About

'That Town Has Ever Been Seditious': Newcastle-under-Lyme in the later Stuart Period by Dr Ian Atherton of Keele University.

In memory of Chris Malkin, Newcastle alderman, macebearer and champion of heritage.

About the 2025 Lecture
After the Civil Wars of the mid seventeenth century, Newcastle had a reputation as a hotbed of sedition. One observer in 1682 declared 'that town has ever been seditious', while a generation later a London newspaper pronounced that many of its leading citizens were 'remarkable for nothing but fury'. This lecture will outline the history of the borough from the Restoration of the Stuarts in 1660 to the coming of the Hanoverians in 1714. Why were politics and elections in the town so fractious and divided? Why did Newcastle earn a reputation for sedition? Why did the crown frequently intervene in politics in the town? How far were the people of Newcastle still living in the shadow of the Civil Wars?

Cost
£5 to raise funds to support the museum, free tickets for students

Image description
Larger: A black and white portrait of James II atop the Newcastle under Lyme Charter of 1685
Smaller: Colour portrait of Chris Malkin by Glenn James