The Pleasures of House History
Location: Middleham
Middleham and Dales Local History Group
3 session course - 17 February, 3 March and 10 March
The Pleasures of House History - Dr Tony Nicholson
at 2.00pm Middleham Key Centre
Dr Tony Nicholson of Teesside University moved into an old house in East Cleveland in November 1999 and discovered a horde of letters and photographs mouldering away in the attic. It was the start of a fascinating historical journey. Gradually he pieced together a Victorian and Edwardian story of moonlight dances on vicarage lawns, illicit love, a mysterious “vile woman” and a feckless husband.
Soon other stories began to emerge of people who once lived in the house: a woman with connections to St Petersburg, a Guisborough playwright who worked with Lewis Carroll, the adventures of a naval lieutenant who fought the Barbary Coast pirates, a scandalous Whitby elopement and the lost world of a an eighteenth-century horse doctor.
During the talks Dr Nicholson will recount several of these stories and also look at the sources and methods that anyone can use to explore their own house history. So if you enjoy being entertained and informed at the same time, come along on Wednesday afternoons to this course.
The fee for the 3 session course is £20 for members and £30 for non-members (including a year’s membership). To register for a place or for further information, please contact Tony Keates 01969 640436.
Middleham and Dales Local History Group was formed several years ago by a group of people interested in furthering the study of the local history of Wensleydale and Swaledale and their adjoining dales. The annual programme includes individual lectures on a variety of historical topics by guest speakers, two courses each year dealing with subjects of interest in more detail, and occasional local visits. The group is also particularly interested in encouraging and supporting local history research. A recent project has focused on redundant churches and chapels in the area, and this has resulted in a detailed survey and historical investigation of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Coverham. A booklet and CD have been produced and a laminated plan and information sheet deposited in the church for visitors’ use.
The annual membership fee is £10 and this gives free entrance to all individual meetings, although there is an extra charge for each course. Visitors are welcome to attend single lectures for a small fee, so if you are not sure if the group is for you, why not come along one afternoon and try it out? All meetings take place at Middleham Key Centre, usually on Tuesdays, from 2pm to 4pm.
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