To mark the 800th anniversary of the birth of King Henry III on 1 October 2007, King’s College London and Westminster Abbey announce the following events:

King Henry III (1207-1272): A Simplex and God-fearing King

A Colloquium about Henry and his reign is to be held in the Great Hall of King’s College London on Sunday 30 September and Monday 1 October. It will be open to all and free, with no previous booking required.

A Congregational Evening Service will be held at 18.30 in the Abbey on Sunday 30 September with medieval music performed by the choir of King’s College London.

There will be an Act of Commemoration around Henry III’s tomb at 18.00 on Monday 1 October. Entry is through the Abbey’s North Door.

Henry III – Builder of this Temple. A Celebration in Words and Music of the King’s 800th Birthday. Music: Gothic Voices. Readings: Eamon Duffy. 19.30 on Monday 1 October. Tickets £12-£20 with student and unwaged concessions at £6 obtainable from St John Smith’s Square, tel: 020 7222 1061; www.sjss.org.uk

For inquiries email david.carpenter [at] kcl.ac.uk

1.1. Programme for the colloquium

Sunday, 30 September 2007 Speaker Title
9.15 Professor Dame Janet Nelson Welcome
9.30 David Carpenter (King’s College London Henry the Man
10.00 Stephen Church (University of East Anglia) The Setting of the Reign
10.30 Huw Ridgeway (Sherborne School) Henry’s Personal Rule, Foreigners and Favourites
11.00 COFFEE
11.15 Martin Allen (FitzWilliam Museum Cambridge) Henry III and the English Coinage
11.45 Paul Brand (All Souls College, Oxford) Henry’s Legislation
12.15 Björn Weiler (University of Wales, Aberystwyth) Henry and Europe
12.45 Tony Moore (Lands of the Normans Project) Henry and Local Government
13.15 – 14.00 LUNCH BREAK Lunch is not provided but participants are welcome to bring provisions. There are also numerous places around King’s where food and drink can be obtained
14.00 Paul Binski (Caius College, Cambridge) Henry’s Great Chamber at Westminster Revisited
14.30 Elisabeth Lalou (University of Rouen) Comparisons and Contrasts: the Crusade and Itinerary of King Louis IX
15.00 Nicholas Vincent (University of East Anglia) Henry and the Church
15.30 Henry Summerson Henry and Matthew Paris
16.00 TEA
16.15 Tim Tatton-Brown Henry and Salisbury
16.45 Louise Wilkinson (Christ Church University, Canterbury) Henry’s Sister, Eleanor de Montfort
17.15 Ben Wild (King’s College London Gift Exchange at Henry’s Court
Monday, 1 October 2007 Speaker Title
9.15 The Principal of King’s, Professor Rick Trainor, Canon Nicholas Sagovsky of Westminster Abbey, and the Dean of King’s, Dr Richard Burridge Welcome
9.30 Christopher Wilson (University College London) ‘Or if possible finer and more beautiful’: The Involvement of Henry III in the Design of Westminster Abbey
10.00 John Maddicott (Exeter College, University of Oxford) The First Public Act of Henry, son of King John: the Oath of Fealty of 1209
10.30 Sally Dixon-Smith (Tower of London) The Piety of Henry III
11.00 COFFEE
11.15 Michael Brown (University of St. Andrews) Henry and the British Isles: the Calm before the Storm?
11.45 Robert Stacey (University of Washington, Seattle) Henry and the Jews
12.15 Nick Barratt Power, Politics and Purse Strings. The Financial Realities of Henry’s Reign
12.45 David Crook (The National Archives) The Oh So Fine Rolls: The Records of Henry’s Reign
13.15 – 14.00 LUNCH BREAK Lunch is not provided but participants are welcome to bring provisions. There are also numerous places around King’s where food and drink can be obtained
14.00 Margaret Howell Henry’s Queen: Eleanor of Provence
14.30 Michael Clanchy (Institute of Historical Research) ‘I am but one man’: Henry and Law and Order
15.00 Scott Waugh (University of California, Los Angeles) Courtly Values and Courtly Politics in the 1240s
15.30 Jocelyn Wogan-Browne (University of York) Piety and Blood: Women Readers about Henry’s court
16.00 Richard Huscroft (Westminster School) The End of the Reign
16.30 TEA