On Sunday 3rd June Royal Holloway’s Founder’s Building was the backdrop for the second Festival of History, part of the Heritage Lottery Fund supported Citizens project. Combining re-enactment groups and living history demonstrations with children’s craft activities, performance and a series of talks the Festival brought history to life for visitors of all ages.
This year the Festival also included the Magna Carta Lecture, delivered by former Royal Holloway student Dr Fern Riddell, sharing her latest research into the life of Suffragette activist and arsonist Kitty Marion. We also heard from Dr Naomi Paxton from the Vote 100 team at Parliament about the Actresses’ Franchise League and, from our own Department, Dr Edward Madigan, speaking about the popular memory in Britain of the First World War.
For younger visitors there were a fantastic range of activities on offer, from rebellious rosette making with Egham Museum and interactive performances in the Picture Gallery to the History Society’s whimsical take on the 1911 Suffrage Fair with ‘Emmallard Pondhurst’s Hook-a-Suffragette-Duck’ and the ‘Smash the Patriarchy Tin-Can Alley’.
Feedback on the Festival was very positive with all respondents rating the Festival 4 or 5 out of 5 and numbers were up on last year as well with over 1,300 people attending. Our thanks go especially to our History Society volunteers, led by Matthew Clarke, and our interns, Elena Rossi, Abigail Evans, Michaela Jones and Katie Carpenter.
If you would like to know more about the Festival you can watch a short video on our YouTube channel. If you would like to get involved with next year’s festival please let us know.
