Event Details

Dr Alan Crosby will be back for another of his popular one-man Study Days, looking at aspects of death and mortality in North West England.

‘In the midst of life we are in death’; thus has it ever been …but in the pre-modern era, people were particularly vulnerable to outbreaks of epidemic disease, general ill-health associated with poverty, and a lack of medical care or knowledge. Death was a part of life – today, an infrequent visitor, then a permanent resident. Documentary evidence from the 16th century onwards provides the raw material for our understanding of this ever-present aspect of the lives of our forebears. We can find statistical information, but more importantly, begin to explore perceptions of and attitudes towards death over time and in specific localities. In this Study Day, Dr Alan Crosby looks at statistics from mortality crises in the 16th and 17th centuries, the evidence of parish registers and eyewitness accounts from diaries and autobiographies, and the burning issue of child mortality in the 19th century, to introduce the subject of death in the North West.

• From 9.30am Assemble Frankland Lecture Theatre Faraday Building (tea/coffee is not served at beginning of the day – but is available to purchase on campus*)

• 10.00 – 11.00 Mortality crises in the late 16th and 17th centuries in North West England

• 11.00 – 11.30 Coffee/tea & biscuits

• 11.30 – 12.30 Death: the anecdotal and incidental evidence from parish registers

• 12.30 – 1.30 Lunch*

• 1.30 – 2.30 Eyewitnesses: accounts of death from diaries and autobiographies

• 2.30 – 3.00 Tea/coffee & biscuits

• 3.00 – 4.00 All the fault of the mother? Attitudes to infant mortality in the Victorian North-West

• 4.00 p.m. Close of Study Day

The speaker for all presentations is Dr Alan Crosby of the British Association for Local History.

*Lunch: Sandwiches/coffee/tea can be bought on the University campus (either at SPAR supermarket, Juicafe, Gregg's or Costa Coffee). Hot and cold meals, snacks and drinks are also available at Café Republic, Subway and a range of other outlets- or you are welcome to bring your own lunch.

Parking: Parking on Lancaster University campus is free on a Saturday, and is available in many locations. We strongly advise people who are unfamiliar with the layout of the campus to download the campus map. There are disabled parking spaces provided in various locations. If we are informed that someone booking for an event, or one of their guests, has a mobility issue we are happy to advise on the location of parking spaces which should be convenient for the lecture theatre where the event takes place.