New president
THE Loughborough Archaeological and Historical Society has appointed a new president!
Although born in Bridlington and having lived in Bishop Auckland and York, Martyn Bennett has been a Loughborough resident for 40 years, since coming to Loughborough University of Technology in 1978 as a history undergraduate.
He went on to train as a secondary school teacher and worked at Ashby Grammar School and Ibstock Community College in the 1980s. He completed a PhD on the Midlands in the first civil war under the supervision of Marilyn Palmer.
After lecturing part time at Loughborough and Leicester University, he joined what was then Nottingham Polytechnic in 1990. He served there as Head of History and Associate Dean for Research and then as the first Head of the Graduate School. Martyn is now Professor of Early Modern History.
As well as being a lecturer, an historian and a biographer with more than a dozen books to his name, Professor Bennett has appeared on Radio where he has long experience of making comment-pieces and on television, in BBC’s History Cold Case, and Michael Wood’s Great British Story as well as National Geographic’s Bloody Tales!
He has also presented three programmes of Notts TV’s history programme, Nottingham Now and Then, and has recorded the first of the station’s new history programmes, a half-hour documentary on the civil war in Nottinghamshire for broadcast in November.
Currently Professor Bennett is doing readings and lectures in various book shops and historical venues promoting his latest book Cromwell at War: The Lord General and his Military Revolution.
He has also contributed to the BBC History special edition on the Civil War due out in early December.
Professor Bennett will make his inaugural address to society members and visitors at the Annual General Meeting in April 2018.
Meanwhile, the next meeting of the society will be on Saturday, December 2, at 7.30pm in the Community Rooms at Knightthorpe Methodist Church, on Knightthorpe Road, at which local author, Ian Porter, will deliver a talk entitled:
“Putting yourself in their shoes! following in the footsteps of Loughborough lacemakers who walked the 200 miles to Tiverton to work for John Heathcoat.”
Ian will share his story of the recreation of this arduous walk to mark the 200th anniversary of that momentous event, encompassing the background, how the walk came about, the route, and the involvement of the Heathcoat factory, both then and now.
All members and visitors are welcome to attend this talk, which is free to members, and £3 for visitors.
If you have any questions about the society, please email oldrectorymuseumloughborough@gmail.com