News Archive

Museum of English Rural Life Inaugural Lecture – University of Reading

On Thursday 21 September 2006, Sir Max Hastings, president of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) and former editor of the Daily Telegraph and the Evening Standard, will give a lecture to mark the 80th anniversary of the campaign. He will assess the contribution the CPRE has made to English rural life over the last 80 years, discuss its role in the wider environment movement and look at the challenges facing rural England now and in the future. This is an inaugural lecture for the Museum of English Rural Life, celebrating the Museum's move to its new home on the University of Reading's London Road site. The museum holds the CPRE's archive and is currently displaying some fascinating items to accompany the talk. The afternoon will commence from 3:00pm when tea will be served at the Museum of English Rural Life, which is currently hosting an exhibition, sponsored by Thames Water, on CPRE's history. The lecture will then begin at 4:00pm in the University of Reading's Great Hall situated on the London Road campus. Fleet Street columnist Sir Max has covered many conflicts as a war correspondent, including the Falklands War of 1982, and has written several books on military history. He has always been a passionate lover of the countryside and lives in West Berkshire. CPRE was founded in 1926 and campaigned long and hard for many of the policies which protect England's beautiful and diverse countryside – including National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Green Belts and the modern town and country planning system. Today it is one of the country's most established and best known environmental protection charities and campaigning groups, with a national office in London, a branch in every county and some 60,000 members and supporters. Admission: Free tickets for the lecture and tea can be obtained by emailing j.audain@reading.ac.uk or calling her on 0118 378 8660. Ends Images available on request For media enquiries concerning the lecture and MERL, please contact: James Barr Communications Assistant, University of Reading T: 0118 378 7115/7388 E: j.w.barr@reading.ac.uk Or Sue Rayner Head of Communications, University of Reading T: 0118 378 8005 E: s.j.rayner@reading.ac.uk For media enquiries concerning CPRE, please contact: Nicola Frank Press Officer, CPRE T: 020 7981 2800/2819 E: nicolaf@cpre.org.uk