Lichfield Cathedral Close tour (Birmingham branch tour)

Lichfield's Cathedral Close has a history dating back to to the 12th century, when the bishop of Lichfield created an enclosed space to defend the emerging city from outside invaders. It now contains to some of the most historical buildings in the West Midlands and Warwickshire. It is home to Lichfield Cathedral, a stunning example of English medieval Gothic architecture, and a series of eighteenth century residences and gardens, including the house of Erasmus Darwin, the grandfather of the scientist Charles Darwin. The site was the location of trauma during the English Civil Wars: as the royalists and parliamentarians struggled for control of a pivotal point in the battle for England's future, they destroyed many older buildings, leaving the scars of conflict indelibly etched on Lichfield city centre. 

The Birmingham History Network offers its members the opportunity to take a tour of this beautiful and historic area with the assistance of a professional guide provided by the Erasmus Darwin Museum. The tour will cost £2.50 per person and will begin at Erasmus Darwin House at 1330 exactly: please turn up at least 15 minutes before hand. The tour will last 90 minutes.

PLEASE NOTE: WE CAN HAVE A MAXIMUM OF 22 PEOPLE ON THIS TOUR. PLEASE ONLY SIGN UP IF YOU ARE SURE YOU CAN ATTEND. WE ALSO CANNOT ALLOW GUESTS ON THIS OCCASION, UNLESS THEY JOIN THE GROUP AND APPLY THEMSELVES.

As per usual, we will go for a drink after the tour is completed.

Date and time: Saturday 25th April 2015: 1330.

Place: Erasmus Darwin House, Beacon Street, Lichfield.

Coffin Works museum and tour (Birmingham branch)

Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter was one of the most dynamic industrial districts in the region. Since the eighteenth century, it was home not only to jewellers and goldsmiths but a host of other concerns. One of the less well-known was the coffin trade. The Coffin Works, one of Birmingham's newest museums, offers its guests a tour around the factory of the Newman Brothers. Fully costumed guides demonstrate the tools and methods used to produce fittings for the funerals of Winston Churchill, Neville Chamberlain, and the Queen Mother. This tour is a must-see for all who are interested in Birmingham's industrial past.

Cost: £5 per adult, £4 concessions.

We will meet outside the factory: look for the guy holding a sign and wearing fingerless gloves and glasses. The tour starts at 1400: please arrive before then so we can start promptly.

For more information, please consult the website of the Coffin Works:  http://www.coffinworks.org/

Location: Coffin Works, 13-15 Fleet Street, Birmingham, B3 1JP. 

Time and Date: 1345, Saturday 4th April 2015. 

Mid-March Report

Birmingham Branch

The Birmingham branch has continued its impressive growth rate: it now has 222 members, up from 118 members when the last report was released.

3 events were held. There were two guided tours at the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter and the Faith in Action exhibit of the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. Two talks were also held: the first by James White on the subject of Russian magic and witchcraft between 1500 and 1900 and the second by Lars Kabel on the cultural and social history of the Irish language. All of these events were well attended, with between 15 and 30 people at each event. 

The April schedule is currently being prepared. Given the advent of spring, it is hoped that some events will be held outdoors in the next few months. 

A poster campaign for the Birmingham History Network will be launched shortly. 

Berlin Branch

The Berlin branch has continued to accumulate members at a considerable rate: it now has 239 members, up from 157 members when the last report was released.

2 events were held. The first was a repeat of the tour of the Red Army Faction at the Deutsches Historisches Museum, with Jan Schulz once again providing his expert services as a guide. The second was a talk on Soviet animation in the Brezhnev era, performed by Dr. Irina Chiaburu of the Jacobs University in Bremen. Both events drew between 15 and 20 attendees. 

Future events are presently being planned by the Berlin team. 

Facebook traffic

The Birmingham branch page has 36 likes whilst the Berlin branch page has 42 likes. 

The History Network traffic

The History Network page has had 435 views.

Summary

Many thanks to our speakers and tour guides for events in February and the first half of March, your contribution is vastly appreciated. We hope to continue organising interesting events over the course of March and April - please stay tuned for further announcements. And look out for our posters in the Birmingham area!

 

Faith & Action: Quakers & the First World War (Birmingham branch museum visit and talk)

The Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery is currently hosting an exhibition on Quakers in the First World War. For a description of the exhibit, please read on:

'Confronted by war and suffering, what would you do? For Quakers faced by the outbreak of the First World War, answering this question was complicated by the faith group’s historic commitment to peace and peacemaking. 

Using original photographs, film, interviews and artefacts, 'Faith & Action' tells the compelling stories of Quaker men and women during the 1914-1918 conflict and its aftermath. The exhibition examines the impact of the war on Quaker artists, businesses, families and communities in Birmingham, central England and beyond. 

With rare archival material, 'Faith & Action' explores aspects of Quaker humanitarian, medical and relief work in Britain and Europe, and brings to life the dilemmas experienced by young Quaker men in deciding whether to fight, face imprisonment or serve in other ways.'

We have been kindly offered a guide and a talk by Mr. Peter Ullathorne, one of the organisers of the exhibit. We will meet at the Great Charles Street entrance to the museum. This exhibit and talk is free but a donation to the Peace Hub is recommended. For further details, please see:

http://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/bmag/whats-on/faith-action-quakers-the-first-world-war

Time and Date: 1430, Saturday 7th March 2015

Place: Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Chamberlain Square, Birmingham.  

“A country without a language is a country without a soul” - a cultural and social history of the Irish language (Birmingham branch talk)

Lars Kabel, the author of many travel guides and Irish-German phrase books, has kindly volunteered to give a talk on the social and cultural history of the Irish language. Please read on for his abstract:

“Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam” (translated in the title) is a famous quote by the poet and nationalist leader Patrick Pearse who was one of the leaders of the Easter Rising in Ireland in 1916. The Irish language, also known as Irish Gaelic, has been the first and often only language of most people in Ireland until the middle of the 19th century. Since then, it has been replaced by English but also became a symbol of Irish nationhood. In this talk, I will discuss the factors which led to the decline of Irish since the 16th century, attempts of revival, and the symbolic functions of the language since the 19th century."

Date: Sunday 15th March

Time and place: 1800,  St. Luke's Church Centre, Great Colmore Street, Lee Bank, Birmingham, B15 2AT.

Monthly Report - January

Birmingham branch

In less than a month since its foundation, the Birmingham branch has accumulated 118 members. Between 20 and 25 people turned up to the introductory meeting on 25th January 2015 and offered invaluable suggestions and advice for future activities. Forthcoming events, such as a tour of the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter and a talk on Russian witchcraft, have attracted significant attention. 

Berlin branch

No meetings were held in January 2015. However, events have been planned for February and March and these are well subscribed. At least 9 people will be attending the tour of the Red Army Faction exhibit at the Deutsches Historisches Museum and 20 are currently signed up to the talk about Soviet animation under Leonid Brezhnev.

Berlin branch membership has expanded to 152 members.

Facebook Traffic

The Birmingham branch pages has 26 likes whilst the Berlin branch has 38 likes.

The History Network Traffic

Since its establishment in early January 2015, the History Network page has had 313 views. 

Summary

Thanks to all our members, organisers, and contributors for making January a month of unprecedented growth! We hope to meet your expectations with continued expansion and the organisation of interesting, enlightening, and entertaining events.

Witchcraft, Magic, and Possession: Evil and Holiness in Russia, 1500-1900. Birmingham branch talk.

In the first of our Birmingham branch talks, Dr. James White will present a thirty minute talk on witchcraft and possession in Russia. This talk will discuss differences between Russian and west European understandings of witchcraft and examine how the meaning of the phenomenon changed between the sixteenth century and the twentieth. All are welcome: drinks will be held during and after the talk.

Place: St. Luke's Church Centre, Great Colmore Street, Lee Bank, Birmingham, B15 2AT

Date and Time: 22nd February, 1800.