Join experts from MCPHH and beyond on a practical course to develop your academic historical work into formats suitable for wider publics.

Led by Professor Catherine Fletcher, this free five-session course features a range of experts from the world of public history. Guest speakers include:

– Dr Kate Wiles, editor of History Today
– Dr Owen Rees, Birmingham Newman University, founder of badancient.com
– Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, from the You’re Dead To Me podcast
– Dr Mai Musié, independent public engagement specialist formerly of the Bodleian Libraries
– Dr Ellie Mackin Roberts, Lecturer in Liberal Arts and Ancient History, University of Bristol

Running online over four Tuesdays from 4-25 June (10-3 each day), with a final in-person event on 2 July, it will introduce you to essential techniques in communicating history to wider audiences.

The course will cover a range of different formats:
– short-form writing (for magazines and online)
– long-form writing (trade books)
– podcasts and radio
– social media
– engagement with the GLAM sector (Galleries, Libraries and Museums).

The final day, in-person in Manchester, will be your opportunity to present your own work. We have bursaries available for participants without access to institutional funding.

By the end of the five sessions, you should have a good understanding of what is expected in these different contexts, some practical ideas of where to take your own work next, plus useful tips on money and career strategies.

This course is free and aimed at academic researchers (from mid-PhD onwards), with little or no experience of this type of writing. It is essential that you have an existing piece of academic research (e.g., a close-to-final thesis chapter, article, or book chapter) that you would like to translate to other contexts. You do not have to be studying History provided that your work has a historical element.

Apply here. The deadline is Friday 26 April. Successful applicants will be notified in early May.

Notes for applicants:

1. Public history environments differ significantly from country to country. This course focuses on the UK context, and will be most useful if you currently work here or plan to do so in the near future.
2. We do not cover historical fiction. If your main interest is in this area, a short course in creative writing will probably be more useful.

by Muqaddas Ghafoor

In the 8th century a coin was ordered to be minted by the King of Mercia, King Offa. The coin was inscribed with the Shahadah on it which is the Islamic declaration of faith and translates to ‘there is no God but Allah and Muhammed is his messenger’. It also had ‘OFFA REX’ written in the middle of it. The design on this coin was a copy of the dinar coin of Caliph Abbasid Al- Massur. However, the Arabic on this coin had a few inaccuracies and the OFFA REX was written upside down in relation to the Arabic. These inaccuracies show that the person inscribing the coins was not aware of what the inscriptions meant, which suggests that they were not minted for religious reasons.

Many theories are in circulation as to why these coins exist. Some theories argue that these coins suggest there was a move towards converting England into an Islamic country. Despite this, evidence shows that King Offa was a Christian king and was known to have ties with Pope Adrian. Offa paid him 365 gold coins a year and was granted a Mercian Archbishop due to this relationship. Some coins were found in Rome which indicates that they were sent to the Pope, perhaps as a religious statement. The consensus is they were sent as part of the 365 gold coins that King Offa donated each year to the Pope. The Shahadah coins happened to have been minted at the time and were thus sent as part of the donation. 

King Offa was known for wanting to unite England under one King while also strengthening international ties. Therefore, the coins may have been minted for the purpose of international trade as they were more accepted in the Islamic countries especially in the Holy Land. The coins were also likely more popular among Pilgrims that were travelling to the Holy Land as they would have been more accepted by Muslims in the area, who would have viewed the coins as a symbol of respect to their religion.

We may not know for certain why these coins were minted. However, when reviewing the evidence, it seems that they were not minted for religious reasons. Rather they demonstrate how strong and wide international relations were at the time. By looking at the places that the coins were found since, it is reasonable to theorise that the coins were minted to strengthen international bonds through trade, whilst also showing respect to the cultures of the lands that the coins were being sent to. 

Keynote speakers:
Hallie Rubenhold: author of The Five
Professor Anindita Ghosh: historian of crime and detective fiction in colonial Calcutta.

The British Crime Historians Symposium meets every 2-3 years to discuss and debate original historical research on all aspects of crime, policing, punishment, law, criminal justice and social regulation. Since the first meeting in 2008, the BCHS has become a leading academic forum in this broad and vibrant field of research. The next conference will be held on the 5th and 6th September 2024 at the Friends Meeting House, in Manchester. It will be jointly hosted by the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University.

The conference welcomes proposals for papers, panels and other sessions concerned with the history of crime and criminal justice across medieval to modern history, especially (though not exclusively) in connection with Britain. This may include imperial and transnational histories that interrelate modern British history with global legacies of slavery and colonialism, as well as international exchanges about crime and punishment. Papers on all topics and periods within this broad remit are welcomed. In addition, this year’s conference particularly welcomes proposals that engage with the following:

• Crime fiction/creative modes of writing the history of crime;
• Crime, migration, and empire;
• Spatial approaches to deviance, criminality and rehabilitation

Submissions are encouraged from researchers across a wide range of disciplines (including, but not limited to, history, criminology, English, law, socio-legal studies and sociology), and from postgraduate/ early career researchers. Postgraduate presenters will be invited to submit their papers for the Clive Emsley Prize, awarded for the best postgraduate paper at the conference.

Typically speakers will have 20 minutes to present their paper. Panels should each consist of three papers selected to illuminate an overarching topic, theme or issue, and we encourage organisers to consider including postgraduate and early career researchers in their panels. Suggestions for alternative formats (roundtable sessions, source/method-based workshops, ‘author meets readers’ sessions, etc.) are welcome; please discuss any ideas with the conference organising committee, in the first instance.

For individual paper proposals, please include: paper title; name(s) of author(s); institutional affiliation (if applicable); email address (of proposing author); paper abstract of no more than 250 words.

For panel proposals, please include full details (as outlined above) for each constituent paper, in addition to: panel title; name, institutional affiliation (if applicable) and email address of the panel organiser; abstract of the panel’s aims (no more than 150 words); name of panel chair (if nominating a specific chair).

The deadline for submission of proposals is 7 April 2024. Please send proposals by email attachment to: Eloise.Moss@manchester.ac.uk

The conference organising committee is: Ruth Lamont (Law, University of Manchester); Eloise Moss (History, University of Manchester); Heather Shore (History, Manchester Metropolitan University); and Charlotte Wildman (History, University of Manchester).

By Aieyan Khan

Muslims and Ireland are not two terms we often associate together. However, they are not so alien to each other as we might assume. Ireland, referred to as Irlanda or Hayburniya in the past, has been mentioned by many medieval Muslim travellers and cartographers as early as the 11^th century.

The most notable of these cartographers is Mohammed Al-Idrisi. Al-Idrisi was an Andalusian-born cartographer born in the year 1100. He was present in the court of Roger, the Norman king of Sicily. In 1154 Al Idrisi completed His Magnum Opus, the ‘Nuzhat al-mushtāq fī ikhtirāq al-āfāq’, translated as the Book of the Journey of he who yearns to penetrate the Horizons and also known as the Book of Roger. In his account of Ireland, Al-Idrisi writes:

“In it are three towns which used to be inhabited, and ships used to put in there and visit there, buying from the inhabitants amber and coloured stones: but one of them sought to make himself ruler over the rest, and waged war on them with his folk. And they fought in defence against him; thus enmity arose among them and they fought each other to extinction; some of them migrated to the opposite shore of the continent, and not a single inhabitant was left in the towns.”

James, David. “Two Medieval Arabic Accounts of Ireland.” The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 108 (1978): 5–9.

Whilst Al-Idrisi’s account of Ireland is fascinating it lacks interaction between Irish and Muslim peoples . It is not until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that we begin to see the migration of Muslim individuals to Ireland and the integration of these individuals into their new surroundings. This was primarily a result of British colonisation and the opening of a doorway between South Asia and Britain. Two key figures in exploring the relationship between Islam and Ireland include Sheikh Din Mohammed and Professor Mir Aulad Ali.

Sheikh Din Mohammed, whose name has been anglicised to Sake Dean Mahomet, was born in 1759 in Patna, in the Bengal Region of India. Mahomet’s father worked for the East India Company and Mahomet followed his father into this line of work at the age of 11. Mahomet developed a Mentor-Mentee relationship with Captain Godfrey Evan Baker, of Irish background, during their time working together at the East India Company. In 1784, they set out for Cork Ireland, where Baker sponsored Mahomet’s Education.In 1794, Mahomet published his book, ‘The Travels of Dean Mahomet’ which took the form of a series of letters to a friend. Dean Mahomet’s background as a ruling class Indian Muslim is apparent in his letters, where he often uses the pronoun “we” to describe himself alongside Europeans. This suggests that he may have identified more with the European culture of those who colonised India than his native heritage.  Mahomet went on to marry an Irish Catholic Woman, eventually converted to Christianity and died in 1851 as a non-Muslim.

Professor Mir Aulad Ali, a Muslim, was born in 1832, allegedly in  Uttar Pradesh,  North India.Not much is known about Ali’s early life and family. However, the historian Vivian Ibrahim has suggested that he was from a privileged family and came to England to attain a western education. Ali resided in Paddington for a time with a small group from the North Indian elite. Whilst at University, he became well known, gaining the nickname ‘The Mir’, often socialising at parties. ‘The Mir’ was appointed Professor of Arabic at Trinity College, Dublin in the 1860s, which was used as a training century for the soldiers and civil servants, who would go on to serve in British India. Ali married an English woman, named Rebecca, and had a son named Arthur. Both Rebecca and Arthur were Christians which is interesting given that Ali was a Muslim. In 1898, Mir Aulad Ali passed with a heart attack. Mir Aulad Ali was buried on Church Grounds and his funeral service was performed by a reverend as Arthur was unable to arrange for an Imam to be present

The British occupation of India was central in shaping the identities of Ali and Mahomet, and their interactions with Ireland and Britain. Sake Dean’s experience of Ireland seemed to centre around distancing himself from India both literally and metaphorically as he likens himself to the British in his writing. This contrasts with Mir Aulad Ali wore traditional clothing and refuted articles against Islam. Yet he also helped educate and train British soldiers and civil servants about the lands that the British had colonised.

A public discussion with panellists, presented by Manchester Centre for Public History and Heritage, in collaboration with Leverhulme Unit for the Design of Cities of the Future.  

Join our speakers to help generate ideas that will encourage thoughtful use of sound to support access to heritage:

• Luke Beesley (Researcher at University of Liverpool, Archive Lead at Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People)

• David Govier (Sound Archivist at Manchester Archives+)

• Steve Graby (Access and Inclusion Worker at Disabled People’s Archive, Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People)

• Olivia Hewkin (Museum, Galleries and Heritage Programme Manager at VocalEyes)

• Mariana Lopez (Professor in Sound Production, University of York)

Then sit back and soak up a DJ set by Artilect, who will showcase sampling as a form of music heritage. We’ll finish with refreshments and time to chat.  

The event will be at 3-6pm on Wednesday 6th December 2023 in the Manchester Poetry Library, which is at Manchester Metropolitan University.  

Entry is free but please book to avoid disappointment. You’re welcome to turn up without booking, but we can’t guarantee you’ll get in. Book here.

The Poetry Library is wheelchair accessible and situated on the ground floor. Manchester Metropolitan University, Grosvenor East, Cavendish Street, Manchester, M15 6BG

BSL interpretation is available on request by emailing mohammed.khan@mmu.ac.uk.

A podcast and transcript sharing the outcomes of the discussion will be made available after the event on https://mcphh.wordpress.com/mcphh-podcast/.  

We’d like to thank Cultures of Disability, Past & Present, the Leverhulme Trust, the Manchester Centre for Public Histories & Heritage, Manchester Metropolitan University, and the Past & Present Society for making this event possible through funding and other support.

Please find Volume 2 of the re-released MRHR below. As ever thanks to our authors, Dr Craig Horner and the editorial board for putting the journal together.

Alan Kidd

Manchester, cotton and slavery, c.1740-1833

Kidd, A. (2023). Manchester, cotton and slavery, c.1740-1833. Manchester Region History Review. https://doi.org/10.57872/XY3A-BJ74

Victoria Garlick

‘More Than Might Have Been Reasonably Expected’: William Henry Broadhead and the early years of the Hulme Hippodrome

Garlick, V. (2023). ‘More Than Might Have Been Reasonably Expected’: William Henry Broadhead and the early years of the Hulme Hippodrome. Manchester Region History Review. https://doi.org/10.57872/9QEV-T026

Andrew Shields

Eliciting ‘Great Truths’: Peter Finnerty and the John Lees Inquest of 1819

Shields, A. (2023). Eliciting ‘Great Truths’: Peter Finnerty and the John Lees Inquest of 1819. Manchester Region History Review. https://doi.org/10.57872/2QXV-P887

Andrew Hobbs

Cheshire Life, 1934–39: the birth of the modern county magazine

Hobbs, A. (2023). Cheshire Life, 1934–39: the birth of the modern county magazine. Manchester Region History Review. https://doi.org/10.57872/VKC5-RM11

Rosemary Sharples

A snapshot of cycling in Moss Side before the First World War

Sharples, R. (2023). A snapshot of cycling in Moss Side before the First World War. Manchester Region History Review. https://doi.org/10.57872/9SRH-M883

If you are interested in Manchester history, why not check out Dr Dean Kirby’s newsletter and website Once Upon a Time in Manchester | Dean Kirby | Substack (manchesterhistory.uk)