2019 - 2020 Talks

2025 - 2026
2024 - 2025
2023 - 2024
2022 - 2023
2021 - 2022
2020 - 2021
2019 - 2020
2018 - 2019
2017 - 2018
2016 - 2017
2015 - 2016
2014 - 2015
2013 - 2014
2012 - 2013
2011 - 2012
2010 - 2011
2009 - 2010
24 Sep
2019

Why didn’t Britain go either Fascist or Communist between the two world wars?

by Professor Lawrence Goldman

Tuesday 24 September 2019
A talk that compares British historical experience with that on the continent of Europe between 1918 and 1939.
8 Oct
2019

The Diet of Worms 1521

by Professor Elaine Fulton

Tuesday 8 October 2019
This talk will explore the significance of the Diet of Worms, when Martin Luther defied Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.
22 Oct
2019

Cottages Ornés: The Charms of the Simple Life

by Roger White

Tuesday 22 October 2019
The cottage orné, or ornamental cottage, is an English invention of the mid-18th century and is the only architectural genre to cover the entire social spectrum.
5 Nov
2019

The Royal Hospital Chelsea: a brief history

by John Rochester

Tuesday 5 November 2019
The Royal Hospital Chelsea; over three centuries of service to old soldiers, the Army and the nation.
19 Nov
2019

Lawrence of Arabia’s War

by Dr Neil Faulkner FSA

Tuesday 19 November 2019
An analysis of the war in Egypt, Arabia, Palestine, and Syria between 1914 and 1918, with particular focus on the character, role, and achievements of T E Lawrence.
3 Dec
2019

Dutch Courage & Mothers’ Ruin: The Gin Craze

by Dr Richard Barnett

Tuesday 3 December 2019
We’ll take a walk down Hogarth’s ‘Gin Lane’, exploring the realities behind this notorious episode of Enlightenment history.
9 Jan
2020

Britain and Meiji Japan

by Mr Adrian Thorpe CMG FRSA

Thursday 9 January 2020
British involvement in the modernisation of Japan, the end of the Shogunate and its replacement by rule by the Emperor.
23 Jan
2020

The reputation of William Rufus: the (in)famous king and his critics

by Dr Benjamin Pohl

Thursday 23 January 2020
Was William Rufus a ‘bad king’ by medieval standards?
6 Feb
2020

History of rope, hemp, twine and sail in the South West

by Ross Aitken

Thursday 6 February 2020
Its place in world trade and importance in national and local history.
20 Feb
2020

CHANGE OF PROGRAMME – Simon de Montfort (c 1208-1265) Champion of England? Martyr?

by Dr Huw Ridgeway

Thursday 20 February 2020
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.
5 Mar
2020

The Reign of Æthelred the Unready: A View from Sherborne

by Dr Levi Roach

Thursday 5 March 2020
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.
19 Mar
2020

Early Modern Queens on Screen: Victors, Victims, Villains, Virgins and Viragoes – POSTPONED UNTIL A FUTURE DATE

by Dr Elena (Ellie) Woodacre

Thursday 19 March 2020
This talk highlights the range of typologies or stereotypes employed to depict the lives of early modern queens on film.