In this thesis I examine the Contemporary Arts Programme at the Brontë Parsonage Museum, with a particular focus on the commissioning and installation of artwork in the period interior of the museum. Reading the work of Paula Rego, Cornelia Parker, Su Blackwell, Charlotte Cory and Catherine Bertola through the literature of heritage and dialogical aesthetics, I seek to map the unexplored liminal territory between the Brontë Parsonage Museum as 'shrine' and the contemporary art installations as 'intervention'. The purpose, through following a trajectory which has its origin in what Malinowski described as 'foreshadowed problems', has been to produce a rich account of the ways in which art and heritage practices intersect. A reflexive ethnographic stance, in which the process has developed through and in, rather than prior to, the research process, acknowledges my own position as artist, museum educator and academic, engaged with a particular site where I have used visitor comment books and semi structured interviews with artists, staff and visitors to produce this account. This stance acknowledges that writing about art is itself a creative practice and should not be seen as existing as an independent, external addition; to be so, it would remain a 'shadow' of that which it describes. Instead, it is my purpose to map the complexity of these installations as points of reference in the broader topology of heritage practice and contemporary art to demonstrate that they are not reducible to the paradigmatic arguments which are used to describe their existence within the museum space. Often characterised as 'social outreach, public relations, economic development and art tourism', I argue it is more productive to consider these 'interventions' as dialogic heritage, both in order to understand their 'affective' role in the process of interpreting the legacy of the Brontës, and to understand ways in which they address visitor experience.

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In assessing the rapid emergence of Middlesbrough as a nineteenth century ‘boom town’, Asa Briggs’ seminal Victorian Cities pointed to the centrality of the early businessmen and industrialists in the growth of ‘a new community’. The Quaker pioneers and the early ironmasters established the manufacturing basis of mid-Victorian Middlesbrough and dominated the Ironopolis’ early business associations, municipal institutions and political organisations. In contrast to the leading mid-century industrialists at the heart of urban governance in the manufacturing town, Briggs contended that the second and third generations of industrialist families failed to fill the void left behind by their retired or deceased fathers, instead abandoning the urban sphere and following the pattern of other English businessmen by choosing to live in the country rather than the town. This apparent urban ‘withdrawal’ aligned with what Wiener has considered a ‘decline in the industrial spirit’ amidst the adoption of a gentrified lifestyle, has been assumed rather than proven, with little exploration of the spatial dynamics of the industrial elites’ interactions with urban space.2 This thesis challenges the extent of elite ‘withdrawal’ by assessing wider spheres of urban governance hitherto underexplored, contributing an improved understanding of the wider social dynamic of urban life and industrial elites with emphasise on challenging the extent of declining urban engagement. Drawing upon newly accessible archival evidence and focusing on late nineteenth and early twentieth century Middlesbrough as a case study, it is contended that this period, most closely associated with declining urban engagement, was instead one of realignment and reconfiguration of urban authority and industrialist participation. By exploring the composition and makeup of Middlesbrough’s charitable, commercial, civic and cultural life during this period, it will be shown how country house-residing elites continued to be engaged with the industrial centre and played an important role by establishing new infrastructure, institutions and organisations. Moreover, through exploring the hitherto underexplored semi-private realm of Middlesbrough’s steel magnates beyond the town in their country estates and the surrounding villages of the North Yorkshire countryside, it is argued the country house and rural sphere served as arenas for extending interactions with urban interests spanning business, associational, cultural and philanthropic activity.

This is a social and cultural study of preaching in the post-Reformation period, approached through the themes of space, identity and affectivity. Firstly, it reveals a high level of material investment in the spaces for preaching and shows how this expressed a reformed conceptualisation of sacred space and time. Secondly, lay support for preaching is investigated as a social institution and this is contrasted with a case study of conflict caused by preaching. This reveals how preaching could foster both broad and narrow varieties of godly identity, and how these interacted with one another and a sense of local identity and community. Thirdly, sermons delivered in the Pennine area are examined to show how affective responses were encouraged in hearers. By studying preaching in these ways, new light is shed onto the experience of religion at the parish level. It is argued that a wide crosssection of the population supported the preaching of the Word of God in some way and willingly participated in sermon-centred piety. The boundary between a ‘the godly’ and others is seen to be permeable, fluid and plural, and religious conflict explained by contest over the positioning of this boundary. It is proposed that attending a sermon could be an affective experience. The ‘plain’, didactic sermons delivered in the Pennine parishes contained imagery and sensory language, with attention brought onto the body, sickness and healing. Furthermore, the divine presence in worship was located in the unfolded Word, leading to the possibility of a numinous experience during the sacred time of preaching. Finally, some answers are provided to the long-standing conundrum of how preaching ministers were able to fulfil their pastoral roles and maintain the parish as a unit, while at the same time admonishing their hearers, preaching predestination and nurturing the more religiously committed of their flock. It is proposed that this balancing act was less of a feat when the broader appeal of preaching-centred worship, as revealed in this study, is considered. Preachingcentred worship offered the opportunity for pious material expression, social participation and interaction, and contained affective aspects that could be appreciated at various levels.

This is a study of a local society and its interaction with central government observed through routine administrative systems. Although Northumberland has been the focus of detailed investigation during the late middle ages, a gap in scholarship remains for much of the first half of the fifteenth century. As England’s most northerly county, work on the relationship between provincial society, peripheries of the realm and the crown is critical to this study. This research tests assumptions that Northumberland was feudal, lawless, distant and difficult for the crown to administer. The research consists of two parts: the first is an evaluation of social structure; the second explores the administrative machine. It opens with a survey of feudal tenure. Chapter two examines the wealth of resident landholders. Chapter three outlines the genealogies of landed society and their relationship to one another as a ‘county community’. Chapter four expands on family connections to incorporate the bond of spiritual kinship. Chapter five charts the scope of social networks disclosed though the management of property, personal affairs and dispute. Chapter six considers the inquisitions post mortem (IPM) process and the impact of distance. Chapter seven discusses jurors and their place in county society. Original contributions to knowledge are made in a number of areas. The theme of spiritual kinship has not been developed in any county study of this period. Additional information concerning the county return for the 1435 subsidy on land is provided, which has previously been overlooked. The location of a copy of the escheator’s oath created in response to a statute of 1429, which has not been captured in recent studies, resolves the current ambiguity concerning the statutory requirement of an indented inquisition return.

This thesis looks at a period of Northumbrian history when the king was a part Irish, Iona trained scholar. Some have suggested that Aldfrith was assisted to the kingship by the northern victors of the battle of Nechtansmere. It examines processes in the late seventh century to try to identify changes that might have happened during the reign of this king. The study begins with a wide overview of previous research to establish a basis from which to look for processes and change and also examines the sources available to us, written and archaeological. It then looks at the kingdoms to the north and west and at Aldfrith and the period of his reign. The suggestion is made that Aldfrith acted, with the Church, to cult saints that were Northumbrian and Romanist, as opposed to other options that might have been available. It proposes that the Northumbrians rejected opportunities to develop links with the north and west that may have been open to them. The following chapters then examine processes underway in Northumbria in three general areas; in the use of power, in society, and in the economy. It concludes that although many processes continued as before, these sped up and in certain areas such as the production of coins, and the consequential development of trade, it was a period of innovation. There is no evidence of a focus to the north and west during Aldfrith's reign and this has implications for how Aldfrith got to the throne, suggesting that it was with the support of the Northumbrian elite and not through the military strength of the Dál Riata or the Picts. The evidence is that Northumbria increasingly looked south for its influences and is prepared to absorb and implement processes and approaches from southern England, Gaul and Rome.