Gainsborough Library celebrates Lincolnshire Local History Festival
“After the success of our first festival last year, we wanted to again mark Local and Community Month and celebrate our county’s rich heritage"
Celebrate the rich local history of our county at the second Lincolnshire Libraries Local History Festival.
This local history festival will travel across the county's vast rural landscapes, covering the Wolds and Coast, the Fens, the Kestevens and the Lincoln Cliff, seeing renowned East Midlands historians present their discoveries in your local Lincolnshire libraries.
With over 50 events running throughout May, including talks, guided walks, exhibitions and family activities, you'll explore wartime Lincolnshire, discover community memories, and step back into the distant past.
As part of the Festival Gainsborough Library will be hosting a series of events, including a photographic display of historic River Trent images, a talk on Lincolnshire writer Bernard Samuel Gilbert, and a guided riverside walk exploring the real‑life locations behind The Mill on the Floss. For more information, please speak to a member of staff or email [email protected]
From Bank to Bank: The River Trent in Archive Images
Photographic display showcasing the River Trent and its ever-changing landscape through time, sourced from the library’s collection.1st-31st May during library opening hours
Lincolnshire’s 'Gilbert Country’: the historical and creative writings of Bernard Samuel Gilbert (1882-1927)
Presented by Professor Andrew Jackson
Thursday 7th May 2.30pm-4.00pm
This talk introduces the Lincolnshire of Bernard Samuel Gilbert, the county-born writer whose commentaries, plays, poems, and novels of the 1910s and '20s together created a vivid picture of "Old England" - a landscape he came to call "Gilbert Country." Professor Jackson will be joined by a Lincolnshire - dialect reader, who will share selected passages from Gilbert's work.
Free event. Light refreshment provided. To book your place please speak to a member of staff or email [email protected]
Finding the Mill on the Floss Presented by Helen Hagon
Saturday 16th May 10.30am-12.00pm
It is no secret that George Eliot’s novel, The Mill on the Floss, was inspired by Gainsborough and the river Trent.
Join local writer and literature-lover, Helen Hagon, for a walk along the riverside, visiting sites of the former mills, examining extracts from the novel itself, and searching for the truth behind the fiction.
Free event. Light refreshment available at the end of the walk.
Nicola Rogers, partnership manager at Lincolnshire Libraries said: “After the success of our first festival last year, we wanted to again mark Local and Community Month and celebrate our county’s rich heritage. We’re delighted to be able to invite so many well-known speakers and groups into our libraries to share their knowledge and research as well as highlighting the fascinating local studies collections held in our libraries.”
Visit the Lincolnshire Libraries Local History Festival webpage Lincolnshire Local History Festival | What's On Lincolnshire for full details of what’s on at a library near you, or pick up a Festival guide at Boston, Gainsborough, Grantham, Horncastle, Lincoln Central, Long Sutton, Louth, Mablethorpe, Market Rasen, Skegness, Sleaford, Spalding, Stamford or Woodhall Spa Library.
Lincolnshire Libraries, operated by GLL, the not-for-profit social enterprise, on behalf of Lincolnshire County Council, runs core and mobile libraries across the county as well as supporting 34 community hubs.