History festival returns for a full seven days
THE war in Ukraine and the history that helps to explain the build-up to conflict will take centre stage at a popular summer festival this year.
The Chalke Valley History Festival, which takes place near Salisbury in Wiltshire, is back to a full seven days this year, after the event was cancelled due to Covid in 2020 and ran over fewer days last year.
This year the event runs from June 20-26, with a rich and varied programme of talks and panel discussions given by leading thinkers and speakers, and some of Britain’s top historians.
A list of timely and topical talks is spearheaded by Channel 4’s Matt Frei discussing the situation in Ukraine and reporting from the frontline. Former Foreign Secretary David Owen will discuss 200 years of British-Russian relations, and General Sir Richard Shirreff will deliver his talk ‘War Against Russia’.
Bill Browder returns to the festival, telling the true story of Russian money-laundering and state-sponsored murder, as does Antony Beevor, this time discussing the Russian Revolution and putting the current situation into historical context.
Eminent Russian expert Dominic Lieven will talk about empire and autocracy, the key, he believes, to the current crisis.
Running concurrently to the talks will be a dynamic line-up of living history displays, historical performances and interactive experiences.
The festival will open this year with The Duchess of Cornwall’s Reading Room, a prestigious hub for literary communities around the world which celebrates literature in all its forms.
Taking part will be Philippa Gregory, one of the world’s foremost historical novelists and who will be attending the history festival for the first time, and the distinguished historian and author Alison Weir. Entitled Rediscovering Women in History, this will be a fascinating discussion between two best-selling writers and recognised authorities on the subject.
Upon arriving at the festival, visitors will be immediately struck by a stunning Iron Age round house and settlement, built specifically for this year’s festival and using the very tools and materials that would have been employed by those in Britain before the Roman invasion.
Furthermore, living history spanning two millennia will be fully integrated throughout the site, along with a Speakers’ Corner, a Vintage Fairground, historic fast-food outlets offering a range of treats, and two bars serving drinks throughout the day.
The weekend’s spectacular Restoration Pageant – the return of the monarchy and King Charles II in 1660 – will also feature Restorationera horse racing over a specially developed course.
With nearly 13,000 children having attended since the launch, the Festival for Schools makes a major contribution to history education and brings history alive in new and exciting ways.
On the Monday and Tuesday the programme will cover a wide range of curriculum-based subjects delivered by leading historians.
From the Iron Age, through 1066, the Tudors, the First World War, and the Cold War, the line-up will include a series of lectures, living history displays and interactive demonstrations to bring history alive and inspire both students and teachers.
Bestselling children’s writer Michelle Paver will be talking about Wolfbane, the grand finale to the prize-winning adventure series, and Francesca Simon, universally known for her popular Horrid Henry series, will deliver a talk for younger children about world’s very worst Vikings. Festival director Jane Pleydell-Bouverie said: “Our 2022 programme is looking like our strongest and most varied yet.
“We have some really fabulous talks lined up, including Dan Snow talking about his epic journey to Antarctica to find the Endurance, Ian Hislop discussing Spike Milligan’s War Against Hitler and the BBC, and Lea Ypi explaining what it was like to grow up in communist Albania.
“And we are also thrilled that both Chris Patten and Sebastian Faulks, always popular with the crowds, will be returning.”
Tickets are now for sale online at www.cvhf.org.uk.