Talk: The Medieval Festivals of Britain

Join celebrated historian, Prof Ronald Hutton for our festive lecture on Medieval Festivals, some of which may even have been held in places like The Barn.

Medieval Britain had a rich and regular calendar of major seasonal festivals, serving different human needs at different points of the year and fitted to the practical processes of the farming year. This talk seeks to answer the questions of how many there were, and why; what their relationship was with those elsewhere in Europe; what difference Christianity made to them; and whether anything changed fundamentally in them with the coming of modernity.

About your speaker: Prof Hutton is an English historian who specialises in Early Modern Britain, British folklore, pre-Christian religion and Contemporary Paganism. He is a professor at the University of Bristol, has written 14 books and has appeared on British television and radio. He held a fellowship at Magdalen College, Oxford, and is a Commissioner of English Heritage. We are delighted to welcome him to The Barn!

Refreshments available. Free parking.
Parking for this event will be at Winterbourne Academy’s car park, High St, Winterbourne, Bristol BS36 1JL. This is a park and stride service with the Academy car park being a 10 minute walk along Church Lane to Winterbourne Medieval Barn.
Please be aware that this is a country road so you may wish to bring a torch. Please take care when walking along this road, especially when it is dark as it can get quite narrow.

The car park will be open from 6pm and locked again at 9pm. Please ensure your vehicle is moved before 9pm to avoid any inconvenience.
 
 The limited spaces in The Barn’s car park will be reserved for pre-booked accessible parking only.