We are delighted to announce the return of Rosemary to the Nest, updating us on her fascinating research project.

The Long Affray in the Nineteenth-Century East Midlands

A talk by Rosemary Muge

The terms ‘Long Affray’ and ‘Poaching Wars’ have been coined by historians to refer to the conflicts between poachers, particularly gangs of night poachers, and the gamekeepers and watchers employed by landowners. The Game Laws have been acknowledged as class-based, even by historians who would be reluctant to accept such a description. The passing of the 1831 Game Reform Act made the conflict even more clearly one between working-class people and the landed gentry. In Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire, poaching was endemic. The talk focuses on the causes, patterns and effects of poaching in these counties.

Rosemary is a retired teacher (of Maths not History) who has recently completed a PhD in History at the University of Nottingham, after 7 years of research and writing up. Previously she completed an MA on Crime and Policing at The Open University. Her interest in the subject area arose from living in East Anglia for many years, an area where poaching was endemic; and from teaching in prisons for 7 years, which gave her an interest in crime and the people called ‘criminals’.

There will be tea. There might be biscuits. There won’t be pheasant.

Saturday 27th Oct 2pm at The Sparrows’ Nest, Nottingham.

Free event, venue wheelchair accessible.

Contact us if you need directions.