Changing narratives of Bath's heritage at Bath Spa University

About

Join for a discussion with speakers from well-known institutions in Bath to take a deeper look at the hidden histories of Black people in Britain, hear new perspectives on stories you thought you knew and understand the work that is being carried out in decolonising our history.

Amanda Hart is the Roman Baths and Pump Room Manager, where she leads the curatorial and engagement teams, she is responsible for the curatorial direction of the Roman Baths. Her current focus is on reinterpreting the Roman Baths and exploring underrepresented narratives that challenge long held ideas about Roman Britain and Aquae Sulis. Amanda will talk about a new direction of research for the Roman Baths and what that can reveal about the people from Aquae Sulis.  

Dr Amy Frost is the Senior Curator of Bath Preservation Trust, which operates No.1 Royal Crescent, Beckford’s Tower, the Museum of Bath Architecture and the Herschel Museum of Astronomy. She is a leading expert on the life and aesthetics of the British collector, writer, and owner of enslaved people William Beckford (1760-1844).  Amy is also a lecturer at the University of Bath, School of Architecture and a founder member of the not for profit Bath based organisation Architecture is. 

Polly Andrews is the Learning Manager at Bath Abbey, responsible for the school, university, family and community learning programmes. The new ‘Memorials & Empire’ audiotour at Bath Abbey is the result of 8 years research into our memorials by volunteers which has been placed on a database. The newly discovered information on our colonially connected memorials helped shape the ‘Monuments, Empire and Slavery’ exhibition in 2021. 

Mark De’Lisser is a Bath based poet, facilitator and youth mentor. His poem ‘Dark Shadows’ was a creative response to the memorials in Bath Abbey and their links to colonialism and slavery. Mark has continued working alongside the Abbey by voicing the new audio tour exploring these links further as well as writing a new poem. 

Dr Cathryn Spence is the Curator and Archivist at Bath Abbey. She is the manager of the Abbey’s pioneering Memorials website. Working with a dedicated group of Research Volunteers, she is populating the website with the full and transparent life stories of the people memorialised on the Abbey’s walls and floor. 

This is an event as part of Black History Month.