Old Cyder House Talks, Berkeley 2009/10

1.
Walking on Dinosaurs: Trampling on God?
Rev Richard Avery & Prof Tim Walsh,
Thursday 24 September 2009 7.30pm
Cost: £6 including glass of wine
Advanced booking advised, as places are limited.
01453 810631
education@edwardjenner.co.uk

The publication of Darwin’s Origin of Species a hundred and fifty years ago was deeply offensive to many Christians, and yet on his death he was buried with great ceremony in Westminster Abbey.
Can Christianity and Evolutionary theory be reconciled? Are Christians bound to follow the lead of many transatlantic brethren and become Creationists?
This promises to be a fascinating evening for believers and unbelievers alike, as we attempt to unravel the history and clear up misconceptions.

Richard Avery is vicar of Berkeley and has been a teacher of secondary school science and a former student of Richard Dawkins at University of Cambridge.
Tim Walsh is the Professor of Medical Microbiology & Antibiotic Resistance at Cardiff University.

Audience members will also have the chance to look round the museum’s temporary exhibition Walking on Dinosaurs, part of the Darwin Bicentenary celebrations.



2.
The Making of Mr Gray’s Anatomy – the story of the ‘Doctor’s Bible’
Dr Ruth Richardson,
Sunday 11 October 2009 3.30pm.

Cost: £10 including tea, cake and free entry to the museum earlier in the afternoon.
Advanced booking advised, as places are limited.
01453 810631
education@edwardjenner.co.uk

Gray's Anatomy is to the human body what Mrs Beeton's is to cookery or Roget's is to thesaurus. It started out as a student text in 1858, and became so indispensable that it has been called 'The Doctor's Bible'. The book has never been out of print. This talk tells the story behind the famous medical text, how it was created by two young medical men in mid-Victorian London: Henry Gray and Henry Vandyke Carter.




Ruth Richardson:
The Wall Street Journal described Ruth Richardson's most recent book, The Making of Mr. Gray's Anatomy (Oxford University Press) as 'one of those rarities, history that reads like a novel'. The book has won the 2009 Medical Journalists' Open Book Award.

Ruth Richardson's history of the corpses in UK dissection rooms - Death Dissection and the Destitute - is now a standard work and teaching text. She has also authored Vintage Papers from The Lancet, and co-edited two volumes: Medical Humanities: An Introduction and The Healing Environment for the Royal College of Physicians, London. Her historical introduction to Gray’s Anatomy, has just appeared in the latest 40th edition of the famous textbook itself. Dr Richardson is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.



3.
Location: WOTTON ELECTRIC PICTURE HOUSE

The Incredible Human Journey
Dr Alice Roberts
Tuesday 3 November 2009, 7.30pm
Wotton Electric Picture House
18A Market Street, Wotton-Under-Edge
www.wottoneph.co.uk
Cost: £12
Advance booking essential.
Contact the Edward Jenner Museum: info@edwardjenner.co.uk or ring: 01453 810631
Tickets will also be on sale in Clarence’s Gift Shop in Wotton High Street.

Who are we and where do we come from? Genetics, archaeology and fossils come together to provide some answers. Amazingly, we can all trace our ancestry back to Africa, where our species appeared around 200,000 years ago. Dr Alice Roberts, presenter of the BBC series, tracks the ancient migrations that took our ancestors to the corners of Earth: through stones, bones and genes, the story of our incredible human journey unfolds.

Dr Alice Roberts is a biological anthropologist, author and broadcaster. Medically qualified, she taught clinical anatomy to undergraduates on the medical course at Bristol University for over a decade, and continues to teach postgraduate surgical trainees.

She has a PhD in palaeopathology, the study of disease in ancient human remains. She is interested in what old bones can tell us about human evolution, the diversity of the human species, and about diseases that have affected us over time. She is also interested in burial archaeology, and has joined an international research team investigating the archaeology and anthropology in Mongolia.

She is also passionate about public engagement with science, and is involved with planning Cheltenham Festival of Science. On BBC2, she is part of the team presenting the hugely popular Coast series. She wrote and presented two series of Don’t Die Young, exploring anatomy, physiology and health issues, and the 2009 landmark science series, The Incredible Human Journey, about the origin of our species and the ancient colonisation of the world. She also wrote the books to accompany both these series. She has recently ventured into radio, presenting Costing the Earth on Radio 4.



4.
The Crown Jewels – the inside story
Keith Hanson
26 November 2009, 7.30pm
Cost £10 including a glass of wine
Advanced booking advised, as places are limited.
01453 810631
education@edwardjenner.co.uk


What’s it like to live in the Tower of London and to be responsible for the display and security of the world famous Crown Jewels? Do you lie awake at night?... or is that the fault of the ghosts of those incarcerated long ago? As the Chief Exhibitor of the Crown Jewels, Keith Hanson should know.

Keith's main responsibilities are towards the security and display of the Crown Jewels, and the Crowns and Diamonds exhibition. He also looks after the running of the oldest part of the Tower of London, the White Tower, which contains unique artefacts belonging to the Royal Armouries, such as the armour of Henry VIII.

Keith is also a member of the Queens Bodyguard of the Yeoman of the Guard, which involves attending many State and Royal events.

BBC to Film at Jenner Museum

BBC Points West will film the dig by the University of Bristol and the Saxon Nunnery they've found in the Museum's garden on Friday 12th June.

Hpefully this will further increase the awareness of the Museum in Berkeley so we can continue with the necessary fundraising to prevent its closure.

Copper Phoenix is applying for restoration grants but the Museum will need more assistance from the general public too.

Watch this space.

Half a William the Conqueror coin

Half a William the Conqueror coin
Originally uploaded by TMR Davies

From the dig at Berkeley in the garden of The Edward Jenner Museum. Half a coin from 1067, cut in half for payment before lower denomination copins were "invented"

Saxon Nunnery in Museum Garden

The annual archaeological dig in Berkeley, Gloucestershire by University of Bristol believes that it has found the first ever excavated Saxon Nunnery which was part of a Mynster (Monastery), with domestic buildings in the garden of The Edward Jenner Museum and the remains of the Nun’s Church by the tower in the churchyard at the end of the Museum’s garden.

The Berkeley Project to find Saxon Berkeley and the missing nunnery has been going for five years. This year the Saxon Church has been found at the foot of the Edward Jenner Museum’s garden, by the church tower. The current tower dates from 1753 replacing an earlier tower damaged during the Civil War. The original Saxon Church that was part of the Mynster was recorded as far back as 1541 but had by then fallen into disrepair.

Of great interest to the Edward Jenner Museum was a rubbish pit found at the site of the church dating to the time of Dr Jenner: three broken snuff bottles were found amongst broken chinaware and other domestic waste, which is contemporary with the date that Edward Jenner lived in The Chantry. Sarah Parker (Museum Director) said: In the 260th Anniversary year of Jenner’s birth to find such a personal tangible link with him is a huge bonus on top of the other exciting but much earlier discoveries in our garden.

The remains of a high status Saxon building have been found underneath the Museum’s lawn, complete with a cobbled entrance and a refuse pit with oyster shells, staple food in the medieval period.

Other small finds in this area have included a William the Conqueror coin, a coin from the reign Henry I, and various medieval items from horse bridle furnishings and buckles to clothing pins. Some Roman coins and materials have also been discovered

Dr Stuart Prior of University of Bristol said that if the church was associated to the buildings and they do turn out to be part of the Anglo-Saxon nunnery it will be the first time that a nunnery of this date (7th - 9th Century) has ever been excavated and all the evidence to date including the Anglo-Saxon records support this Hypothesis! Which is very exciting.

With one more week to go it is hoped that there will be more finds and further developments of this fascinating story.

- ENDS -



Notes to Editors:


1) The Edward Jenner Museum & Conference Centre is based in Dr Jenner’s former home, The Chantry, in Berkeley, Gloucestershire. Dr Jenner lived in the house from 1785-1823. It was from this (Grade II* Listed) house that he pioneered world-changing vaccination against Smallpox. Joint tickets with Berkeley Castle can be bought at either venue.

2) 2009 is the 260th anniversary of Edward Jenner’s birth and a series of events throughout the year are marking the occasion. See www.jennermuseum.com for more details

Old Cyder House

Old Cyder House
Originally uploaded by TMR Davies

A Sunny day to show off The Old Cyder House conference centre at Berkeley, which Copper Phoenix is currently promoting for The Edward Jenner Museum.

A Lack of Tourism Support

I've just returned from a meeting of the Cotswold Attractions Group and was horrified to hear the apparent lack of support tourism has in these difficult times.

The Tourism Officer for the Cotswolds has been made redundant, there are funding cuts and the Tourist Information Office in Stow has been closed - mad! How are we supposed to capitalise on what is supposed to be a real chance of attracting more home visitors to our industry if we get no support from the existing infrastructure?

We can see from reports that the hotels and guest houses are suffering from a lack of bookings so the day trip market is up, as well as camping of course! But what good is this increase in potential business if there is no support network for tourists visiting the area, or the attractions and businesses relying on the extra promotion?

Anyway, it just shows how important it is to promote tourist attractions and heritage in general - especially now.

Guess what? We can help! See www.copperphoenix.co.uk and get in touch. Take advantage of this time, protect and build your business.