The 4th Annual Jenkinson lecture

The 4^th Annual Jenkinson lecture will be held at UCL, on the evening of Wednesday September 26^th at 6.00pm. The lecture will take place in the AV Hill Lecture Theatre and will be followed by a reception on the ground floor of the Foster Court Building.

The lecture entitled “The Day Parliament Burned Down and its impact on British recordkeeping” will be given by Caroline Shenton. Caroline is Clerk of the Records and Director of  the Parliamentary Archives in London. Educated at the University of St Andrews, Worcester College Oxford and University College London, she was previously a senior archivist at the National Archives where her interest in the fire of 1834 was first kindled. She has worked in and around collections relating to the old Palace of Westminster for over 20 years, and is a Fellow of both the Society of Antiquaries and the Royal Historical Society. She is author of the acclaimed new book, ‘The Day Parliament Burned Down’ (for further details and reviews see http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780199646708.do#.UEr4Uol5mc0)

Abstract: In the early evening of 16 October 1834, to the horror of bystanders, a huge ball of fire exploded through the roof of the Houses of Parliament, creating a blaze so enormous that it could be seen by the King and Queen at Windsor, and from stagecoaches on top of the South Downs. In front of hundreds of thousands of witnesses the great conflagration destroyed Parliament’s glorious old buildings and their contents. No one who witnessed the disaster would ever forget it – yet today this national catastrophe is a forgotten disaster. Find out about one of the most seminal events of 19th century London, which not only changed the face of the capital but also had a profound impact on recordkeeping in the UK.

There will be an opportunity to purchase signed copies of Caroline’s acclaimed new book, ‘The Day Parliament Burned Down’ at discounted rate after the lecture.

This should be a fascinating talk and if you can attend please do so and do encourage any new students to do so also.