Category: Past Lectures

By William Forrester We follow the Sackvilles from the Tudor era, when they gained Knole, through the C18th, to the[…]

By Janusz Karczewski-Slowikowski Anthony meets Cleopatra. Greco-Roman influences are augmented by Egyptian ones to provide a stunningly original interpretation of[…]

        By Eveline Eaton     Art lovers everywhere have long admired Vermeer’s exquisite paintings with their[…]

By Yasha Beresiner This amusing lecture looks at how cards were used for communication, propaganda and education as well as[…]

By Ann Clements From the 15th century peasants drying their clothes through the 17th century Frost Fairs on the Thames,[…]

By Peter Medhurst Handel’s music had a direct effect on his musical contemporaries but also on the literary, – visual[…]

By Denise Haywood Note: The AGM will precede this lecture An exploration of the sacred architecture of Luang Prabang, a[…]

By Anthony Russell This journey through history illustrates the most magnificent examples of the British country house and considers the[…]

By Rosalind Whyte An entertaining look at the art of this always controversial figure – love her or hate her,[…]

By Elizabeth Rumbelow This lecture follows the separate but inter-twined lives of three leading exponents of the Romantic movement. We[…]

By Dr. Susan Kay-Williams A wide ranging lecture looking at embroidery techniques through the ages – coronation regalia, Oscar dresses,[…]

By Anne Anderson Having met in 1853 in Oxford, they were almost inseparable until Morris’s death in 1896. The story[…]

By Bertie Pearce There has always been a fascination with magic and the impossible and this talk is a whistle-stop[…]

By Christopher Bradley The term ‘Magi’ refers to the Zoroastrian priest-sages, anonymous wise men who were specialists in medicine, religion[…]

By Rosemary Ransome-Wallis This lecture traces the origins of contemporary silver from 1900 to the present day, focussing on the[…]

By Barry Venning Ruskin believed that Turner’s later sea paintings included the “noblest seas ever painted by man” and few[…]

By Louise Schofield Zeugma was an ancient trading centre on the Euphrates, founded in 300 B.C. by one of Alexander’s[…]

By Chloe Sayer Representing the Golden Age of Mexican painting, Kahlo and Rivera have iconic status in Mexico, and after[…]

By Elizabeth Merry A look at the background and life of Byron, the political upheavals of the late 18th, early[…]

By Patrick Conner The fascinating story of the tea trade from China to the West, the resultant demand for Opium[…]