Talk of the Week: Heaven on Earth – From Origins to Gothic
This week’s talk, the final week of the series, is different from the others this term: an admission will cost you £7. But don’t click away just yet. For starters, the speaker is Dr. Emma Wells, church historian and specialist in architectural history. The talk, titled ‘Heaven on Earth – From Origins to Gothic’, is the perfect bridge of these two interests, as she will be giving us an insight into religious architecture along with her overall career path. The talk will be held in the beautiful St Mary’s Church, Long Wittenham, with all proceeds going in aid of the Friends of St. Mary’s Church. Dating from the twelfth century, the church is one of only three in the country to possess a lead font, and was encased in wood during the Civil War, only being rediscovered in 1839.
Dr. Wells will also be discussing her new book, ‘Heaven on Earth – The Lives and Legacies of the World’s Greatest Cathedrals’, due to launch in July of this year. It is her second major work, following her successful 2016 book ‘Pilgrim Routes of the British Isles’. The talk will take place on Saturday 18th June, at 19:30.
Other talks and events going on in Oxford in week eight include:
- Ronson Chan, who was detained in December 2021 for being editor of Stand News, will discuss ‘Hong Kong and the story of our time’ (Wednesday 15h June, 13:00, via Zoom).
- Kristoffer Berg of the Saïd Business School will confront the question: ‘Does a Wealth Tax Improve Equality of Opportunity?’ (Wednesday 15th June, 17:00, Nuffield College).
- And Joan Redmond will talk about ‘Justifying Rebellion: Violence and Religion in Ireland, 1641-2’ (Thursday 16th June, 17:00, St Cross College).