Exhibition: 'Dinner with a Duke' at the Harley Gallery, Welbeck Abbey

'Dinner with a Duke - Decoding food and drink at Welbeck 1690 - 1910' is an intriguing exhibition showing at the Harley Gallery, Welbeck Abbey until February 2012.

The exhibition "focuses on 400 years of entertaining at Welbeck, looking at the lavish and fashionable tableware, entertaining as social duty, and the specialist departments that included hothouses, bakehouse, poultry house, dairy, fruit and vegetable gardens along with stories of servants eating and drinking too much while the family was away."

There is also an accompanying programme of talks.

More information is available on the Harley Gallery website.

Besthorpe Quarry excavations

There will be an Open Day at Besthorpe Quarry on Sunday 24 July with site tours and a finds display as part of the CBA's Festival of British Archaeology (though I can't find it listed on their website!).

Later in the summer, Nottingham County Council's Community Archaeologists will be running further open days and a community dig at the Mons Pool part of the site.

Further information and contact details are available on the Nottinghamshire County Council website. A press release on the work done here by Salford University's Centre for Applied Archaeology has been published on the Lafarge website.

CBA Festival of British Archaeology 2011: 16th - 31st July.

The Council for British Archaeology is holding another national Festival of British Archaeology next month.

The Festival "showcases the very best of British archaeology, by presenting hundreds of special events organised and held by museums, local societies, national and countryside parks, universities, and heritage organisations across the UK" and offers "everyone the opportunity to learn about their local heritage, to see archaeology in action, and to get involved."

Events in Nottinghamshire include:

• Moor Pond Wood Project in Papplewick (Excavation and exploration of an 18th-century water system designed to serve cotton mills along the River Leen).
• A display at Mansfield Museum of 12th century pottery found last year in Skegby
• Iron Age roundhouse open day (Calverton)
• Pageant at King John's Palace, Kings Clipstone (includes display of some of the results of Time Team's excavation a couple of months ago)
• Guided walks to the Queen's Sconce, an English Civil War defensive work south of Newark
• A display by Priories Historical Society at Worksop Library of finds from recent archaeological work and Nottinghamshire/South Yorkshire local history
•  Behind-the-scenes tours of Nottingham City Museums & Galleries
• Living history and family-oriented activities with Nottinghamshire County Council's Community Archaeologists at Riverside Park, Newark

Further information is available on the CBA Festival of Archaeology website.

The Manorial Documents Register now online

National Archives have launched an online version of their Manorial Documents Register, which identifies the nature and location of manorial archives. The Register includes "court rolls, surveys, maps, terriers, documents and all other documents relating to the boundaries, franchises, wastes, customs or courts of a manor" and Nottinghamshire is one of the counties included.

• The Manorial Documents Register

Excavating Southwell's Roman past

Staff and students from Nottingham University's Department of Archaeology have been digging 1 square metre test pits in Southwell to try and find out more about the development of the Roman settlement that underlies the present town.

A large number of Roman and Anglo-Saxon finds have been discovered during excavations in 25 gardens in Southwell.

• Video on BBC Nottingham website