Stephen & Matilda's Civil War - Cousins of Anarcy

Admin • Oct 02, 2023

Talk by Matthew Lewis - Wednesday 11th October - The Conquest Theatre - 7.30pm

Stephen &  Matilda's Civil War - Cousins of Anarchy. The first civil war in post Conquest England, enduring throughout the reign of King Stephen between 1135 and 1154.  It ultimately brought about the end of the Norman dynasty and the birth of the mighty Plantagenet Kings.


An Illustrated talk by Matt Lewis (Author and Broadcaster)
When Henry I died having lost his only legitimate son in a shipwreck, he had caused all of his barons to swear to recognize his daughter Matilda, widow of the Holy Roman Emperor, as his heir and remarried her to Geoffrey, Count of Anjou. When she was slow to move to England on her father’s death, Henry’s favourite nephew Stephen of Blois rushed to have himself crowned, much as Henry himself had done on the death of his brother William Rufus. Supported by his brother Henry, Bishop of Winchester, Stephen made a promising start, but Matilda would not give up her birth-right and tried to hold the English barons to their oaths. The result was more than a decade of civil war that saw England split apart. Empress Matilda is often remembered as aloof and high-handed, Stephen as ineffective and indecisive. By following both sides of the dispute and seeking to understand their actions and motivations, Matthew Lewis aims to reach a more rounded understanding of this crucial period of English history and asks to what extent there really was anarchy


Wednesday 11th October | Start: 19.30 | Tickets: £10.00 (History Society Members: Free) BOOK HERE


Stepping Back In Time - A History of Bromyard

by Admin 02 Oct, 2023
Talk by Matthew Lewis - Wednesday 11th October - The Conquest Theatre - 7.30pm
by Admin 10 Jun, 2023
This years Exhibition is now open in the Records & History Centre, 5 Sherford Street, Bromyard. Opened by Bromyard & District Local History Society Patron Lady Susanna McFarlane at 11am, 10th June 2023. Please call in and see us. The History Centre Opening Times: Thursday 10.00AM – 1.00PM & 2.00PM – 4.30PM Friday 10.00AM – 1.00PM & 2.00PM – 4.30PM Saturday 10.00AM – 12.30PM The history centre is now fully open, however the research room is still but by appointment only. For all enquiries please phone 01885 488755 and leave a message.
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