Fun in London

ast Friday and Saturday, Tim, Hansang and I had the pleasure of attending the British Academy's conference on "The Reception of Continental Reformation in Britain and Ireland", in London.

The event was well-attended (50+) and featured talks from several established figures from the field of early modern history, including Tom Freeman, the director of the John Foxe Project at the University of Sheffield, Luther and Owen expert, Carl Trueman, and the titan of modern puritan research, Patrick Collinson. It was ably organized by Cambridge research fellow, Polly Ha.

One of the conference's chief purposes was to encourage dialogue between scholars of the Reformation and post-Reformation period focused on Britain (mainly England) and those with interests in Irish, Scottish and Continental European history. Many are now realizing the need for more nuanced accounts of early modern religious history, which acknowledge the comprehensive interaction between British and Continental movements. Most of the papers read were demonstrations of such a method. Dr Collinson opened the talks, commending the kind of scholarship the project envisaged.

The three of us flew down Friday morning and arrived just in time to get registered and take a quick look around the posh baroque/Victorian interior of the conference facility (10 Carlton House Terrace, about a block from Piccadilly Circus) before things began.

There were seven addresses on Friday, ten on Saturday. To use an old cliche, taking it all in was like sipping water from a fire hydrant.

It was a thrill to meet and converse with scholars whose essays and books we had been consulting for our doctoral research. One of the highlights of our trip was a brief chat with Carl Trueman. Watch this space -- an exclusive Conventicle interview with Trueman is in the works!

I will spare readers any detailed account of the papers delivered, as I assume they'll be consolidated and published before long. When that happens, we will promptly make it known here.

Last and least, we'd like to commend the following to our readers: easyJet, the Arran House Hotel (B&B), and the Frankie & Benny's New York Italian Restaurant at the London Stansted Airport.