Changing narratives on Bath's heritage

 Event 

Changing narratives of Bath's heritage

Doors open at 6pm; event starts at 6:30pm.

Part of our event series for Black History Month 2024.

Welcome to Black History Month at Bath Spa University, where we are celebrating the rich heritage and contributions of Black communities under the theme ‘Reclaiming Narratives’.

Join us as we host speakers from well-known institutions in Bath to take a deeper look at the hidden histories of Black people in Britain, hear new perspectives on stories you thought you knew and understand the work that is being carried out in decolonising our history.

For this discussion, we are delighted to welcome:

Amanda Hart is the Roman Baths and Pump Room Manager. She has a background in archaeology and has been working in museums with archaeological collections for over 25 years. As the Manager of the Roman Baths, where she leads the curatorial and engagement teams, she is responsible for the curatorial direction of the Roman Baths.

Her current focus is on reinterpreting the Roman Baths and exploring underrepresented narratives that challenge long held ideas about Roman Britain and Aquae Sulis. Amanda will talk about a new direction of research for the Roman Baths and what that can reveal about the people from Aquae Sulis.  

Dr Amy Frost is the Senior Curator of Bath Preservation Trust, which operates No.1 Royal Crescent, Beckford’s Tower, the Museum of Bath Architecture and the Herschel Museum of Astronomy.  An architectural historian, she specialises in British architecture of the eighteenth and early nineteenth century as well as the built heritage of Bath.  

She is a leading expert on the life and aesthetics of the British collector, writer, and owner of enslaved people William Beckford (1760-1844).  Amy is also a lecturer at the University of Bath, School of Architecture and a founder member of the not for profit Bath based organisation Architecture is. 

Polly Andrews is the Learning Manager at Bath Abbey, responsible for the school, university, family and community learning programmes. She is also the convenor of the Bath and Colonialism Action Group which enables Bath heritage sites to share their experiences and learning around the interpretation of their colonial histories.

The new ‘Memorials & Empire’ audiotour at Bath Abbey is the result of 8 years research into our memorials by volunteers which has been placed on a database. The newly discovered information on our colonially connected memorials helped shape our ‘Monuments, Empire and Slavery’ exhibition in 2021. Co-produced with, and narrated by, Mark De’Lisser who has been involved with the Abbey’s Learning team since 2020 in their drive to share contested heritage more honestly and transparently.  

Mark De’Lisser is a Bath based poet, facilitator and youth mentor. His poem ‘Dark Shadows’ was a creative response to the memorials in Bath Abbey and their links to colonialism and slavery. Mark has continued working alongside the Abbey by voicing the new audio tour exploring these links further as well as writing a new poem. Mark will be sharing some of his poetry and speaking about his experiences of narrating the tour. 

Dr Cathryn Spence is the Curator and Archivist at Bath Abbey. She is the manager of the Abbey’s pioneering Memorials website. Working with a dedicated group of Research Volunteers, she is populating the website with the full and transparent life stories of the people memorialised on the Abbey’s walls and floor. 

Tim Moore is a lecturer of 18th and 19th century history and is also one of the National Trust Project Curators at Bath Assembly Rooms. As part of his role with the National Trust, Tim researches the inclusive histories of Bath Assembly Rooms, uncovering the stories of the diverse historical groups who used it.

As part of this event, Tim will share evidence on why balls at the Assembly Rooms were much more diverse and inclusive than you might think and will also share of some of his findings from researching the thriving communities of colour who called Georgian Bath their home.