A series of talks on anthropology and psychiatry will be held in St Albans to raise money to restore the graves of an 18th-century poet and his family.
Poet and doctor Nathaniel Cotton was a pioneer in mental health treatment.
The six-part series of talks, organised by Conservation 50 and St Peter's Church, will delve into cultural constructs of mental illness.
The first talk is at 7pm on Thursday, February 27, at The Octagon, St Peter's Church, and donations of approximately £10 per talk are welcome.
Cotton established a sympathetic asylum, the 'Collegium Insanorum', on the corner of what is now College Street and Lower Dagnall Street, which is now marked with a blue plaque.
Records show he was married twice, first to Anne Pembroke and then to Hannah Everett after Pembroke's death.
Cotton died in St Albans on August 2, 1788, and was laid to rest in St Peter’s Churchyard, alongside Anne and Hannah.
The first talk will be given by Tim Boatswain, professor of anthropology and history and Chair of Conservation 50.
The second talk will be by Dr Florian Alexander Ruths, a consultant psychiatrist and accredited trainer, supervisor, and practitioner of cognitive behaviour therapies with the British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies.
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