Winchester Skeptics: Daily Life in Georgian England

This is an in-person talk hosted by the Winchester Skeptics in the Pub (SitP). Basingstoke Science Cafe members are invited to attend these regular monthly talks at the Winchester Club in Winchester. The Hampshire Skeptics Society is a non-profit organisation for the promotion of science, reason and critical thinking.

Winchester SitP meetings are open to all regardless of beliefs and each month’s talk will be followed up with a challenging Q&A session.

MORE DETAILS ABOUT WINCHESTER SKEPTICS CAN BE FOUND ON THEIR WEB SITE.

https://www.hampshireskeptics.org/

The doors open at 7.00pm, and the talk will begin at 7.30pm.

Talks are usually (December is always an exception) on the 4th Wednesday of every month, at 7:00 for 7:30, at The Winchester Club in Winchester. Please take a look at the FAQs for more info.

Admission is £5 which also gives you an entry in the book raffle. We take cash and major cards (cards preferred).

SUMMARY
Life in 18th-century England is often imagined as static, parochial and grim – a world of unquestioned hierarchies, limited diets and little social movement. But how much of that picture is grounded in evidence, and how much is modern myth-making?

This talk examines Georgian daily life through an unusually rich primary source: the decades-long diary of James Woodforde, a Winchester-educated country parson who recorded, in meticulous detail, what he ate and drank, how he travelled, what he spent, who he encountered, and how he practised charity.

Taking a sceptical, evidence-led approach, we use Woodforde’s own data to test common assumptions about the period. The results reveal a society far more mobile, socially nuanced and materially varied than popular history suggests – and expose how easily narratives harden when we fail to return to the sources.

Wry, occasionally eyebrow-raising, and grounded firmly in contemporary records, this is Georgian England not as we imagine it, but as it can be observed.

STANDARD STUFF
The event is in two parts – the talk and then a Q&A after the interval. We encourage you to support the venue by indulging in the available drinks before and during the event.

You are also welcome to join us for a drink in the bar after the event.

SKEPTICS IN THE PUB ONLINE
SitP Online: Every 4th Thursday of each month at 7:00 pm UK time on Twitch.