GUILDHALL EVENTS
LIBRARY AND EXHIBITIONS The Library of London History
SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER 2018
Tuesday 18 September, 6-8pm
EXHIBITION LAUNCH
WOMEN, WORK AND THE CITY Friday 30 November, 2-3pm
JOHN SINGER SARGENT POWER OF THE PORTRAIT Guildhall Library Aldermanbury, London EC2V 7HH guildhall.library@cityoflondon.gov.uk www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/guildhalllibrary
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EVENTS ARE FREE UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED. ALL EVENTS HAVE LIMITED PLACES.
Friday 7 September, 7.30-10.30pm
THE MARY SHELLEY GOTHICK BALL, AT THE LIVERY HALL, GUILDHALL
BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL AND WE CANNOT ENSURE A PLACE WITHOUT A TICKET. DETAILS OF HOW TO BOOK CAN BE FOUND ON THE BACK PAGE.
EVENTS
Wednesday 5 September, 2-3pm
GREAT FIRE OF LONDON
Wednesday 5 September, 6-7pm
INTRODUCTION TO ANCESTRY AND FAMILY HISTORY WORKSHOP
Thursday 6 September, 6-8pm
WOMEN AND POWER IN IMPERIAL ROME
£40 plus booking fee.
Much of the research on the Roman Empire focuses on the Emperors themselves, but less on the powerful women of the Imperial court. It was such women who it is argued often wielded the power behind the throne. An example is Galla Placidia, daughter of Theodosius the Great, half sister of Honorius and mother of Valentinian III. In this talk Roman expert Dr Simon Elliott explores the levers of power in the Imperial Roman court, and how the women of the Imperial family were able to use them to influence the governance of the Empire.
©Alexandra Epps
The flames consumed houses, churches, livery halls, city gates, the Royal Exchange and the jewel in the City’s crown – St Paul’s Cathedral. Jill Finch’s illustrated talk takes us through those momentous days in September 1666 when the Great Fire of London destroyed not just the city but a way of life.
Marking the 200th anniversary of the publication of Mary Shelley’s seminal gothic novel Frankenstein. Discover for yourself what it might have been like to attend a Regency Ball in a historical setting with expert dance tuition from Mrs Bennet’s Ballroom and live Regency music from Fortuna Trio. Regency dress is encouraged. Refreshments available.
WALK: CITY IN A GLASS
Join City of London Guide Alexandra Epps for a fascinating stroll through the Square Mile of the City of London, exploring ideas of identity layered within the post-war stained glass of some of its historic churches. Discover unique stained glass stories of people, time and place all expressed in the visual language of post-war modernism.
£7 plus booking fee, includes wine reception.
Aimed at beginners, this workshop by Assistant Librarian Melanie Strong will cover the basics of starting your family history search on Ancestry. It will cover the best way to search, using Parish Registers, Birth, Marriages and Deaths records and the UK censuses.
£18 (including headset hire) plus booking fee. Meet at 10.20 for prompt 10.30am start Outside The Monument, Fish Street Hill London EC3R 8AH. Contact Tel: 07976 262519
Wednesday 12 September, 2-3pm
THAMES TRADESMEN
What was a bumboat? Why is a lighterman called a lighterman? Where could you buy anything from a parrot to a tiger? Which workers on the river were notorious for their bad language? In this illustrated talk, Pete Smith introduces some of the many trades to thrive along the Thames, some long defunct and some still thriving.
©Pete Smith
©Simon Elliott
£5 plus booking fee.
Friday 7 September, 10.30-12.30pm
Tuesday 18 September, 6-8pm
©Lester Hillman
EXHIBITION LAUNCH – WOMEN, WORK AND THE CITY
EVENTS
Thursday 27 September, 2-3.30pm
Monday 1 October, 2-3pm
Join our librarians to learn about the history of Guildhall Library, tour the building (including behind the scenes) and view some of the library’s treasures.
With little fanfare, on 1st October 1868, the Midland Railway arrived at St Pancras. The Station, Hotel and associated lands have borne witness to triumph, tragedy and transformation. For the last decade the Grade I listed building has been home to Eurostar. It welcomed the 2012 Olympics and Paris 2024 beckons. Lester Hillman, involved with local infrastructure since the 1970s, will explore the highlights.
HISTORY AND TREASURES OF GUILDHALL LIBRARY
Join us for the launch of our new exhibition, ‘Women, Work and The City’. This exhibition explores the role of women in the London Guilds – from medieval times through to the 18th century – and will feature original manuscripts from the Guilds and Livery companies as well as suffrage literature. Cambridge historian Dr Amy Erickson will be joining us to talk about the history of women within Livery Companies, and the impact this had on 20th century women historians.
£7 plus booking fee, includes wine reception.
ST PANCRAS STATION: 150YRS ANNIVERSARY
Saturday 15 September, 2-3.30pm
WALK: POLICE, PUBS AND PIRATES
Starting from outside Tower Hill Station, join Pete Smith to cross glitzy St Katharine’s Dock and strike out eastward into the old dockland area of Wapping. You will find traces of pirates, London’s first real police force and many dark deeds, and earmark some very fine pubs. The walk ends at Wapping Overground Station.
£10, pay on the day, no booking required. Meet by the exit from Tower Hill Station.
This walk by Laura Miller celebrates centuries of women working, trading, influencing and helping to build the City. In this walk Suffragettes are part of a rich historic tapestry. On our way we’ll meet rowdy individualists, steely businesswomen and skilled artisans. Wandering through alley ways, and grand thoroughfares we’ll encounter women who have thrived, survived and have left their mark, if you know where to look, on the streets of the City. We’ll also run into Queens, aristocrats and, of course, suffragettes along the way.
£10, pay on the day, no booking required. Meet next to The Monument, Fish Hill Street, EC3R 8AH.
©Rachel Kolsky
©Pete Smith
WALK: SUFFRAGETTE CITY (OF LONDON!)
Tuesday 2 October, 6-8pm
Thursday 27 September, 6-8pm
WOMEN’S LONDON
Join author, lecturer and Blue Badge Guide Rachel Kolsky, as she profiles the many fascinating female characters who feature in her new book ‘Women’s London: A Tour Guide to Great Lives’. In this centenary year of the women’s vote, Rachel pays tribute to campaigners such as Millicent Fawcett and Sylvia Pankhurst but also showcases women who have shaped London through the centuries.
£7 plus booking fee, includes wine reception.
JEANNE D’ALBRET AND THE GAME OF QUEENS IN SIXTEENTH-CENTURY EUROPE In sixteenth-century Europe, a world where power and masculinity went hand-in-hand in public and private life, Queens were the exception that became the rule. But they had to find ways of performing power differently, and especially when they were Protestants. Jeanne d’Albret was in a unique position: Queen of a mostly imaginary kingdom, she was a leading Protestant in a mostly Catholic country. This lecture by historian Mark Greengrass explores her regnal arts in the context of the French Wars of Religion.
£7 plus booking fee, includes wine reception.
HUGUENOT HISTORY MONTH
Tuesday 25 September, 5.30-7pm
LONDON SOURCES ON ANCESTRY WORKSHOP
THERE’S SCARCELY A DAY WHEN MY HEART DOES NOT WEEP
This workshop by Assistant Librarian Melanie Strong will look at different databases for London history on Ancestry. It will cover London Trade Directories, Wills, Land Tax, Poll Books, Electoral Registers, Rate Books, Records of the Poor (Workhouse records), School Records and Freedom of the City. It will show how you can find the different databases, and what sort of information you can learn from these records.
Thursday 18 October, 2-3pm
SPIRIT OF THE IROQUOIS
Len Taphouse has shared his personal reminiscences of being ‘Five Years an Apprentice’ with us and returns with ‘The Spirit of the Iroquois’. Len has family associations with the vessels ‘Iroquois’ and ‘Navahoe’ which were otherwise known as the ‘horse and cart of the Atlantic’. They were built as an historical experiment with one tanker built specifically to tow the another. He published a book on the subject in 1995 and now gives us a potted history of the vessels with some family stories along the way.
£5 plus booking fee.
HARRIET MARTINEAU: A WOMAN LIVING AHEAD OF HER TIME
Harriet Martineau was a 19th Century radical writer and campaigner. Descended from French Huguenots who settled in Norwich she became famous in the 1830s London for writing about economics and politics. She visited America and became well known there for opposing the slave system. She also wielded her pen on behalf of women’s rights, economic fairness, better health and hospitals, and is regarded as a founder on Sociology. Join author Stuart Hobday to learn more.
£7 plus booking fee, includes wine reception.
Friday 19 October, 2-3pm Tuesday 16 October, 2-3pm
A HISTORY OF TREES
©Duncan Sutherland
History journalist and photographer Simon Wills reveals the little-known stories about our most well-known trees from his new book. Where did the London plane come from, and why is it everywhere in the capital? Which king’s crown was lost, and found in a hawthorn? Find out how one of the UK’s most common garden trees was created by a cavalry officer who served Napoleon, and why Europe’s most popular pear is called the conference. Come along and find out more.
PEERESSES, PARLIAMENT AND PREJUDICE: THE STRUGGLE TO ADMIT WOMEN TO THE HOUSE OF LORDS, 1918-1963
©Simon Wills
The scarcity of correspondence from ordinary people in the sixteenth century makes the survival of the two collections of letters under discussion here especially remarkable. Through them we can eavesdrop on the lives of Netherlanders disrupted by the religious and political upheavals of the 1560’s. This talk by Dr Alastair Duke will focus on their poignant letters, which reveal both their tenacity as they confronted the difficulties of bringing up their families in an often hostile environment and demonstrate their literacy.
HUGUENOT HISTORY MONTH
EVENTS
Wednesday 10 October, 2-3pm
Thursday 18 October, 6-8pm
HUGUENOT HISTORY MONTH
Wednesday 10 October, 6-7pm
Although women won the vote in 1918, and there had been women peers for centuries, it was not until 1958 that women could sit in the House of Lords. The campaign to gain admission to the Upper House is a remarkable but largely forgotten story. This lecture by Dr Duncan Sutherland will recount the determined efforts over many years – especially by former suffragette Viscountess Rhondda – to secure a seat and voice for women in the Second Chamber, and explain why achieving full political equality took so long.
Tuesday 23 October, 2-3pm
Thursday 1 November, 6-8pm
ELECTRONIC RESOURCES
THE BOOK OF SECONDS: THE INCREDIBLE STORIES OF THE ONES THAT DIDN’T QUITE WIN
This session is aimed at people who would like to learn about our biographical, family history and London digital resources. The workshop will look at digitised newspapers, Ancestry.co.uk, Find My Past, the Dictionary of National Biography and the City of London’s image database COLLAGE.
EVENTS
Mark Mason discusses his new book The Book of Seconds: The Incredible Stories of the Ones that Didn’t Quite Win. Seconds always get lost in the shadow of famous firsts - now it’s time to bring them into the spotlight. We’ll learn how the second-tallest woman ever got married in St Martin’s in the Fields … why lots of people left the second FA Cup final early … how Savile Row helped George Lazenby get the part of 007… and why the second woman to take her seat in the House of Commons carried a teapot in her car. As in Mason’s previous books, history is brought to life by fascinating trivia and incredible facts. Did you know, for instance, that Winston Smith’s flat in 1984 is on the cover of Abbey Road by the Beatles?
Thursday 25 October, 2-3.30pm
HISTORY AND TREASURES OF GUILDHALL LIBRARY
Join our librarians to learn about the history of Guildhall Library, tour the building (including behind the scenes) and view some of the library’s treasures.
£7 plus booking fee, includes wine reception.
Tuesday 30 October, 2-3pm
Wednesday 31 October, 2-3pm
FRANKENSTEIN’S FAMILY TREE
This year marks the 200th anniversary of the publication of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Pete Smith will examine both the ancestors and the literary successors of this remarkable novel. Be very scared!
©Mark Mason
Come and explore some maritime stories from our rich and varied resources for Merchant Navy history, with Jeanie Smith, Assistant Librarian & Keeper of the Lloyd’s Marine Collection. This is a good opportunity to see documents from Lloyd’s as well as a preview of the recently arrived “Newall Dunn” collection of maritime images, menus and brochures.
©Pete Smith
MARITIME WORKSHOP: ADVENTURES AT SEA
Wednesday 7 November, 2-3pm
EDWARD BRITTAIN: A CENTURY ON
Capt. Edward Brittain MC died on the Italian Front in June 1918, aged just 22. This talk by Mrs B Catlin looks at his education at Uppingham School and Oxford, his becoming an accomplished musician, playing with the Oriel College Bach Orchestra, and his support of his sister Vera (author of “Testament of Youth”) in her educational goals. The First World War changed everything for these siblings when Edward joined up and Vera volunteered as a nurse. Through letters, photographs and books we hear Edward’s living voice, still pertinent today.
Wednesday 21 November, 6-7pm
Monday 12 November, 3-4.15pm
FRIENDS AT STATIONERS HALL
Join Guildhall Library Friends on a guided tour of the Grade II listed Stationers Hall. Includes refreshment. Limited places available.
Meet inside St Martin within Ludgate Church at 2.45pm. Guildhall Library Exclusive Friends Event. Wednesday 14 November, 2-3pm
THE CITY BY THE BOOK
Charlotte Bronte loved it, Alexander Pope hated it. Known mainly as a place for money making and trade, the narrow alleyways of the City also gave birth to writers and poets. It either charmed or repelled its visitors and it has featured in and inspired books and poetry over the centuries. The City is awash with literary landmarks that might just surprise you. Join City Guide Jill Finch to learn more.
This workshop by Assistant Librarian Melanie Strong will cover online sources for family history and their strengths and weaknesses. It will look at the 1939 register and searching the census by street on Find My Past, Apprentice registers on London Roll, free BDM and free Census websites, and what records are covered on family search including free family tree hosting.
Wednesday 21 November, 2-3pm
RISE UP WOMEN!: THE REMARKABLE LIVES OF THE SUFFRAGETTES
Author Diane Atkinson will be talking on the suffragettes based on her latest book, ‘Rise Up, Women! The Remarkable Lives of the Suffragettes’. A regular lecturer on the suffragettes at conferences and literary festivals, Diane Atkinson has also appeared on radio programmes including Woman’s Hour, and has consulted on numerous television documentaries, as well as, most recently, the film Suffragette, starring Meryl Streep and Helena Bonham-Carter.
£5 plus booking fee.
Thursday 22 November, 6-8pm
DINING WITH A GEORGIAN COUNTRY PARSON
Tuesday 20 November, 2-3.30pm
HISTORY AND TREASURES OF GUILDHALL LIBRARY
©Diane Atkinson
Join our librarians to learn about the history of Guildhall Library, tour the building (including behind the scenes) and view some of the library’s treasures.
The Norfolk clergyman, James Woodforde kept a diary between 1758 and 1802 in which he daily recorded his very ordinary, some might say dull, private life. But what makes Woodforde unique is his record of almost every dinner he ate, whether at home, with friends, at an inn or his Oxford college, or in the houses of the local gentry. Join Dr Peter Ross to learn about what the Georgians ate, their dining habits and the long and gentle life of one of England’s most important diarists.
£7 plus booking fee.
Wednesday 28 November, 2-3pm
LONDON IN FOUR SUITS: SPADES
Join Pete Smith to peel back London’s topsoil and discover what lies beneath the city we think we know so well. From fatbergs to buried treasure, from tunnels to temples, and from crypts to Crossrail, there will be plenty of surprises.
©Pete Smith
EVENTS
BEYOND ANCESTRY: OTHER DIGITAL SOURCES FOR FAMILY HISTORY WORKSHOP
Thursday 6 December, 6-8pm
GOLDEN SECTION: DIVINE PROPORTION IN ART AND ARCHITECTURE
EVENTS
For thousands of years the mystery of the Golden Section has inspired thinkers from all disciplines - from artists to architects, from mathematicians to musicians and many more. Join Alexandra Epps to discover the secrets of its sacred geometry and perfect beauty within creations from the classical to the contemporary.
Friday 30 November, 2-3pm
JOHN SINGER SARGENT: POWER OF THE PORTRAIT
From the scandal of the painting of Madame X to the trials, tribulations and triumph of Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose, discover the rise, the fall and rise again of John Singer Sargent, the leading portrait painter of his age – the age of elegance. An artist who devoted his entire life to the creation of beauty. Join Alexandra Epps to learn more.
£7 plus booking fee, includes wine reception.
Wednesday 12 December, 6-7pm
LIVERY COMPANIES: A GUIDE TO SOURCES FOR FAMILY HISTORIANS
©Alexandra Epps
This session by Assistant Librarian Melanie Strong will cover both online and physical sources for tracing your ancestors who were members of one of the Worshipful Companies in the City of London. It will cover which websites have digitised which sources, how to search them. What physical indexes to check, and looking at the original records on microfilm and manuscripts.
£5 plus booking fee. Wednesday 12 December, 2-3pm
DICKENS AND CHRISTMAS Monday 3 & Tuesday 4 December, 2-3pm
DISCUSSION: HENRY VIII DEFENDER OF THE FAITH OR TYRANT?
©Lucinda Hawksley
©Alexandra Epps
Guildhall Library history discussion group facilitated by Assistant Librarian Isabelle Chevallot. A chance to discuss your favourite kings and queens of England. A short paper will be provided by the facilitator ahead of the session for you to read in preparation for the discussion.
Come and discover how the Dickens family celebrated Christmas! Lucinda Hawksley, a great great great granddaughter of Charles and Catherine Dickens, and the author of Dickens and Christmas, will give an entertaining talk on what it was really like to experience a proper Victorian Christmas. This talk will also commemorate the 175th anniversary of the publication of A Christmas Carol.
GUILDHALL LIBRARY
FRIENDS
Starts 10 September
WOMEN, WORK AND THE CITY
Thursday 13 December, 6-8pm
SUFFRAGETTES AND THE CITY OF LONDON: ESCAPES AND ADVENTURES
£7 plus booking fee, includes wine reception.
Join the Guildhall Library Friends scheme, which supports conservation and access to the Library’s unique collections. Guildhall Library’s printed books collection comprises over 200,000 titles dating from the 15th to the 21st centuries. Become one of the first Guildhall Library Friends, support our work and enjoy a range of benefits.
The Friends scheme offers
l Priority booking for all events l Exclusive Guildhall Library Friends’ lectures and tours lF ree invitations to all Guildhall Library exhibition launches l 20% discount in the Guildhall Library and City of London Police Museum shop l A free entry ticket to Tower Bridge Exhibition l Free entry to Monument l Half price admission to Keats House
Friends Membership for one year costs:
Individual £35
Dual £60 Dual membership is two people living in the same household.
Monday 12 November, 3-4.15pm
A VISIT TO STATIONERS HALL
Join Guildhall Library Friends on a guided tour of the Grade II listed Stationers Hall. Includes refreshment. Limited places available.
Meet inside St Martin within Ludgate Church at 2.45pm. Guildhall Library Exclusive Friends Event.
© Museum of London.
In 1913, a group of women was formed to protect Emmeline Pankhurst from being rearrested under the Cat and Mouse Act. A member of this elite team, known as the ‘Bodyguard’, was Emily Katherine (Kitty) Willoughby Marshall. Her memoir, Suffragette Escapes and Adventures, and the artwork she created in Holloway is kept at the Museum of London. Kitty was supported by her husband Arthur, a lawyer, who often risked his reputation and physical danger to defend suffragettes in the street and in court. This talk by Dr Emelyne Godfrey will explore the suffrage activities of this extraordinary couple, and the police officers and detectives they encountered.
EXHIBITIONS
EVENTS
POLICE MUSEUM SPECIAL EVENT
One hundred years ago women’s suffrage activists weren’t just interested in women getting the vote but in them gaining equality in all walks of life. A key focus was a woman’s right to work – believing women should have access to the same professions as men. This exhibition explores the role of women in London Guilds – from medieval times through to the 17th century – and will feature original manuscripts from the Guilds and Livery Companies as well as suffrage literature.
Become a Friend of Guildhall Library
How to become a Friend of Guildhall Library? There are three easy ways to join: Phone us on 020 7332 1871 Email us your contact details at ghlevents@cityoflondon.gov.uk Talk to us in Guildhall Library, please ask at the Enquiry Desk
GUILDHALL EVENTS
LIBRARY AND EXHIBITIONS The Library of London History
CITY OF LONDON POLICE MUSEUM AT GUILDHALL
A fascinating collection charting the development of the City of London Police force from its earliest days through the intrigue of the Victorian era to modern policing and current challenges like cybercrime and fraud.
www.cityoflondon.police.uk/about-us/history/museum Guildhall Library and Police Museum opening hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 9.30am-5pm Wednesday 9.30am-7.30pm Alternate Saturdays 9.30am-5pm Please check our website for more details. The library is closed on Bank Holiday weekends. Please note exhibitions are inaccessible during afternoon talks.
All images ©City of London unless indicated.
ALL EVENTS REQUIRE BOOKING AND TAKE PLACE AT GUILDHALL LIBRARY. PLEASE BOOK THROUGH EVENTBRITE: WWW.GHLEVENTS.EVENTBRITE.CO.UK IF YOU HAVE ANY QUERIES REGARDING BOOKING PLEASE CONTACT: GHLEVENTS@CITYOFLONDON.GOV.UK OR 020 7332 1871 Guildhall Library Aldermanbury, London EC2V 7HH guildhall.library@cityoflondon.gov.uk www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/guildhalllibrary
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