The theme and content of this edited book first took shape at an international conference I co-organised at the University of Lincoln in November 2009. Bringing together eminent architects, philosophers, criminologists, judges, lawyers, urban designers and geographers, the conference provided a unique platform for debating some of the key issues about the role of architecture in the deliberations of justice in both a contemporary and historical contexts. The significance of the conference, and subsequent publication of selected papers, was underlined by (...) Baroness Vivien Stern who recognized the uniqueness of the initiative in bringing together for the first time both academics and practitioners with diverse interests in the field of justice. The setting of Lincoln for the conference was not without significance. Famous for its majestic cathedral, the city is also noted for its medieval castle which was used as a prison, containing one of the last remaining chapels used under the so-called ‘Pentonville’ system. A special visit to the castle was organised as part of the two day event. My chapter in this volume draws upon this aspect of Lincoln’s history, by examining the topographical and political relationships between castle and cathedral in Lincoln. It develops from an ongoing research project on Lincoln Cathedral and its symbolic and topographical significance. In this paper, however, I examine the judicial and punitive practices in the ‘upper town’ of the city from the Middle Ages to the early 19th century. The study highlights how these practices were closely allied to jurisdictional claims of both castle and cathedral, that variously defined territorially the implementation of canon and civil law. (shrink)

This thesis is presented in part fulfilment of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Huddersfield. This thesis aims to explore the lives of seventeenth century noble widows in the north of England. The issues investigated include the demographics of widowhood, economics of widowhood, charitable activities, noble widows and the law, social networks surrounding widows and widows' political interests. Each of these subjects forms a chapter, where widows' contribution to each sphere through the seventeenth century is explored (...) and assessed. The work also covers wider issues which affected women prior to and during marriage as they were also relevant to widowhood. Therefore it has been necessary to widen the scope of research from analyzing women's lives after the deaths of their husbands. Similarly, the geographical scope of the research, whilst basically entrenched in the north of England, extends in response to the variety of widows' experiences. The research has required examination of primary source material generated by widows such as letters, diaries, estate records and account books from institutions such as the British Library and private libraries such as that at Chatsworth. The second aim of this thesis is to examine more recent attitudes towards seventeenth century noble widows, encompassing the writings of nineteenth century historians and contemporary authors. The subject of this study is an under researched area and the thesis highlights the importance of the only part of a noblewoman's life that was lived as an independent individual. By scrutinising the secondary source material, challenging and criticizing general arguments proposed by other writers, debate upon the subject should be increased and new ideas expressed. Despite the social, legal, economic and political changes which took place throughout the seventeenth century, noble widows remained influential figures within the contexts of family, household and society as they exploited legal loopholes or accepted conventions in order to further their individual aims. This study advances the understanding of women's history by focussing on a neglected aspect of the subject, provides a new viewpoint for regional history and stimulates ideas for further academic debate. (shrink)

Most recent studies of religion and society have focussed on the period from c. 1880 to 1914, basing their investigations upon late-Victorian newspaper censuses of churchgoing. This thesis aims to study the development of religion in its economic and social context in a large northern industrial parish over a longer period of time from c. 1740 to 1914. In religious terms this period extends from the mid-eighteenth century Evangelical Revival to the decline of organised religion in the early twentieth century. (...) In economic and social terms the period is characterised by the transformation of the parish from a semi-rural, proto-industrial society dominated by a relatively small but expanding market town, into a predominantly urban advanced industrial society dominated by a medium-sized textile manufacturing town and several smaller urban centres of textile production; supporting a wide diversity of associated industries and trades, but still containing within its boundaries sharply contrasting urban and semi-rural environments. The thesis aims to assess how religious expression within the parish of Halifax was affected by the changing economic and social environment, in particular the urban-industrial experience, and how religion helped shape the new urbanindustrial society during the period from the middle of the eighteenth century to the outbreak of the First World War. It argues that whilst the pessimistic view of a moribund Georgian Church of England can no longer be sustained by the Halifax evidence, the Established Church nevertheless lacked the logistical resources to respond effectively to the new urbanindustrial society as it emerged within the parish in the lateeighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries, providing an opportunity for the growth of Evangelical Nonconformity, especially Methodism. It maintains that Evangelical Nonconformity and an Anglican Church renewed by Evangelical incumbencies during the period 1790-1827 and reformed as a consequence of national legislation in the 1840s played a vital role within the expanding urban-industrial society, surviving the experience of industrialisation and urbanisation and displaying a remarkable vibrancy, despite underlying downward trends in churchgoing in the late-Victorian era. It suggests that the causes of the decline of organised religion during this period were complex, but related more to the onset of industrial-urban stagnation and decline than to the experience of industrial-urban expansion. (shrink)

Some years ago I completed an M. A. degree at Huddersfield University on 'The Fly Sheet Controversy and the Wesleyan Reform movement in Birstall and the Spen Valley 1849-1857'. The present study is wider in scope and includes all the divisions within Methodism and is centred on Bradford, but includes the Bingley and Shipley circuits and the Birstall and Cleckheaton circuits, the whole being referred to as 'the Bradford area'. Between 1796 and 1857 several groups of Methodists left their Wesleyan (...) chapels to create new societies, still Methodist in doctrine and tradition, but with different styles of church government. The Independent Methodists, Primitive Methodists and Bible Christians were looking for greater freedom to organise their worship and evangelical outreach without the restrictions imposed by Conference and the ministers. In other cases secessions followed disputes over specific issues - the Methodist New Connexion sought greater democracy and more lay involvement, the Protestant Methodists resented the approval by Conference of an organ at Brunswick Chapel, the Wesleyan Methodist Association objected to arrangements for ministerial training and the Wesleyan Reformers complained of ministerial domination of Methodism. Each division was different, but behind them all lay a pattern of continuing conflict between ministers and lay members. This obliged many Methodists to make difficult and far-reaching choices between remaining within Wesleyan Methodism and making a new commitment to an uncertain future. In every dispute both sides claimed the moral high ground, and both were certain that they were right. Wesleyan ministers claimed authority in accordance with the principle of the Pastoral Office, but found themselves in a difficult situation, being obliged by Conference to rule as well as to lead. Lay members felt in a strong position among family and friends within their chapels, but many were unwilling to give unquestioning obedience to men who were little different in background from themselves, preferring instead a more open and more democratic style of Methodism. The national background of each dispute is outlined before its impact on the Methodists in the Bradford area is considered in detail, and the outcome of each confrontation is then examined. An attempt is then made to assess the significance of membership of the different Methodist denominations in terms of political activities and relationships with other churches, although it is suggested that little evidence is available to distinguish between members of the various Methodist groups. In summary, conflict between ministers supported by Conference and the lay members weakened local Methodism. The hardening of attitudes by both sides and their refusal to compromise, which led to the creation of new Methodist groups, destroyed the unity of Methodism in the Bradford area. (shrink)

The Algerian War of independence led directly to the fall of six French prime ministers, an attempted military coup and the collapse of the Fourth Republic. It lasted longer than the Vietnam War and involved as many conscripted soldiers. The fight against Algerian independence was justified in France by evoking socialism, modernisation and even humanism, and until the 1980s the savagery and scale of the war was largely hidden. Despite the lived experience of hundreds of thousands of French conscripts, and (...) the resistance not only of Algerians but of many French, the powers in France consciously constructed a truth about Algeria, and so closed down memory. This paper will argue that the Algerian War and how it was experienced, reported and remembered profoundly affected a generation of influential French intellectuals and how they consider the construction of knowledge, truth and power. This group includes Derrida, Foucault, Lyotard, Deleuze and Bourdieu, who all had some connection with Algeria, and whose subsequent writing carries the discernible imprint of the war. (shrink)