The Elizabeth Heyrick Society would like to thank the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society for hosting the Historical Fair at Oakham Castle on Saturday 5 July.
Oakham Castle’s Great Hall was built in the period from 1180 to 1190 and is famous for its collection of ceremonial horseshoes, the oldest of which was donated by King Edward IV in 1470. There are over 230 horseshoes.
Rutland Museum hosted talks on the day: Peter Liddle on Roman Villas in Rutland, Mike Burton on Rutland the Secret County, Cynthia Brown on the Return of ‘Exiles’ in 1910, Mathew Morris on the Horseshoe Hall and Jo Mungovin on Peppermint Billy and the Tollgate Murders. Fortunately the weather held so it was pleasant for visitors to move between the two venues.
The Elizabeth Heyrick Society had a stall and throughout the day trustees Joshua Thorpe, Emma Lee and Jess Jenkins had chance to talk to visitors about Elizabeth Heyrick and the society’s aims. Visitors learnt that the society aims to product educational materials about Elizabeth Heyrick and fundraise for a statue in recognition of her achievements in campaigning for the abolition of slavery.
Visitors’ questions included when Elizabeth Heyrick lived, locations relevant to her life, where the statute might be placed, how she campaigned and whether she had any links with the Herrick family. As footfall was fairly consistent throughout the day, trustees had chance to speak with each visitor to the stall individually and had time to answer questions.
It was good to see there was broad support for a statue, especially when visitors discovered Leicester currently only has two statues of named woman: Alice Hawkins in Market Square and Queen Æthelflæd in the Guildhall courtyard. There was also support for educational materials for schoolchildren to learn more about one of Leicester’s unsung, but modest, heroines.
Join us at future events to discover more about Leicester's remarkable anti-slavery campaigner. Visit our events page to find out when we'll be in your area.
.jpg)
