Michael has led on the coordination of the Society's Historians Group talks for a number of years. He has a particular interest in theatre and in this talk he shares his research on theatre in Norwich during what historians call 'The Long 18th Century', from the Restoration period in the early 17th century through to the Regency period in the early 19th century.

In the Society's third Historians virtual talk Michael explores what sorts of dramatic performances could be seen in Norwich, where these took place and the censorship theatre companies frequently had to deal with.

Jonathan Hooton is a City of Norwich Tour Guide, a former Head of Geography at Notre Dame High School and has a fondness for, and plenty of experience of pubs. He has been a regular feature in the Society's event programme, and had been scheduled to deliver both a live talk and a guided tour of Norwich pubs in the 2020 summer events programme.

Norwich has had the reputation of a pub for every day. This claim is examined and taken as a starting point for finding out where they have all gone. The Norwich Pub Detective examines the evidence still to be found to identify former pubs in the City of Norwich and its suburbs from the blindingly obvious to the obscure and quirky. It also is an excuse to discuss many of the interesting and intriguing stories from the past that surround our former pubs.

On behalf of the Norwich Society Historians Group, Vanessa, Jo and Michael would like to wish our growing band of members a very happy Christmas season…or at least as happy as it can be in the present trying circumstances! We thought we’d give our video release for December a seasonal theme—and what better than a trip to the pantomime!

Michael Blackwell looks at the history of pantomimes in Norwich over the past three hundred years. So grab a light-stick and a bucket of pick-and-mix and enjoy the presentation.

THE UNDERCROFTS OF NORWICH

By Terry George.

Retirement has provided former teacher Terry George with an opportunity to explore the subjects he is passionate about.

This talk The Undercrofts of Norwich is a voyage of discovery as Terry introduces viewers to the treasures hidden beneath our feet as we walk through the streets of Norwich. There are in the region of 80 Undercrofts beneath the city of Norwich, Terry has managed to gain access to around 60 of them. Some are accessible to the public, for example at The Museum of Norwich at the Bridewell and Dragon Hall, but many are located underneath privately owned buildings, haven’t been visited in years and are all but forgotten.

Terry’s talk follows on from an article in the Norwich Society’s Member magazine, Aspects of Norwich Autumn 2019, and was received with much enthusiasm and featured in the Eastern Daily Press. This publication can be purchased from The City Bookshop and Jarrold, see publications for details.

Former Chair of the Norwich Society Vanessa Trevelyan presents the Society's first virtual talk.

The second talk in the series is presented by John Trevelyan, Chair of the Society's Civic Environment Committee. John looks at how to use existing maps in historical research and how to create maps to illustrate research findings.