These talks by Rebecca and Andrew are to celebrate and illustrate the completion of their book, St Giles-in-the Fields: the History of a London Parish. The book originated in the aspiration of Alan Carr, the last Rector of St Giles, to understand his parish’s rich, remarkably varied but unsung history in greater depth. Despite its fine Georgian church and despite the Camden History Society’s excellent Streets of St Giles (first published in 2000; 2nd ed. 2012), the district is indeed seldom appreciated as a special place with its own profile and social legacy, distinct from neighbouring Bloomsbury, Covent Garden or Soho. To draw that out has been the authors' aim. Their talks will pick out just some of the book’s many themes, ranging from the short seventeenth-century heyday of St Giles, the notoriety of its Victorian slums and their clearances, to the district’s industrial profile as a centre for printing, brewing and ironworking, and hence to what they call the ‘partial renaissance’ of today. CHS also welcomes St Giles congregation members to this event.

For members of CHS and the  St Giles congregation unable to attend in person, we hope to live stream this talk.

Admission: Free to members of CHS and the  St Giles congregation. Non-members of either are welcome (£2 at the door).