Speakers

The Churches Conservation Trust (CCT) is the national charity that cares for historic churches at risk across England. The 357 churches in its care span over 1000 years of history and, although these buildings are no longer used for regular worship, they are all open for visitors to enjoy. Churches are alive with images and symbols and were originally built to be ‘read’. In this talk, Chana James, Communications Manager at CCT, will talk about CCT’s role as third largest heritage estate in charitable ownership in the UK, some of the projects that the charity has worked on over the years and how visitors can get more from their visit by understanding how to read a church. 

Katrina's talk is principally about the Victorian workhouse - some facts and myths, but also briefly putting the role of the workhouse into a wider setting in history of how the poor were cared for before and after the workhouse.  Definitely NOT a political talk, purely looking at how the "problem" of caring for the poor has been addressed over time to see what, if anything has actually changed.

The parish churches of Bedfordshire are treasure houses of social and sometimes political history stretching back over many centuries.  They contain memorials and mementoes of the great, the good and the infamous and have stood at the hearts of their communities since Christianity first arrived in England.  David Longman has visited every parish church in the county researching and collecting the stories associated with each one.  He will be presenting a selection of his favourite stories and photographs in an informal and entertaining way in the hope of inspiring others to take a similar interest.

Eve Bacon is a retired teacher and she have been an historical interpreter for over 25 years. She have extensive experience of delivering presentations in museums, heritage sites and TV and have developed a series of characters and presentations for interest groups. She have researched recipes from Medieval times to the 1950s and is fascinated by the relationship between food fashions, changes in society and the wider history of the time. Since becoming a Queen Victoria impersonator Eve has also developed an interest in the Victorian era and at present, writing a book about Baby Farming. .

For this talk Eve tell the story of some of Britain’s baby farmers. Learn the sad fate of some illegitimate babies in Victorian and early 20th Century Britain, how the law made this darkest of businesses viable and how it was eventually brought to an end.