2 minute read
Black History Month
October is Black History Month and Ancient House is offering a packed programme both on site and digitally to share local Black History. 27th October would have been the 150th birthday of Princess Catherine Duleep Singh, daughter of Maharajah Duleep Singh, who grew up at nearby Elveden Hall. She was a campaigner for women’s rights and secretly assisted and saved many Jewish families in Nazi Germany during Second World War. To celebrate Ancient House has a special exhibition working with Sikh historian Peter Bance and featuring a brand new painting of the Princess by Inkquisitive. The museum is also hosting a family event day on Wednesday 27th October exploring Catherine’s extraordinary life. Visitors will be able to get hands on with objects and meet costumed character as well as enjoying a family friendly trail. Online Ancient House is offering two free talks on African American freedom fighters who visited Norfolk in the 19th Century to lecture about their experiences of slavery. On 12th October there will be a talk about William Wells Brown and his play ‘The Escape’. Brown published The Escape in 1858 but its first fully-staged production wasn’t until 1971, and even today it’s somewhat obscure. On 14th October Professor Christine Kinealy, Director of Ireland's Great Hunger Institute and Professor of History at Quinnipiac University will speak about Benjamin Benson who lectured in Watton in the early 19th century. Benjamin Benson was born into chattel slavery on 16th December 1818 in Bermuda in the West Indies, which was part of the British Empire. He was freed when slavery was abolished in 1838 but was then re-enslaved in the United States.
Princess Catherine Duleep Singh Island Name Rebrand
Advertisement
Breckland Council’s Cabinet recently voted in favour of naming the parkland on Butten Island as the 'Maharajah Ranjit & Duleep Singh Park on Butten Island', in recognition of the close and highly significant connection the town has with Duleep Singh, the last Maharajah of the Punjab. Duleep Singh's second son, Frederick, was also one of Thetford's most prominent benefactors, giving the town the Ancient House as well as his personal collections. This connection continues today, with Thetford remaining a prominent cultural site for the British-Punjabi community. At the meeting, Councillors also welcomed private sector activity and investment locally, including the reopening of the former M&Co building on Thetford’s riverside, which is being converted into five new river-facing units and workshops and is due to be complete in early 2022.
All of the events taking place at Ancient House can be booked here: The Mulberry REV Advert 7.qxp_Layout 1 12/05/2021 16:50 Page 1
