Virtual Branch Lecture Recording: Building St James's spire, Louth

Medieval historian Dr Claire Kennan continued our Virtual Branch series with a local history talk on the building of St James's spire, Louth. 

In her talk Kennan traces the important role that Louth's major guilds of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Holy Trinity played in the building of the St James’s spire. Throughout the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, the guilds dominated the town and parish and were involved in decision making at the highest level. These associations were inextricably linked with the church and this talk explores the ways in which they managed and maintained various aspects of town and parish life, throwing a spotlight on local community activities during this often-overlooked period and region.