Parish Studies

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 11:04:00 GMT

I regularly address local associations like the Bishop's Tachbrook History Group (reported in the June 2014, October 2017 and May 2022 issues of the Parish Magazine), branches of the Historical Association (Coventry, Gloucestershire, Nuneaton, Winchester), the Kineton & District Local History Group, Lighthorne History Society, Lyddington Manor History Society, Stoneleigh History Society, Warmington Heritage Group, the Warwickshire Local History Society and the Woodford Halse History Society. In October 2017, I participated in a panel discussion on the impact of the Reformation hosted by the Warwick Words Festival and, in March 2021, hosted a webinar on the evolution of the 'British Parish'.

Between 2007-9, I directed the steering committee for "Catholic Warwick", a history of the parish of St Mary Immaculate written by Ruth Barbour. At the book launch event in the social centre, I moderated a panel debate involving the author, Canon Edward Stewart, the parish priest; Michael Hodgetts, a historian of Catholicism; and Warwick professors Peter Marshall and Jack Scarisbrick (Photo left: John Mullis for the Coventry Observer).

Since 2003, I have co-ordinated the Warwick Network for Parish Research (introduced in Local History News), which highlights the significance of local communities, informs on related initiatives and facilitates new research well beyond the UK. An annual highlight is the 'Warwick Symposium on Parish Research' dedicated to varying themes and documented in our audiovisual resources. The tenth anniversary meeting in May 2012, 'Parish Studies Today', showcased the wide range of activities undertaken by local history societies, church conservation bodies, universities and other organizations. During the 2020-21 Covid pandemic, the 18th ('Remembering the Parish') & 19th ('Parish, Power & Politics') Symposia became virtual gatherings.

Our public face is the My-Parish community platform launched in autumn 2012, which allows anybody interested in parish history and culture to upload information on projects, resources and related activities. In July 2018, we ran an outreach event on 'Parishes & Migration' with our partner church at Berkswell near Coventry and, in November 2020, we took over the Twitter account of the Ecclesiastical History Society.

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Parish Studies