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2022 PROGRAMME
2022, January 5th
Sir Thomas Robinson – Architect, Connoisseur and Scallywag
Anthony Wood
Sir Thomas Robinson (1703 -1777) Baronet of Rokeby was an English politician, MP for Morpeth and Governor of Barbados. He rebuilt Rokeby Hall at Greta Bridge at great expense, designed the west wing of Castle Howard and the gateway at Auckland Castle but his extravagant lifestyle was his downfall. Before his death in 1777 this forced him to dispose of his family home at Rokeby Hall. Anthony Wood, a tour guide at the Hall, will talk about this colourful life.
2022, February 2nd
Dialect and Heritage Project at The Dales Countryside Museum
Fiona Rosher and Poppy Oldham
The Survey of English Dialects was founded in Yorkshire and fieldworkers gathered data throughout the Yorkshire Dales. The language of the Dales tells the story of a changing rural landscape and reflects the history of its people and their way of life. Fiona Rosher, Dales Countryside Museum Manager and the project's Engagement Officer, Poppy Oldham, will share with us the fascinating material from Leeds Archive of Vernacular Culture.
2022, March 2nd
The Life and Career of a Yorkshire Artist
Lucy Pittaway
Lucy Pittaway is an award winning local artist. She studied Graphic Design, Mixed Media and Photography at Northumbria University before a career as a designer and lecturer in Darlington. She left teaching at 30 to travel, and when in Peru events changed her life. She will explain what happened and why she returned to Richmond.
2022, April 6th
The Gardens and Grounds of Bolton Hall
Valerie Hepworth BEM
The rainwater heads on Bolton Hall are dated 1678, however this house was burnt in 1902 and later rebuilt. Much of the gardens and designed landscape is of the earlier date; created by Charles Powlett, 1st Duke of Bolton (1630-1699). Val will discuss the evolution of this notable, early, designed landscape and those involved with its development.
2022, May 4th
Ripon Prison Museum – Victorian Crime and Punishment
Carrie Philip
The Ripon Prison Museum traces the history of policing in Yorkshire from the Anglo-Saxons to the creation of a policed society in the 19th century. Learning and Outreach Manager, Carrie Philip will explore how the police became a force for change and how the harsh realities of the Victorian prison system were not only the main form of punishment, but gradually transformed society.
2022, June 1st
James Etherington
Award winning Kiplin Hall is a Grade 1 Jacobean house built in the 1620s by George Calvert, founder of Maryland, USA. The Hall has been owned by four families over the years and Director James Etherington will not only unlock its history but explain how the ninety acres of beautiful woodland and gardens that surround this attraction are being painstakingly restored to their former glory.
2022, September 7th
Gentleman Jack: An introduction to Anne Lister 1791-1840
David Glover
In 2019, the tale of a girl from Halifax hit our TV screens in Gentleman Jack. In this presentation, full of wonderful slides, David offers a general account of Anne’s life. Her background, birth and upbringing are described, along with her affairs, her grand designs for Shibden and her travels, and finally, her death, the return of her body to Yorkshire, plus the mystery of her lost tombstone.
2022, October 5th
The story of John Rae (Venue: The Georgian Theatre)
Performed by Warnock Kerr, written and adapted by Bev Joicey
John Rae from Orkney, credited with discovering the final part of the Northwest Passage, became a notorious Victorian Arctic explorer, but for all the wrong reasons. Warnock Kerr will recount the intriguing story of how Rae discovered the remains of Sir John Franklin's ill-fated mission of 1845 and the controversy that followed. The acclaimed production, adapted from Rae's journals, was first performed at the Dovecot Studios for the 2019 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
2022, November 2nd
Chris Lloyd
Chris will reveal twelve of his favourite Darlington-related historical stories from his book, Darlington in 100 Dates. Included are a Second World War air hero, the town's most famous music date, a heated debate over the pioneering history of cremation, the day a human fish took on a champion angler, and the town's first Christmas tree.