The Magna Carta Barons Project

The Magna Carta Barons will be a fully illustrated book describing all twenty-four Magna Carta barons and the Mayor of London. It will be based on Professor Nigel Saul’s biographies of the barons used on the twenty-two exhibition banners created to accompany the facsimile copy of Magna Carta each baronial town and village received in 2015. The format of the book will be A4 to maximise the impact of highly illustrated double-page spreads incorporating images about the local baron.

The book will be a physical record describing the role of each baron locally and nationally, closely linked to the displays of the facsimiles. Although the banners were a vital component of the exhibitions, visitors cannot be expected to absorb much text during a brief visit, nor can the displays illustrate the role of the local baron as part of the wider group of rebel barons leading up to and beyond Runnymede. Members of the public purchasing the book at an exhibition, through a bookshop, or online will be able to read it at home, where it will also be seen and maybe read by other members of their families, thus extending its readership beyond the number printed.

The income derived from sales of the book will be ring-fenced to fund new Magna Carta legacy projects locally from 2016 onwards. These projects might take the form of sponsoring annual talks or events, opening up heritage walks, printing educational leaflets for schools or any other activity raising local awareness about Magna Carta and the barons after the 800th anniversary has long passed.

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Lord Bingham

Master of the Rolls (1992-1996)

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