Local History Day event highlights role of medieval women

The British Association for Local History’s annual flagship event will this year be headlined by Dr Janina Ramirez talking about her upcoming book Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages, Through the Women Written Out of It. This ground-breaking reappraisal of medieval history reveals why women were struck from our historical narrative, restoring them to their rightful positions as the power-players who shaped the world we live in today. Dr Janina Ramirez is an Oxford lecturer, BBC broadcaster, researcher and author. She has presented and written over 30 hours of BBC history documentaries and series on TV and radio and written five books for children and adults.

Paul Dryburgh, BALH Acting Chair, said, “During lockdown people across the country have engaged in new ways with their local communities and their history. Join us as we celebrate the vibrancy of local history in Britain today. We look forward to welcoming two fantastic speakers and learning a great deal about often neglected voices and records. It will be a privilege to meet our award winners who truly represent the commitment of local historians and the full range of approaches in local history today.”

The event will also feature a talk by Dr Mark Forrest on his recently published BALH handbook to post-medieval manorial documents. Formerly archivist at Dorset History Centre, an expert on taxation and the author of several local history handbooks, Mark will discuss how to navigate records of rural and urban land and property holding, and the relationship between communities and their landscape, over the last 500 years. The results and winners of the inaugural BALH Local History Photographer of the Year and the BALH Awards for Local Historians will be announced.

Local History Day is at Conway Hall, London, on Saturday 11 June 2022. Tickets (£5-£10) are available for in-person and online from the British Association for Local History’s website here:

https://www.balh.org.uk/lhd2022