Sue Berry will be leading this short course consisting of five weekly two-hour sessions (10.30-12.30) on Tuesdays from 20 February to 19 March 2024 at Kings Church, Lewes.

Attendance (maximum 20 participants) costs £25. Open to non-members as well as members of the Lewes History Group.

Dr. Sue Berry (Fellow of the Royal Historical Society) is a published expert on this period.

The course  

An introduction to the Georgian period between 1680 and 1830 – the ‘long eighteenth century.’

For most of this period we were involved in warfare overseas – yet England prospered, and the country was transformed socially and economically. By the 1830s, political change was on its way, eventually ending the dominance of landowners in politics, giving much more political influence to growing towns such Brighton but diminishing the influence of small, old boroughs like Lewes.

Despite the slow development of an empire, Europe remained our key trading partner, supplying vital materials such as timber and buying our goods. We also experienced the beginnings of major agricultural, industrial and commercial revolutions with associated social changes. We will look briefly at the arts and literature, including how technological change influenced them, in particular printing and distribution, and the development of water colours and other paints.

The changes which took place affected the whole of England. We will not specifically include Ireland Scotland and Wales with their different stories due to lack of time.

Each session will include time for discussion. For most sessions local examples will be used and copies of archives. The topics for each session are below.

1. Key themes of the ‘long’ eighteenth century (expanding the paragraphs above).
2. The heyday day of the country house estate with local case studies and their roles as patrons with examples drawn from Sussex.
3. The rise of towns and their impact on society, politics and the economy and fashion. Case studies to include Lewes and Brighton.
4. Changes in farming and their impact. Industrial change and its influence on our locality.
5. The development of service industries and their impact on society. The rise of nonconformity and the Church of England and their influence on society – Lewes is a particularly good case study.

Reading – a list of accessible articles and books will be provided for participants.

When – Tuesdays from 20th February 2024 to Tuesday 19th March 2024

Time – Prompt start at 10.30am and end at 12.30pm. Room accessible from 10.15.

Where – Room 1 (ground floor) Kings Church, Brooks Road, Lewes BN7 2BY

Fee – £25 which covers the room and projector hire. Dr Berry is not receiving a fee. Please bring your own refreshments

How to pay – Book on https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/lhg