Lord of Bowland Annual Lecture 2023

4th September 2023

TAKING BOWLAND BACK TO THE STONE AGEHodder Valley above Whitewell

Dr Rick Peterson will take Bowland back to the Stone Age with this year's 12th Lord of Bowland Lecture on the evening of Tuesday 3rd October 2023.

Since 2011, archaeologists from the University of Central Lancashire have been excavating around New Laund Hill at Whitewell in the heart of the Forest of Bowland.

With the final season of excavation completed in 2021, this work is starting to help us see how this landscape was used from the Late Mesolithic (around 7000 years ago) until the Middle Iron Age (around 2500 years ago). 

Dr Peterson said, "Over this time, we have discovered a previously unknown landscape of prehistoric occupation including Mesolithic campsites, Neolithic enclosures, Bronze Age burial and Iron Age settlements.

In this lecture we will look at evidence from the whole New Laund area and bring people up to date with the latest results from the excavations and the post excavation analysis."

Dr Peterson is Reader in Archaeology at the University of Central Lancashire. He teaches across a range of modules, with a focus on prehistory and archaeological fieldwork.

William, 16th Lord of Bowland, will introduce the evening, which aims to raise funds for two local charities: Slaidburn Archive, which works to record the history of the Hodder Valley; and Champion Bowland, which supports projects benefiting the environment, local communities and visitors to the Forest of Bowland. Both organisations rely heavily on grants and donations to continue their work.

Thanks to the generosity of Robert Parker, Bowbearer of the Forest of Bowland, the lecture will take place in the lovely surroundings of Browsholme Hall's Tithe Barn.

The annual lecture is booking quickly but remaining seats, or places on the reserve list, can be booked by emailing sandra.silk@lancashire.gov.uk, or by calling Sandra on 07973 923142.


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