Talks Archive
Claretta Petacci and Benito Mussolini: a Fascist love story
by Professor Richard Bosworth
Date: Thursday 21 March 2024
A review of what Mussolini’s ‘last lover’ and her extensive diary reveal of life, family, Catholicism and politics in the ‘Italian dictatorship’The Impact of Famine & Plague in the 14th-Century West Country: Evidence from the Vale of Taunton Deane
by Dr Christopher Thornton, FSA, FRHistS
Date: Thursday 7 March 2024
The ‘Great Famine’ (c.1315) and the ‘Black Death’ (c.1348) contributed to a fundamental historical turning point: how can we measure the impact on population levels of these two disasters?
“The Bird in the Cage”: Sir Walter Ralegh and Henry, Prince of Wales
by Professor Tim Wilks
Date: Wednesday 21 February 2024
An illustrated talk on the dangerous relationship between the condemned and imprisoned Elizabethan hero and the young Stuart heir.William Sleeman and the East India Company
by Miranda Carter
Date: Wednesday 7 February 2024
Born in Stratton, Cornwall in 1779, Sleeman is known as the army officer and civil servant who suppressed the Thugs uprisings in India.
The Titanic: dispelling the myths
by Tim Maltin
Date: Wednesday 10 January 2024
The history of the Titanic and the tragic events of 15th April 1912, dispelling a number of myths along the way.Wilton House - The Russian Connection
by Ros Liddington
Date: Friday 22 March 2024
The Russian Connection: Sometimes a drop of foreign blood has been shown to make a difference!Royal Saxony
by Frank Pattison
Date: Friday 8 March 2024
Journey through the history of Saxony from the 5th Century to the present.The Plague 2000BC to 2000AD
by Dr. Tim Mason
Date: Thursday 22 February 2024
Plague: The very word is inclined to strike fear into the heart but what is it, where did it come from and is it still about?The Dorset Regiment
by Christopher Copson
Date: Thursday 8 February 2024
The history of the Dorset Regiment from the eighteenth to the twentieth century, including the significance of the First World WarThe Unification of Italy 1871
by Professor David Laven
Date: Thursday 25 January 2024
New look at the Unification of Italy and its inherent problemsKing Canute (Cnut)
by Dr Ken Lawson
Date: Thursday 11 January 2024
Denmark, England and the Conquest of 1016
Lady Margaret Beaufort, the 'Red Queen'
by Dr Mark Nicholls
Date: Saturday 23 March 2024
Margaret Beaufort (1443-1509), unofficial ‘Queen Mother' for her son Henry VII, was an eminent background figure in the Wars of the Roses and a great educational benefactress to Cambridge and Wimborne.
Tudor Women in Foxe’s Book of Martyrs
by Dr Roberta Anderson
Date: Saturday 9 March 2024
What John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs tells us about commemorating religious persecution under Mary I and Tudor women and religion
Russian Apocalypse: the tragedy of the last Romanovs
by Peter Warwick
Date: Friday 23 February 2024
The momentous events in Russia 100 years ago are retold by one of our most popular speakers
Ernest Bevin: from Devon Farm Boy to Foreign Secretary
by Professor Andrew Thorpe
Date: Friday 9 February 2024
From humble south-west origins, Ernest Bevin rose to become a minister in Churchill’s war cabinet and Labour Foreign Secretary 1945-51
Better than Church: the history of pubs and brewing in Sherborne
by Barry Brock
Date: Friday 26 January 2024
This illustrated talk traces a vital theme in the economic and social history of our town.
The First World War and the Church of England in Oxfordshire
by Dr Mark Smith
Date: Friday 12 January 2024
A new interpretation of the local impact of war on the Church as seen through the eyes of the clergy
The Earls of Pembroke and the Ladies Who Made a Difference!
by Ros Liddington
Date: Sunday 31 March 2024
The ladies are so often the movers and shakers in aristocratic families. Starting with Ann Parr, wife of the first Earl of Pembroke and sister of Catherine Parr, a steady succession of wives and daughters influenced the history of the family and its home in many different ways.
History in Our Town’s Schools
by Six Students
Date: Sunday 17 March 2024
In a repeat of a successful event first held two years ago, sixth formers from our local senior schools will speak about their favourite historical personalities and themes.
A Chronicle of Country Life – the Photographs of James Ravilious
by Robin Ravilious
Date: Sunday 3 March 2024
The widow of artist James Ravilious shares with us her husband’s legacy of exquisite photographs of North Devon farming communities in the 1960s and 1970s. Taken to preserve a vanishing world, these are poignant and memorable images.
Henry III and the Building of Westminster Abbey
by Professor David Carpenter
Date: Sunday 18 February 2024
The leading authority on Henry III explains in this illustrated talk why the art-loving king rebuilt Westminster in such spectacular style as a coronation church and royal mausoleum.
Magna Carta
by Professor Nicholas Vincent
Date: Sunday 4 February 2024
The ‘Great Charter of Liberties’ sealed by King John at Runnymede in 1215 is seen as laying the foundations of British democracy. What led to this concession by John and why did a medieval political crisis plant the seeds of today’s freedoms?
Sherborne and the First World War
by Patrick Francis
Date: Sunday 21 January 2024
The author of Vivat Shirburnia traces the surprisingly wide-ranging, often tragic, impact of the Great War on the local communities of Sherborne Town and Sherborne School.
Sir Walter Raleigh
by Dr Mark Nicholls
Date: Tuesday 19 March 2024
The famous Elizabethan (and resident of Sherborne) is put under the spotlight of modern research
Ramsay MacDonald: Traitor or Hero?
by Professor Andrew Thorpe
Date: Friday 15 March 2024
‘Ramsay Mac’ led Labour into its first Governments (1924 & 1929-31) but also to the disastrous 1931 split. He then headed the National Government (1931-5). Can he be forgiven by History?
Lady of the Palms and Paddy Fields: The life and work of Diana Ruth Wilson (1886-1969)
by Elizabeth Bletsoe
Date: Thursday 15 February 2024
A Sherborne Watercolourist in early 20th century, who made remarkable botanical drawings in India as a pioneer scientist and conservationist.
Women in the RNLI
by Sue Hennessy
Date: Monday 5 February 2024
The hitherto unknown story of the heroic role of women in saving lives at sea
Religion in 18th century England
by Dr Colin Haydon
Date: Monday 22 January 2024
A key century of change was shaped by the Church of England, developments in Roman Catholicism and Non-conformity and the continuing strength of popular superstition and magic
Cecil Beaton: My Fashionable Life
by Dr Ben Wild
Date: Thursday 11 January 2024
Beaton's personal style and legacy to 20th century male fashion are analysed in this pioneering talk by a member of the History Department of Sherborne School
'Murder in the Balkans' - marking the hundredth anniversary of the start of the First World War.
by Tim Butcher
Date: Wednesday 20 March 2024
The talk will focus on the assassination of the Hapsburg Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand and the person who committed it. It will also look at the Balkan background.
The Battle of Lewes (1264)
by David Carpenter
Date: Wednesday 6 March 2024
What does Lewes, which saw the defeat of Henry III, tell us about aristocratic behaviour and political ideas in England in the High Middle Ages?
Skirt dancing, Can-.Can and the invention of "Gay Paree" - 1840-1914
by Jonathan Conlin
Date: Tuesday 20 February 2024
A closer look at the history of the "French national dance" reveals a story of cross-Channel exchange and London's forgotten contribution to the invention of "Gay Paree".
Let no one forget. Let nothing be forgotten
by Peter Warwick
Date: Tuesday 6 February 2024
Over 1.3 million civilians starved to death in Leningrad between 1941 and 1943. The lecture uncovers the facts of this little-known tragedy and proposes that the people prevailed because of the strength of Russian Orthodoxy.
Godfrey Place VC – An Exceptional Naval Officer
by Paul Watkins
Date: Tuesday 23 January 2024
Lieutenant Godfrey Place was in command of the Midget Submarine X7 when it attacked the German Battleship Tirpitz in September 1943 – ‘one of the most audacious and gallant acts in the annals of the Royal Navy’.
Children of the Holocaust
by Susan Francis
Date: Tuesday 9 January 2024
The talk will give a brief survey of the ways in which childrens’ lives were affected - drawing on some individual stories to illustrate this.
The search for the Durotriges – Dorset and the West Country in the Late Iron Age
by Martin Papworth
Date: Thursday 21 March 2024
Who were these people, who, 2000 years ago, built great hillforts like Maiden Castle and Badbury Rings? How did they respond to the Roman Conquest and how did they adapt to Roman occupation? Were the Durotriges a united tribe or a series of differing communities that gradually banded together to form a confederacy?
The Exiled Collector
by Anne Sebba
Date: Thursday 7 March 2024
In her lecture Anne Sebba, biographer of William Bankes : 'the Exiled Collector’, will talk about William as a serious collector of Ancient Egyptian artefacts and Spanish paintings as well as some fine - and some less fine - Italian decorative art. She will also discuss the high price he paid for the Victorian morality which judged him.
The Great Stink
by Dr Stephen Halliday
Date: Wednesday 21 February 2024
In the sweltering summer of 1858 the Great Stink of sewage from the polluted Thames drove MPs from the Chamber of the House of Commons. Parliament had to act - drastic measures were required to clean the Thames and improve London's primitive sewage system. The engineer entrusted with this task was Sir Joseph Bazalgette
Plant hunters and pioneers
by Caradoc Doy
Date: Wednesday 7 February 2024
The Story of the Veitch Nurseries of Exeter & Chelsea. They were the first commercial nursery in Britain to sponsor their own plant collectors. This illustrated talk highlights some of the well-known and interesting plants introduced by this important firm
The Representation of the People Act (1918) and the coming of Democracy to Britain
by Professor Andrew Thorpe
Date: Wednesday 24 January 2024
The landmark '1918 Representation of the People Act' brought mass democracy to Britain for the first time. This lecture will explain why this Act was passed in 1918 and will also set it into the longer-run context of Parliamentary Reform Acts from 1832 onwards.
Lady Butler: Battles Artist
by Felicity Herring
Date: Wednesday 10 January 2024
In 1874, this genteel Victorian Lady sent a painting of the Crimean War to the Royal Academy where it was an outstanding success. From then on she almost exclusively painted battle scenes from Waterloo to Afghanistan and WW1
Berlin and the Fall of The Wall - Days That Changed The World - a Personal Reflection
by Major General Sir Robert Corbett
Date: Friday 22 March 2024
General Corbett was the twenty-first, and last, British Commandant in Berlin at the time of the fall of the Wall and the collapse of Communism. As the person with the ultimate legislative and executive responsibility in the British Sector of the divided City - epicentre of change in 1989-90 - he is able to provide a unique insight into many of the extraordinary events that occurred during this pivotal moment in history.
‘My God this is an awful place’
by Peter Warwick
Date: Friday 8 March 2024
March 2012 is the 100th anniversary of the death of Captain Robert Falcon Scott Royal Navy and this lecture is the heroic story of his fatal Terra Nova expedition to the South Pole. Peter assesses Scott’s leadership abilities and challenge the popular view that he was a bungler.
Understanding the Mystical Dimensions of Islam
by Professor Ian Nathan
Date: Friday 23 February 2024
Islam today often gets a bad press, especially in the Western media. Professor Netton aims to refute popular misconceptions and explore the tolerant and peace-loving aspect of Islam by looking at Sufism which is Islamic Mysticism. Comparisons will be made with Western Christian mystical traditions with particular reference to Teresa of Avila, Juan de la Cruz and Therese of Lisieux.
Anthony and Cleopatra
by Dr Adrian Goldsworthy
Date: Friday 9 February 2024
Antony and Cleopatra are famous, celebrated by Shakespeare, and more recently depicted by Burton and Taylor. How do we get to the truth, and understand the real people behind the legends?
Heroic Hearts: the British Army's victory in Afghanistan in 1880
by Rodney Atwood
Date: Friday 26 January 2024
The lecture describes the role of Frederick (Bob) Roberts in the 2nd Afghan War, culminating in his celebrated 300 mile march from Kabul to Kandahar with 10,000 picked British and Indian soldiers, to defeat the Afghan Army of Ayub Khan.
A Glimpse of Byzantium
by Patrick Moule
Date: Friday 12 January 2024
Byzantium – the longest continuous empire the world has ever seen. This talk will provide a few glimpses of Byzantium’s rich and varied history and of its heroic end.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
Frome Arrives in Sherborne – the coming of the railway in 1860
by Alec Oxford OBE
Date: Monday 18 March 2024
Alec Oxford was born in Sherborne and educated at Foster's School. He served as a Fleet Air Arm pilot '43 - '47. Qualifying in youth leadership at Bristol University, he did youth work in Sherborne and south-east London and was deputy director of National Youth Bureau from '71 - 82. Made an MBE in 1982.
Julius Caesar and the Fall of the Roman Republic
by Adrian Goldsworthy
Date: Monday 4 March 2024
Dr Adrian Goldsworthy.
Acclaimed author of 'Roman Warfare'. 'Caesar. The Life of a Colossus' and 'The Death of the Roman Superpower', Dr Goldsworthy appears regularly on TV and Radio. Formerly Assistant Professor at the University of Notre-Dame, he lectures at Birkbeck, Kings College (London), Yale and Berkeley. One of a new generation of classical scholars.
Samuel Palmer
by Professor William Vaughan
Date: Sunday 18 February 2024
William Vaughan is Professor Emeritus in History at Birkbeck College, University of London. He organised the exhibition on Samuel Palmer held at the British Museum, London and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2005-6. He is currently completing a study of Samuel Palmer’s life and career.
Paddy Ashdown’s Third Law: or why the world will never be the same again and what we should do about it
by Paddy Ashdown
Date: Sunday 4 February 2024
The Rt. Hon. Lord Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon, GCMG., KBE. (Paddy Ashdown) was a Royal Marine 1959-72, Liberal MP for Yeovil 1975-2001, Leader of the Liberal Democrats 1988-99 and High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina 2002-06. A gifted polygot, he is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and other languages
The Other Lyon: William Hector Lyon, 1868-1907
by Canon Eric Woods
Date: Sunday 21 January 2024
Eric Woods read Modern History at Magdalen College, Oxford, and later the Theology Tripos at Trinity College Cambridge. He was ordained in 1978. From 1983 to 1993 he was Vicar of Wroughton in the Bristol Diocese and a part-time lecturer in Bristol University’s Department of Theology and Religious Studies. He became Vicar of Sherborne in 1993 and a non-residentiary Canon of Salisbury Cathedral in 1998. He currently lectures on the University of Surrey’s Certificate of Higher Education in Theology course at Sarum College Salisbury
The North West Frontier in History and Today
by Jules Stewart
Date: Sunday 7 January 2024
Jules Stewart began his career as an academic, lecturing in Spanish language and literature at two U.S. universities before moving to Madrid where he spent 20 years as a journalist before joining Reuters and relocating to London. He has been a freelance reporter since 1994, specialising in finance. Recently he has produced four books on the history of the British on the North-West Frontier and Afghanistan
Sherborne’s Castles
by Dr John Goodall
Date: Wednesday 20 March 2024
The lecture will look at the architecture of the castles in Sherborne and their connection
Sex and Christianity: Getting the History Right
by Rev. Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch
Date: Wednesday 6 March 2024
Diarmaid MacCulloch tells a three-thousand-year-long story of Christians encountering sex, gender and the family, with noises off from their sacred texts.
Franklin Roosevelt, George VI and the British Royal Visit to the United States in 1939
by Professor Tony McCulloch
Date: Tuesday 20 February 2024
An examination of FDR’s role in master-minding the royal visit to the US in June 1939 and the visit’s significance for the origins of the Anglo-American ‘special relationship’.
Hero or Traitor: The Trial of Marshal Petain
by Professor Julian Jackson
Date: Tuesday 6 February 2024
The talk will examine the history of resistance and collaboration in Occupied France through the prism of the trial of Marshal Petain in 1945
The Almshouse in Britain: an Architectural History
by Matthew Saunders
Date: Tuesday 23 January 2024
The story of housing the needy in buildings of beauty and presence over the last 1,000 years
Henry VI and the Origins of the Wars of the Roses
by Dr James Ross
Date: Tuesday 9 January 2024
Henry VI, how his priorities as king led to the collapse of political society and the outbreak of the Wars of the Roses.
The Death of Nelson: The painting by A W Devis examined.
by Mr. Ian Fraser
Date: Thursday 14 March 2024
The talk will be delivered by Mr. Ian Fraser, a A surgeon who has moved on from clinical practice to teaching at the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
William Wilberforce: Myths and Reality
by Dr Mark Smith
Date: Thursday 29 February 2024
An introduction to the real William Wilberforce as revealed in his manuscript diaries and journals.
Prison for the Poor - Gainsborough House, Dorset’s old bridewell
by Barry Brock
Date: Thursday 15 February 2024
This talk tells the story of Dorset’s old bridewell, located here in Sherborne, and what happened after its closure.
Resistance to Slavery in Western Mali
by Dr Marie Rodet
Date: Thursday 1 February 2024
This presentation analyses how formerly enslaved populations in Western Mali have escaped slavery, rebuilt autonomous communities, and resisted legacies of slavery along the twentieth century.
Hardy and his world: in letters
by Professor Angelique Richardson and Dr Beth Mills
Date: Thursday 18 January 2024
The two speakers will combine to present an insight into Hardy’s world, via the reading of his correspondence.
Where history meets legend: research and presentation at Tintagel Castle, Cornwall
by Dr Susan Greaney
Date: Saturday 16 March 2024
The intriguing and intertwined stories of history and legend at Tintagel Castle, including recent research and presentation on site
The Making of the Riviera: People and Places
by Julian Halsby
Date: Saturday 2 March 2024
The Riviera became the centre for artists, writers, politicians, musicians and architects as well as the super-rich between 1918 and 1939. I examine their gilded existence
The Anglo-Saxons
by Dr Marc Morris
Date: Friday 16 February 2024
A presentation on the turbulent history of the Anglo-Saxons
Chartism and the Plug Plot Riots of 1840s
by Brent Shore
Date: Friday 2 February 2024
The topic will be discussed with reference to the research and writing of Brent’s 2019 novel “Blessed are the Meek”
Out of China: How the Chinese ended the era of Western domination
by Professor Robert Bickers
Date: Friday 26 January 2024
This talk explores Why today’s assertive and economically successful China dwells on its past: why does its history matter?
Last Supper in Pompeii: the Roman love affair with food and drink
by Professor Paul Roberts
Date: Friday 19 January 2024
Last Supper in Pompeii celebrates the Roman love affair with food and drink
Dorset and the Civil War
by Richard Warren
Date: Friday 5 January 2024
This talk explores how Dorset’s experience of the Civil War compared with other areas and connected to the wider conflict by taking a broadly thematic approach.
‘Cherry’ Ingram—The Englishman Who Saved Japan’s Blossoms
by Naoko Abe
Date: Sunday 17 March 2024
The story of the eccentric Edwardian who introduced cherry blossoms to the West and created new varieties
From Nowhere to Normandy
by Richard Folkes OBE
Date: Sunday 3 March 2024
The extraordinary creation of the British assault glider-borne force in only three years during WWII, culminating in the coup de main at Pegasus Bridge on D-Day.
Sugar
by Professor James Walvin
Date: Saturday 17 February 2024
How was sugar transformed from a luxury, to a necessity, then, more recently, to a global health problem – all via the history of slavery?
Britain’s Gurkhas, Their Place in Our History and Our Future
by Colonel David G Hayes CBE
Date: Saturday 3 February 2024
The Gurkhas are the most feared and respected body of fighting men in the British Army. This talk traces their history from their origins in Nepal in 1815 though to their current operations
From Caravels to Carnations
by Christopher Massy-Beresford
Date: Saturday 20 January 2024
The development of Portugal’s trading empire over three centuries and its sudden end only 45 years ago
‘Deeds not Words’: The Militant Suffragette Movement and My Lancashire Grandmother
by Dr. Jane Crozier
Date: Saturday 6 January 2024
An exploration of the final years, 1903 – 1914, in the fight for women’s suffrage, using a piece of family history to illuminate the bigger picture
The Making of the Riviera – People and Places - POSTPONED UNTIL A FUTURE DATE DUE TO PANDEMIC
by Julian Halsby
Date: Monday 4 March 2024
The Riviera became the centre for artists, writers, politicians, musicians and architects as well as the super-rich between 1918 and 1939. I examine their gilded existence
Supermac: The Last Edwardian – a Portrait of Harold Macmillan as Prime Minister - POSTPONED UNTIL A FUTURE DATE DUE TO PANDEMIC
by Andrew Baker
Date: Sunday 18 February 2024
What shaped Macmillan’s character and beliefs; what tragedies beset his personal life; his style, vision, wit and melancholy; his place in history.
Chartism and the Plug Plot Riots of 1840’s - POSTPONED UNTIL A FUTURE DATE DUE TO PANDEMIC
by Brent Shore
Date: Sunday 4 February 2024
I will consider the topic with reference to the research and writing of my 2019 novel “Blessed are the Meek”.
Last Supper in Pompeii - POSTPONED UNTIL A FUTURE DATE DUE TO PANDEMIC
by Professor Paul Roberts
Date: Sunday 21 January 2024
Last Supper in Pompeii celebrates the Roman love affair with food and drink
Byzantium and the fall of Constantinople - POSTPONED UNTIL A FUTURE DATE DUE TO PANDEMIC
by Professor Jonathan Harris
Date: Sunday 7 January 2024
The last days of Byzantium as its impregnable capital city was besieged by the Ottoman Sultan in May 1453.
Early Modern Queens on Screen: Victors, Victims, Villains, Virgins and Viragoes - POSTPONED UNTIL A FUTURE DATE
by Dr Elena (Ellie) Woodacre
Date: Tuesday 19 March 2024
This talk highlights the range of typologies or stereotypes employed to depict the lives of early modern queens on film
The Reign of Æthelred the Unready: A View from Sherborne
by Dr Levi Roach
Date: Tuesday 5 March 2024
An exciting revisionist perspective on the reign of one of England’s most notorious kings, emphasising the important role of Sherborne and its abbey in these years
CHANGE OF PROGRAMME - Simon de Montfort (c 1208-1265) Champion of England? Martyr?
by Dr Huw Ridgeway
Date: Tuesday 20 February 2024
The meteoric career of an icon of English History re-assessed. Simon de Montfort became Earl of Leicester and brother-in-law of Henry III (1216-1272); Crusader, international celebrity, he ultimately perished in civil war, challenging royal rule in the name of Reform.
History of rope, hemp, twine and sail in the South West
by Ross Aitken
Date: Tuesday 6 February 2024
Its place in world trade and importance in national and local history
The reputation of William Rufus: the (in)famous king and his critics
by Dr Benjamin Pohl
Date: Tuesday 23 January 2024
Was William Rufus a ‘bad king’ by medieval standards?
Britain and Meiji Japan
by Mr Adrian Thorpe CMG FRSA
Date: Tuesday 9 January 2024
British involvement in the modernisation of Japan, the end of the Shogunate and its replacement by rule by the Emperor
The content of Adrian Thorpe's talk is included below
Exeter Cathedral: The early years
by Professor Sarah Hamilton
Date: Wednesday 24 January 2024
The early history of Exeter Cathedral up to the end of the twelfth century
