About Durham EPE
The County Durham project is producing two paperback books. The first, Sunderland and its Origins: Monks to Mariners, was launched by the TV archaeologist Michael Wood in April 2008. Written by Maureen M. Meikle and Christine M. Newman the book covers the town's history from the earliest times until 1719, including Saxon heritage of worldwide importance.
A second book, by Gill Cookson, will explore the physical development of this new English city as it grew from medieval settlement to one of Britain's leading ports and a centre of heavy industry.
The authors of Sunderland and its Origins are Dr Christine Newman, a medieval historian and assistant county editor of Durham VCH who was co-author of recent VCH publications on Darlington; and Dr Maureen Meikle of the University of Sunderland, who specialises in the 17th century and particularly in Scottish history. Dr Gill Cookson, county editor of Durham VCH, will write the landscape paperback, following on from a similar work and a VCH county volume on Darlington.
The project partners include The University of Sunderland and University of Durham.
Read more about the aims of the England's Past for Everyone project on the national website.
Talks and events:
Events and talks involving Durham VCH/ EPE historians:
Christine Newman at CBA Yorkshire conference on small medieval towns, Northallerton, 13 Oct 2007 - unfortunately, for health reasons Christine had to withdraw from this engagement, where she was due to speak about Northallerton. For details of her book, Late Medieval Northallerton. A Small Market Town in its Hinterland, see the NEEHI website.
The first joint Yorkshire Archaeological Society / Whitby Lit & Phil Day School, in Whitby, 22 Sept 2007, organised and chaired by Gill Cookson, was well-attended and a great success. A Sense of Place: Life in the Esk Valley, 1650-1900 featured Tony Nicholson, A New Sense of Place; Barry Harrison, Cottages and Smallholdings in Danby & Glaisdale, 1650-1850; Bill Sheils, Canon Atkinson and Danby: a rural ministry in a time of change, 1851-1901; Roger Woodhouse, North Yorks migration, 1815-40; and a guided tour of the Whitby L&P library and archives, led by Christiane Kroebel.
In 2008:
Gill Cookson on 'A port of last resort: moving coal from Co. Durham, 1700-1850' at the Centre for Regional and Local Historical Research seminar, University of Teesside, January 2008
