Roy Lawson – Helping England’s Ancient Past Come Alive in the Present

I work freelance in schools, museums and archaeological sites around the North of England, doing Living History, Hands-On Workshops, object handling, heritage education, interpretation, Roman Army training…in fact…anything for a denarii. I’m a member of The Deja Crew and helped run Touching the Wall. In the past I’ve been a Learning Officer in Museums and a Community and Education Advisor for the Hadrian’s Wall World Heritage Site.

I want to make the past, both history and prehistory, more exciting, relevant and ‘hands-on’. It’s a fun place with some great stories, I want to share these with everyone.

I work with schools, museums, community groups, either at their place or outdoors in the surrounding landscape. I try to put objects back in context, helping people learn about the past. I use objects, both original and replica, costume, crafts and role play, in other words – living history.

More about what I do and why

I aim to provide a 'bridge' between places and objects from the past with the people in the present. I aim not to instruct, but to provoke (Tilden). I am looking to provide experiences for all, experiences that create a reaction from those taking part. I like to work from what people already know and move the experience to somewhere new.

With school groups, this means developing experiences for children of all ages that relate what I do with the UK's various National Curricula. I fit these workshops to what the schools need and add as much movement and variety as I can. I want to spark the children's curiosity and encourage them to ask questions. Often, I take the role of veteran soldier who will train new recruits of the Roman Army, or an Elder who will help the children develop knowledge and skills they would need if they lived in the past.

For adults and families this experience may take the form of a tour or a workshop, where they might experience the skills needed by archaeologists or people from the past.

Often I am asked to run drop-in sessions as part of larger events like Northumberland County Show or most recently at the Tyne Valley Community Rail Partnerships display at Kings Cross Railway Station in London, encouraging people to visit Hadrian's Wall.

: Wherever possible I like to work outdoors, often using replicas. This is a workshop at Housesteads Roman Fort on Hadrian’s Wall, the children are experiencing the equipment of different Roman soldiers.

: Outside again, this time training school children as Roman Soldiers on the site of their local fort EPIACUM near Alston in Cumbria.

: The Tullie House museum in Carlisle opened a new Frontiers Gallery about Hadrian’s Wall, The Deja Crew was asked to run workshops for all ages. We even took to the streets!

: Presenting at the Northumberland County Show. It’s a large agricultural show, that’s ideal to showcase the nearby World Heritage Site of Hadrian’s Wall, and what the Romans did for us!

: The Tyne Valley Community Rail Partnership works together to encourage people to use the local railway. Here, we went to Kings Cross in London to extol the virtues of visiting on the train.