EC Papers September 2017

All courses start at 11am. There is a break for a lunch hour at 12.30; and the sessions conclude at 2.40pm.

Gerard Winstanley & the Diggers

Quorn Grange, Sunday 24th September 2017 Against the background of the English Civil War, a spontaneous movement known as the ‘Diggers’ attempted to refashion the land as ‘a common treasury’ to be shared, and enjoyed by all: and to be owned by none. The sheer vision and idealism of the Diggers, through their attempts to create a truly egalitarian community and seizure of uncultivated land, stand as the well-spring of both the modern Socialist and ecological movements. This day-school, led by Dr. John Callow of the GFTU, explores the impact and legacy of that movement, and of the life and work of its leader, Gerard Winstanley, through contemporary documents, song and film. Quorn Grange, Sunday 29th October 2017 When we think of the Tudor period, we tend to think of Kings, Queens and court politics. The people have only ‘walk-on parts’. But, here they are centre stage as Doug Nicolls of the GFTU brings to life the revolts of 1549, which swept through Devon and Cornwall, targeting the gentry and new enclosures of common land, and threatened to topple Edward VI from his throne. Led by Roger Kett, the rebellion created a bridge between the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 and the later agitation of the Levellers and Diggers. In its own terms, it represented some of the first demands for a more egalitarian and democratic society. The Peasant Revolts of 1549

“England is not a free people, till the poor that have no land have free allowance to dig and labour the commons...”