Bilston's links to Mount Everest and the abominable snowman are revealed in one of a series of fascinating talks on different aspects of local history taking place in October. The City of Wolverhampton Council's Arts and Museums Service organises regular talks on a wide variety of historical subjects, including five in October.
They begin with historian and author Dr Jacqueline Riding talking about one of Wolverhampton Art Gallery’s most important paintings, Joseph Highmore’s The Family of Elred Lancelot Lee. It takes place at the gallery on Friday 2 October from 2pm-3pm.
On Tuesday 6 October, The Geological Heartland: Global Recognition for the Black Country? sees local geologist Graham Worton reveal more about the bid to make the Black Country an internationally-recognised Geopark. It takes place at Bantock House Museum's Tractor Shed from 12.30pm-1.30pm.
In his talk From Windrush to Grime: The Rise of the Black Community in Wolverhampton, cultural historian Patrick Vernon OBE gives an overview of the legacy and contribution of the local Caribbean population. It takes place at Wolverhampton Art Gallery on Saturday 10 October from 2pm–3pm.
On Wednesday 14 October, there is the chance to find out about Bilston, Everest and the Abominable Snowman. Community historian Greig Campbell will be talking about the adventures of former Bilston MP Charles Howard-Bury, a world renowned botanist and explorer who was one of the first Western explorers to traverse what is now Eurasia.
He led the 1921 British Mount Everest reconnaissance expedition, mapping out routes which were later to be used to conquer the peak, a trip which also led to the coining of the term ‘abominable snowman’.
The talk takes place at Wolverhampton Archives and Local Studies on Wednesday 14 October from 5pm–6pm.
The final talk of the month takes place on Friday 16 October, when historical novelist Anne-Marie Vukelic talks about Dickens’ local connections in Dickens and Wolverhampton: The West Midlands and the First Literary Superstar. It will be held at Wolverhampton Art Gallery from 2pm–3pm.
