Cornerstone Heritage events

Professor Corinne Fowler

Director of Colonial Countryside: National Trust Houses Reinterpreted 

University of Leicester

Corrine Fowler is Professor of Postcolonial Literature at the University of Leicester. Her specialist subject is rural Britain's colonial connections. This includes rural sites such as coastlines, moorlands, graveyards and villages but she is particularly interested in country houses, which often have myriad and foundational links to empire. In recent years her focus has been on how, and why, heritage sites' colonial stories are told or avoided; investigating the many barriers to incorporating significant colonial connections into on-site and digital interpretation and has become increasingly applied in the sector. Between 2019-2020 she was seconded to the National Trust to conduct research tests on all aspects of curation, interpretation and training to lay the groundwork for telling these stories. Her project, 'Colonial Countryside: National Trust Houses Reinterpreted' (Heritage Lottery and Arts Council) is a child-led history and writing project which seeks to make historic houses' connections to the East India Company and transatlantic slavery widely known.

Explore underwater heritage and naval history with experts from the University of Plymouth – filmed on location at several of Plymouth’s most renowned maritime landmarks.

The Land ahoy! talks are an exciting opportunity for all to learn more about the people that work to protect our seas.

Join Dr Harry Bennett, Associate Professor in History, as he provides new evidence on the 1944 Exercise Tiger and German attack on convoy T4 which resulted in the deaths of over 600 American service personnel. A captivating insight to what the newest research has revealed.

This fascinating talk explores the history of naval women in the 17th and 18th centuries. Dr Elaine Murphy, Associate Professor of Maritime History, discusses the women's experiences and interactions with the Royal Navy, from women who went to sea on men-of-war to the women who worked in the naval dockyards.

When we think of the First World War, we often think of the trenches of the Western Front and the battlefields of the Somme and Passchendaele. This talk will offer a different perspective, placing it in a global context and highlighting the critical role played by the Royal Navy and allied navies. Louis Halewood, Philip Nicholas Lecturer in Maritime History, explores a new interpretation of the ways in which sea power mattered in the early 20th century.