Birmingham Law School celebrates 800th Anniversary of Magna Carta

On Thursday 18 June 2015 the High Sheriff of the West Midlands, Jonnie Turpie MBE, hosted a reception in the University’s Bramall Music Building to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta.

(Pictured: Canon Chris Pullin)

The highlight of the reception were speeches by Canon Chris Pullin (Chancellor of Hereford Cathedral and custodian of one of the 1217 editions of the Magna Carta) and Joshua Rozenberg, the country’s leading legal journalist and presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Law in Action.

Canon Pullin spoke about the origins of the Magna Carta, and the particular importance of Hereford Cathedral in its history, while Mr Rozenberg drew out its contemporary significance, with both speakers exposing some of the myths about the Magna Carta that have developed over the last 800 years.

(Pictured: Joshua Rozenberg)

The event was funded in part by Birmingham Law School and the College of Arts & Law. Graham Gee, Senior Lecturer at the Law School, was chair of the organising committee for the event. The money raised at the event will be given to the High Sheriff’s chosen charities of the Koestler Trust and the John Feeney Charitable Trust.

(Pictured: High Sheriff of the West Midlands, Jonnie Turpie MBE)

Reflecting on the event, the High Sheriff said that he was “thrilled by the generous support that Birmingham Law School has given this event. It is a superb reflection of the University’s commitment to the local community.”