Talks Archive
Programme 2010 - 2011
Katherine Swynford
by Alison Weir
Date: Saturday 28 September 2024
Alison is a highly successful historical novelist and historian and will discuss her biography of Katherine, mistress of John of Gaunt
Elizabethan Stained Glass at Montecute
by Peter Hill
Date: Saturday 12 October 2024
Peter will discuss his recent research into the coats of arms, marriages and friends and neighbours of the Phelps family.
HMS Trincomalee
by Richard Warren
Date: Saturday 26 October 2024
Richard was actively involved throughout the transformation of HMS TRINCOMALEE from a hulk to an exhibit of international importance.
Chaucer’s First Success: Being Tactful with the Duke
by Tom Shippey
Date: Saturday 9 November 2024
Chaucer’s first poem we know of is a long elegy for Blanche, Duchess of Lancaster. Its content posed certain problems, which Chaucer neatly and revealingly solved, before going on to a profitable career as poet, civil servant, and royal secret agent.
Benjamin Jesty
by Patrick Pead
Date: Saturday 23 November 2024
The lecture will look at the life and achievements of Dorset's vaccination pioneer, Benjamin Jesty. He was the world's first vaccinator against Smallpox in 1774.
The Victorian Music Hall and its stars
by Peter Street
Date: Saturday 7 December 2024
An outline history of the emergence and development of the Music Hall in the 19th century, together with some of the stars and songs made famous at this time.
A History of the Quakers in Industry, with special reference to the West Country
by Dr M. Atkinson
Date: Saturday 13 January 2024
The advantages and disadvantages of being a Quaker in an industrial context; it will include a scan of the national picture and then home in on Quaker industry in the South West.
Kingston Lacy. An Undiscovered History
by David Smith
Date: Saturday 27 January 2024
The talk unveils the hidden archaeology and fascinating history of the Estate and its peoples over the many centuries from the Neolithic, through to its purchase by Sir John Bankes in 1635.
The Greek Achievement
by Charles Freeman
Date: Saturday 10 February 2024
The achievements of the ancient Greeks form the cornerstone of modern Western civilisation. The entire course of ancient Greek history is traced across thousands of years, celebrating the incredible range of Greek achievement.
Coffee houses and Pleasure Gardens in the 18th century
by Geraldine Beare
Date: Saturday 24 February 2024
Coffee houses were a male preserve, whilst pleasure gardens were open to all and provided entertainment as diverse as classical concerts, tight-rope-walking, dancing and dining as well as the more dubious delights of dalliance and prostitution
Christopher Wren
by Adrian Tinniswood
Date: Sunday 10 March 2024
Adrian Tinniswood shows us the man behind the legend and makes it clear just why Wren remains a cultural icon both as a creation and a creator of the world he lived in.
