York 1844 and all that: Ideas and themes 175 years on

Can you imagine a circle centred round York in 1844?

Give it fuzzy boundaries; include several miles around York and some years around 1844. Your circle might stretch from Victoria's Coronation in 1838 to the Chartists of Malton in 1848. Or maybe even to 1853 when the Crimean War started - the only European War in Britain's 1815-1914 short century of peace.

What was it like living in York then? How does this relate to York today?

We'll hear themes common and uncommon: Did you know that in York in 1844:

• Photography arrived
• Thomas Laycock publicised York's cholera
• For a week at the end of September, York was THE centre of world science
• The King of Saxony came for tea!

Family history, local history, world history will join to form a panorama focussed on one time and place. Would YOU like to do something?

• Have you some artefacts from this period? - let us know about them!
• Tell us about YOUR family in the 1840s
• Research the 1841 and 1851 censuses in YOUR area
• Pick up your hobby or interest, and locate it around York 1844.

We expect films/music/drama: walks and talks, maps and chaps, trains and drains, methodists, methodologists, architects, engines and engineers. And Deans and dons disputing the beginning and end of the world. The answer is 42 and 4004 BC! Book now!

Please tell your friends too. Email jb43@york.ac.uk if you could do a poster or a 5-minute talk - or more.

EVERYBODY is invited - please pre-book to reserve a place: it's FREE !!!

This gathering or "UNconference" includes everything you might expect and some that you wouldn't: informal 2019-style presentations, discussion, snacks and chats with interesting participants.

But there will also be music, film and drama, and an associated city walk (to be confirmed).

Our two sessions start at 10am and 2pm, with coffee for early arrivals.
The morning session is "People and Places"; the afternoon session is "Ideas and Themes".
You can book for one or both, as you choose.

What will it cost? That's up to you. These are "Pay As You Feel" sessions i.e. FREE or by donation.

We need to take about £10 per person to cover our costs. So if you can donate £10 or more that will be appreciated, as will £5 or any amount.

As an incentive to pre-book, if you donate £10 or more IN ADVANCE, you will receive "Gold Star" priority booking with pure Yorkshire gold!

Follow up: We hope to follow the gathering with a book or booklet.

Please register via Eventbrite