Events
Future Events
Mark is Pro Vice Chancellor and Professor of Archaeology at the Royal Agricultural University. He has been involved in the archaeological excavations at Repton from the outset in 1974 and subsequently had a long career in medieval archaeology in Britain and overseas. He is also well known as a TV presenter, regularly appearing on BBC2’s Coast.
Between the first season of work undertaken in 1974 on the south side of St Wystan’s Church, to the completion of the work in the vicarage garden on 2023, many new discoveries have been made at Repton to help us understand the early medieval England, and the relationship between the Saxon Mercians and Viking invaders and settlers. Professor Mark Horton was present as a student in 1973, and latterly resumed the investigations, with Dr Cat Jarman from 2016 in the Vicarage Garden. In a personal talk Mark will prove a perspective on these many discoveries, and how our thinking about early medieval England has evolved over this half century, and the place that Repton has played in this.
Past Events
More than sixty people came along to a barbecue at Cokhay Farm on Saturday 17th August hosted by Stephen Gould and his family. We enjoyed great food (burgers and salad, strawberries and cream) and drink (beer, wine and soft drinks), comfortable weather, delightful surroundings, good company and live music. Around £1,900 was raised to enable Friends to continue its support of the maintenance of St Wystan’s Church. Our most recent project has been to contribute about 40% of the cost of repairs to the chancel stonework.
This talented group of musicians provided a varied programme of music which was thoroughly enjoyed by the audience of well over 100. Thank you to Derventio Brass, Voices and Derby City Singers.
Annual Lecture
Saturday 21st October, 2 pm at St Wystan’s Church, Repton.
Unfortunately this lecture had to be cancelled due to adverse weather conditions.
Guided tour of St Saviour's Church and Anchor Church, Foremark
On Saturday 8th July, despite the weather, over 40 people attended this event. Having met in St Saviour’s Church, Richard Finch gave an excellent talk on the history of the church from when it was built in 1662 by Sir Francis Burdett.
Following the talk and several interesting questions the group then walked to Anchor Church where Professor Ed Simons gave an entertaining talk on the history of the caves reminding us that the site has been called ‘Anchor Church’ since at least the 17th century and has been known locally as the former dwelling of a hermit. Sir Robert Burdett had it fitted out so that he and his friends could dine there and in the 1940s it was a favourite resort for gypsy parties.
October 15th 2022
Lecture by Professor Martin Biddle CBE
Professor Martin Biddle, a patron of FRPC, delivered our first Annual Lecture about St Wystan’s church crypt. He has a long association with the village, leading over a decade of archaeological digs around the church in the 1970s and 1980s. He presented his latest thinking as a formal lecture followed by speaking to small groups in the crypt itself.
He pointed out that the eight flat pillars against the walls in the crypt were not bonded in and must therefore have been added later together with the four round spiralled pillars and corbelled ceiling. The quality of construction of the original structure and the fact that it is partially subterranean led him to conclude that it had started life as a mausoleum for Mercian Kings. Archaeological evidence of a drain outside the north eastern corner led him to the conclusion that it was open to the sky, or at least partially so, with no access other than from above. He was clear that the spiral design of the four later central pillars was heavily influenced by pillars in Rome, citing Trajan’s column and other churches as examples and noting that there was no evidence of a twisted rope effect on the spirals at Repton. He had concluded that the mausoleum was separate from the earliest church and in line with it to the east. He noted that there is another small mausoleum to the west, but not quite in line with the church and crypt, which had later been re-used as a charnel house and covered by a burial mound.
At some point, the early church had been extended eastwards until it covered the mausoleum which became the crypt and included the part of the building which is now the chancel. At some point the pair of stairs were cut through the existing masonry giving access from the church.
It was fascinating, and greatly appreciated by the more than 150 people who came.
Saturday 20th August 2022
About 100 people enjoyed the hospitality provided by our hosts at Cokhay Farm, Repton on a pleasant summer afternoon.
Saturday 14th May 2022
St Wystan’s Church, Repton
A concert by Silver Sax with cheese and wine was enjoyed by an audience of over 90 people.
Our first event was on 16th October 2021
Floodlighting the tower and spire
Thanks to some generous donations Friends have successfully raised funds for our first project to replace the floodlighting of the tower and spire which has been out of use for some time. The new system is energy efficient and targets beams to minimise light pollution. It was switched on at our First Birthday event.