Lecture Programme 2005-06

Monday 3 October
Clive Payne
The Historical Background to the Spanton Jarman Collection of Photographic Negatives

Monday 7 November
Robert Carr and Andrew Tester
Recent Archaeological Discoveries in and Around Bury St Edmunds

Monday 5 December
Edward Cockayne
Some Bury Doctors of the Past

Monday 9 January
Tony Redman
John Wastell and the Nave of St James' Church

Monday 6 February
Maureen Jurkowski
Lollardy in the Waveney Valley in the Fifteenth Century
The Lollards were a heretical religious sect of the 14th and 15th centuries which, although never large in terms of numbers of adherents, was, nonetheless, an important precursor to the Protestant Reformation. They were particularly strong in the diocese of Norwich in the early fifteenth century. Because of the rare survival of a court book recording the investigations made into heresy there by Bishop William Alnwick from 1428 to 1431, we know that there was a community of at least 120 adherents, centred on the Waveney Valley on the border of Norfolk and Suffolk. Since these heresy trial records were published in 1972, much has been written about the beliefs and social network of these Lollards. Little attention has been paid, however, to who these men and women actually were. Dr. Jurkowski's own research, based mostly on manorial court rolls held by the Duke of Norfolk at Arundel Castle, reveals, rather surprisingly, that they were persons of some account in their villages, and that in one village - Earsham, Norfolk - they formed the ruling elite. In this lecture she will tell the story of this fascinating heretical community, from its origins to its demise.
Dr. Maureen Jurkowski is a Research Fellow at University College, London. She has published many articles and essays on the Lollard heresy and is writing a book on the Lollard revolt of 1414 led by Sir John Oldcastle.

Monday 6 March
Annual General Meeting
A Spanton Jarman evening

Wednesday 26 April
Annual Dinner
West Suffolk College