Coinage and the Making of England
A talk by Bradley Hopper
This talk put Anglo Saxon money front and centre as it considered what coins can tell us about the political unification of England in the reign of Æthelstan and the centuries before
Guided Walk: The visible Influence of King Alfred the Great on Malmesbury
A guided walk with Campbell Ritchie
How and where we can still see the signs of Malmesbury’s place as a West Saxon border town on the front line of Alfred’s Viking challenge?
Campbell Ritchie led an entertaining walk across Malmesbury’s town centre to peel back over 1200 years of history.
Roman Settlement and After in the Malmesbury area: New evidence from excavations by Cotswold Archaeology
With Liam Wilson
Looking at the evidence from recent excavations by Cotswold Archaeology around Malmsbury to understand better it’s place and context within a developing Roman landscape and possible influences on a post-Roman one.
Malmesbury and Alfred the Great
With Tony McAleavy
Malmesbury is closely associated with Athelstan but it had strong links also with Athelstan’s illustrious grandfather, King Alfred the Great.
Tony explores the impact of Alfred on the town which he established as one of his strategically important fortified ‘burhs’ as part of his campaign against the Danes. The street plan of the historic town centre was laid out by Alfred.
Tony also investigates the tense relationship between Alfred and the Malmesbury religious community and how he took land from the Church to reward his warriors.
Lull: the monk from Malmesbury who converted Germany
With Tony McAleavy
Lull is one of the most remarkable individuals produced by Malmesbury Abbey.
He was a member of the religious community in the 720s and early 730s a few years after the death of Aldhelm. He went on pilgrimage to Rome where he joined forces with another Englishman, St Boniface, and with him set off to undertake missionary work among the pagan Germans.
After the death of Boniface, Lull became the leader of the new Church in Germany and the adviser to Emperor Charlemagne. Lull founded a monastery at Hersfeld in Hesse where he was buried.
Tony tells the extraordinary story of his journey from Malmesbury to Hersfeld.
Church going around Wessex
With Andrew Ziminski
Stonemason and church conservator Andrew Ziminski discusses the history and architecture of Britain’s churches, including Malmesbury Abbey.
In this talk, Ziminski examines the history of churches across the British Isles and Ireland, with a special focus on the churches Wiltshire and Gloucestershire and the often overlooked features and furnishings they contain, as well as their fascinating histories and will help to unlock our understanding of a shared past.