk to us about the possibility of members making our own films about some of the historic sites we love within Norwich. After that, I would like to quickly run through the Club's aim so that members are all fully aware of what we're about. We can then do a little bit of history together - namely, by examining some old maps and photographs from the Norfolk Heritage Collection as sources of evidence. What do they tell us? Why were they made/taken? Who paid for them? We'll work in small groups to explore this together and then share some of our conclusions. 

FYI: the following week (28th May) we will be visiting the Cathedral of St John the Baptist - the Victorian Catholic cathedral. We will be meeting in Marzanos at the usual time, but if members would prefer to meet at the cathedral, we will be starting the tour there at 11:15 (meeting in the Narthex, welcome centre). The tour will be led by Jo Anderton, the cathedral's Education Officer, and there will be a small charge of £1.50 per person. 

PS Here's a piece I did about visiting St John's at night, a couple of years back - 

Museums at Night Twilight Tower Tours

~ Colin Howey, NCHC Chair ~