The Hawarden hub in North Wales, hosted at Gladstone’s Library (Sept. 11th-12th 2024), welcomes proposals for papers and panels on the topic of events as moments of change.
Gladstone’s Library was founded by William Ewart Gladstone; it’s the only Prime Ministerial library in the UK and one of few residential libraries in the world. Created by Gladstone ‘for the purposes of learning, education, literature, and instruction’, its collections are now both internationally renowned and considered to be some of the most nationally significant in Wales outside of the National Library.
Holding 20,000 of Gladstone’s own books (many of which he annotated) and his personal papers and correspondence, as well as a copy of the British Library’s holdings of Gladstone’s papers on microfilm and transcripts of Gladstone’s diaries held at Lambeth Palace, Gladstone’s Library is the only place in which his entire written life can be studied together. This alongside the records of the rest of the Gladstone and Glynne families (including the plantation records of his father Sir John Gladstone), a large collection of unique and rare Victorian pamphlets, and a full run of many Victorian journals, makes Gladstone’s Library a unique resource for anyone studying the Victorian period.
Surround yourself with the collections of one of the most prominent Victorians in our beautiful Reading Rooms and have the chance to sleep at a library.
Hub Leaders
Alexandra Foulds, Archivist at Gladstone’s Library
Louisa Yates, Director of Collections and Research at Gladstone’s Library; Visiting Lecturer at University of Chester
Confirmed Speakers
Michael Wheeler (Visiting Professor, University of Southampton), Deborah Wynne (Professor, University of Chester), Holly Kirby (Assistant Curator, Attingham Park, and Visiting Lecturer, University of Chester), Mike Sanders (Professor, University of Manchester)
Program
View the program for the Gladstone’s Library hub here.
Events
As well as one and a half days of panels, on the 12th Gladstone’s Library will be hosting a Heritage Afternoon. This will include workshops on finding and using Victorian collections, and an on-site fair for organisations from the North-West with Victorian collections to advertise their holdings and to foster research and public engagement connections between heritage organisations and researchers.
Attendees will also be able to visit an exhibition of the highlights of Gladstone’s Library’s Victorian collections.
Tickets
Weekend ticket (this includes attendance at all panels, workshops, and the Heritage Afternoon, as well as tea/filter coffee and a two-course lunch in our on-site restaurant on both days, and two-course dinner in our on-site restaurant on the 11th) = £100
Accommodation
Accommodation at Gladstone’s Library can be booked via the Library’s Reception by emailing enquiries@gladlib.org or calling the Library’s Reception on +44 (0)1244 532350. Accommodation is available on a B&B basis.
We would recommend you book your accommodation before buying your conference ticket if you are planning to stay at the Library.
Students and members of the Society of Authors receive a discount on room prices, and we ask that you bring proof of eligibility at check-in.
Single, double, twin, and family rooms are available and all room bookings include a continental breakfast.
Residents at the Library have access to the Reading Rooms from 9am until 10pm every day and can continue to use the Reading Rooms for the remainder of the day after they have checked out.
Alternative accommodation is also available locally.
Logistics
Reaching Gladstone’s Library by public transport:
Unless it is more convenient to travel from Wrexham or Liverpool, we recommend that you come via Chester (only six miles from Hawarden) and travel on by bus (or taxi).
Chester is only two hours from London, with trains leaving from Euston. Trains from elsewhere in the UK tend to change in Crewe or Warrington Bank Quay.
From Chester, take the number 4 or X4 bus to Mold from Chester Train Station or the number 11 bus to Flint from Chester Bus Interchange. Before 7pm bus departures are roughly every 30 minutes, after 7pm there is roughly one an hour until 11pm.
Hawarden Station can be reached from Liverpool or Wrexham. From Liverpool, take the Wirral line (green on the map) to Bidston, then change to the Transport for Wales service to Wrexham. From Wrexham, take the service to Bidston.
Reaching Gladstone’s Library by road:
Gladstone’s Library is easily accessible by road, just 15 minutes’ drive from the M56 and close to the A55, A548, and A494.
Parking is available on site.
Contact
For inquiries, email organizers@event2024.org.
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