Walls 400! History Conference

Tickets

Holywell Trust Presents:

Tickets priced at £10 (£5 concessions) must be reserved and paid for in advance of the conference. Contact Playhouse Box office on +44 (0) 28 7126 8027.

All proceeds will go towards preserving and m aking available the Annesley Malley Book Collection.

www.walls400.com In 1613, two representatives from the City of London, George Smithes, Alderman, and Mathias Springham, Merchant Taylor, along with ten experienced local officers, “viewed and trode out the ground at the Derry for the fortification there.” That simple act, four centuries ago, has left us a tremendous physical legacy in the form of the largest ancient monument in Northern Ireland; it also left an enduring imprint on the cultural identities of the people of Ireland and Britain.

Walls 400! is a programme of activities planned to mark the quatercentenary of the City Walls during 2013. The objective of Walls 400! is to fully explore the contested history that the City Walls represent and to celebrate Derry’s Walls as a present-­‐day, national heritage asset, with the potential to unite rather than separate people.

This conference is your opportunity to explore all dimensions of the history of Derry’s Walls.

Walls 400!

The History Conference Saturday April 6th & Sunday April 7th 2013 Verbal Arts Centre, Stable Lane, by Bishop’s Gate

An initiative of the City Walls Heritage Project

Saturday April 6th

Sunday April 7th

9.15 Dr Brian Lacey: Derry before Londonderry

11.30 -­‐12.30 Artefacts Roadshow

10.00 Prof. James Stevens Curl: London’s Derrie

Archaeologists and antique specialists will be on hand to examine any artefacts and objects you may have found in fields or in backs of drawers. Derry City Council will also have some finds on display.

An authority on the Plantation of Ulster, James will look at the background to the building and financing of the City Walls.

12.30 -­‐13.30 Ask the Experts

Currently writing a book on medieval Derry, Brian will examine the history of the city before the Plantation and how the medieval settlement influenced the new Londonderry.

Morning Coffee 11.15 Dr Annaleigh Margey: Mapping Derry's Walls 1600-­‐25 Just about to publish a new book, Mapping Ireland, c.1550-­‐ 1636, Annaleigh will discuss the place of the walls in landscape and in perception.

12.00 Paul Logue: Earthen Walls of Derry & Dunnalong Paul, NIEA archaeologist, will outline what archaeology tells us about the pre-­‐plantation walled towns of Derry and Dunnalong along with some of the Derry siege works of 1689.

Lunch 13.30 Dr Brian Scott: An Instrument of War?

Author of The Great Guns like Thunder, Brian will unpack Derry's Walls in the context of seventeenth century European siege warfare.

14.15 Dr William Kelly & Dr Marie-­‐Clare Peters: The Plantation Citadel, Fortress and Refuge.

University of Ulster lecturers, Billy and M arie-­‐Clare will reveal how the plantation citadel became a core defensive settlement, used to bolster British presence in Ulster during a period of rebellion and upheaval.

Afternoon Tea 15.15 Mark Lusby & Manus Deery Changing Walls Mark, City Walls Heritage Project, and Manus, Assistant Director NIEA, will describe the current historic fabric of the Walls and the modifications made to them since their building.

16.00 Eamon McCann Perceptions and Legacy

Journalist, author and political activist, Eamon will examine the community perceptions of the City Walls and their future potential.

An opportunity over a soup and sandwich lunch to ask a panel of historians and archaeologists every question you have ever wanted to ask about Derry’s Walls.

14.00 -­‐16.00 In the Shadow of the Walls Local historians, Michael Cooper and Trevor T emple, will give a tour of the Fountain, Long Tower and Bogside, revealing the evolution of these communities ( 2pm and 3pm).

14.00 -­‐16.00 Mapping the Missing Bits Archaeologists from QUB Centre for Archaeological Fieldwork , supported by local specialists, will conduct a practical workshop measuring and marking out the missing elements of Derry’s Walls.

14.00 -­‐16.00 17th Century Weapons Living history specialists from Northern Period Productions will demonstrate the weapons, which would have been used on th Derry’s Walls in the 17 Century (2pm, 2.30pm, 3.00pm, 3.30pm).

Digital Walls An exhibition of digital mapping, digital modeling and aerial photography of Derry’s Walls will be provided by the Discovery Programme, Nerve Centre, Culture Tech and Bird’s Eye Kites.