Due to popular demand, members of the public can find out more about a medieval manuscript’s impact on today’s world when a free talk is given a re-run.
The lecture was previously presented in January, when more than 100 people attended to find out more about the Bridgeworks List’s important role in the history of crossing the River Medway. The talk was so over-subscribed it has been decided to give people a second opportunity to come along, on 26th June.
The manuscript is contained within the Textus Roffensis, the only existing copy of the first code of English law, which was written in Rochester during the early 1120s. It is on display in the free Bridge Works exhibition, inside the Crypt at Rochester Cathedral.
During her talk, the Rochester Bridge Trust’s Bridge Clerk Sue Threader explains the significance of this document within the 2,000-year story of Rochester’s bridges, a story the Trust has been a part of for 600 years.
She said: “This talk takes place a week after the exhibition had originally been planned to close, but both the exhibition and the first run of the talk proved so popular that we have agreed an extension with the Cathedral.
“It’s good to see how interested people are in the history of the area, in particular the bridges and the way they have been maintained over the centuries.
“My talk explains in more detail than the exhibition can manage – and in a different way – what the Bridgework list is; why it is important; and what it can tell us about how the Roman bridge looked and the organisation of Anglo Saxon and medieval society. I also discuss how the list has influenced the history of the Trust and still affects our organisation and governance today.”
The free talk will take place on Tuesday, 26th June, in the Nave, Rochester Cathedral. Refreshments will be offered from 6.30pm, with the lecture starting promptly at 7pm.
While the talk is free, places must be booked; contact Sue O’Reilly at sue@maxim-pr.co.uk or call her on 01892 513033.
The Bridge Works exhibition, which had been due to run until mid June, has now been extended to October. Find out more at www.rbt.org.uk/bridgeworks.