1960s Liverpool was far more than just The Beatles. Join Andy Hughes as he looks back at other 1960s Liverpool music legends. Be transported back to the golden days of the Liverpool scene: the Merseybeat. Discover artists such as Billy J Kramer, The Searchers, Billy Fury and Gerry and the Pacemakers. Nostalgia guaranteed!

Andy Hughes has been a professional freelance journalist for over forty years and he is also a popular Music Historian. Andy has written for over one hundred national and international magazines, periodicals and newspapers including Record Mirror, Melody Maker, New Musical Express and Creem (USA). He is a very engaging public speaker who has written a series of entertaining lectures based on his extensive knowledge of popular music. Andy is also an experienced Guest Lecturer both on international cruises and in the United Kingdom.

Frida Kahlo was a complex woman and artist who had to overcome great physical disability and pain having contracted polio in her early life and in her teens had a bus accident which all introduced her to painting. At the centre of her work is her love for her country, Mexico, that appears time and again in her work but combined with own personal mythology and symbols. Frida painted many self-portraits where she shows the world how she is feeling with all its joy and pain. She was constantly photographed which now, along with her paintings, have made her an icon for so many.

Sarah Gathercole is a most welcome returning lecturer with a degree in the History of Art from Manchester. She has had a varied career from croupier to Detective Constable in Manchester then on to dressage rider, trainer and judge. She has been lecturing in Art for the last 16 years and runs a history of art course at the Qube in Oswestry. She tries to make art accessible to all so that when you go to a gallery or museum you can look with fresh eyes and hopefully a little knowledge.

Tredegar House, near Newport in Monmouthshire, was acquired by the National Trust in 2012.  Built around 1674 for the Morgan family, it was for many years arguably the most spendid residence in the Principality. The story of Tedegar House is a story of aristocratic declne in a fast changing world, making the house's very survival all the more remarkable. 

Matthew Williams, one of our favourite returning lecturers, holds degrees from the Universities of Nottingham and Manchester and is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.  A recognised expert on the work of the Victorian designer William Burges, Matthew was Curator of Cardiff Castle for nearly 30 years.

As a highly talented binder of some considerable renown, Dominic was commissioned in 2016 with rebinding a shabby copy of this well known tome. The cover design was to be of his own creation but connecting with William Morris and the pages within. From the initial scalpel cut removing the spine and boards from its pages, Dominic’s descriptive commentary and step by step images of the numerous and very precise processes involved, reflected his passion and skill for his art. The full restoration in leather, suede and gold leaf tooling was fascinating to watch and the final result an extraordinary visual revelation. The finished book was later presented to Friends of the Victoria and Albert Museum where it is on public display. 

Dominic Riley is a bookbinder, artist and teacher.  He first learned bookbinding at 16 from Bendictine Monks at Doul Abbey in Berkshire and later at the London College of Printing.  He has worked at the V & A and for various binderies in London, New York and San Francisco and spends part of the year teaching across the USA.  He has won many prizes and his bindings are in  collections worldwide including the British Library and the John Rylands Library in Manchester.

Gilding has long been used to emphasise the other worldliness of important furniture and by the mid-18th century gilded bronze (ormolu) and brass provided dazzling and fabulous enrichments to exceptionally well made cabinet furniture from the workshops of John Channon (1711-1779) amd his contemporaries, much of it a " grandiloquent architectural character" (C. Gilbert).  Gilding also added a touch of imperial splendour to decoration, as is evidenced in the French Empire and English Regency styles of the early 19th century.  The lecture will draw on English and continental examples and will consider the symbolic use of gilt ornamentation as an expression of power.

Janusz Karczewski is a freelance lecturer and researcher in English furniture history and also an Antique dealer.

Fashion is my Passion tells the story of 20th century fashion design, tracing how clothes, textiles and accessories were influenced by contemporary history.  It includes the elegant fashions of the Edwardian era, the glamour of the 1920's and 1930's, the austerity of the 1940's, the futuristic fashions of the 1950's, the liberating styles of the 1960's amd the avant-garde fashions of the 1970's to the present day.

Sally Hoban lectures extensively on art, design and antiques throughout the UK and has broadcast on BBC Antiques Roadshow and other programmes.  Her publications include the book Miller's Collecting Modern Design.  Sally currently runs her own antiques business specialising in 19th and 20th century decorative arts and antique and vintage clothing and textiles.

Captain Scott and his four companions died in the Antarctic in 1912.  Although they had lost the race to the South Pole to Norwegian Roald Amundsen, their deaths unleashed an astonishing wave of tributes not only in Britain but around the world.  This lecture will examine the different ways in which artists represented death in the polar wasteland and portayed failure as heroic sacrifice. 

Max Jones formerly a Fellow and Director of Studies in History at Christ's College, Cambridge, Max now teaches at the University of Manchester and has previously won the university's 'Teacher of the Year' award.  He specialises in the cultural history of war and heroism and is currently writing a new history of British heroes.  Public lecturing is Max's passion.  Alongside lectures at Manchester and other universities, he has spoken about his research to public audiences throughout the UK and beyond, from the Isles of Scilly to Hobart, Tasmania.

Art Deco - the Period Style of the 1920's and 1930's is ravishing, amazingly various and endlessly fascinating.  Evolving from Art Nouveau, it embraced the machine aesthetic of the Great War, Parisienne Modernism, Egyptian, African and Oceanic decorative arts and the emerging jazz culture of the New World.  This lecture, illustrated with fabulous colour slides, looks at the planes and ocean liners,the jewellery, textiles and frocks, the paintings, posters, pottery, Bakelite and ice glass as well as the remarkable personalities - from Clarice Cliff to Josephine Baker by way of Le Corbusier that made the Twenties roar and the Thirties a headlong dash into World War Two.

Adrian Sumner has been a lecturer to universities and higher education institutions since 1973 and has held senior positions with Chester City Council where he still works and organises exhibitions for them.  He was a professional painter and illustrator from 1973 to 2001 and has undertaken tours and study weekends both in the U.K. and Europe.  He is a welcome returning lecturer with a vast knowledge of art genres, each one enthusiastically delivered.

Cambodia is a southeast Asian nation whose landscape spans low-lying plains, the Mekong Delta, mountains and the Gulf of Thailandcoastline.  Phnom Penh, its capital, is home to the art deco Central Market, glittering Royal Palace and the National Museum's historical and archaeological exhibits.  In the country's northwest are the ruins of Angkor Wat, a massive stone temple complex built during the Khmer Empire.  This is the story of a lost civilisation that disappered some eitght hundred years ago leavingbehind an incedible array of buildings an sculpture that were only re-discovered in the 19th century.

Hugh Ellwood studied philosophy in Rome followed by a degree in architecture at the University of Manchester where he was for some years an external examiner in architecture.  He has also lectured extensively to various societies and organisations, including cruises, on art and architecture.

Cyprus is well-known as a holiday resort but away from the fleshpots of Ayia Napa there is a wealth of sites to explore.  The island's fascinating history is reflected in simple Neolithic villages, by rich Greco-Roman cities, dazzling Byzantine churches and Ottoman mosques and grand houses.  In this lecture we look at the best of these and also discuss the more recent and troubled history of the island that led to independence and eventual partition. 

Mike Clegg is one of our favourite returning lecturers who, having ended his service career in the Royal Air Force as political adviser to senior NATO commanders on Greek-Turkish issues, graduated in Archaeology.  He has planned and led many tours and lectures extensively on ancient sites in the Mediterranean an the U.K. 

This lecture looks at the story of a remarkable book published in 1539 called In Chaldaicam Lingua. It was published by Theseo Ambrogio who had been the Pope’s enforcer of doctrine, with the Lord’s Prayer and selected psalms translated into multiple languages for missionaries to use. However Ambrogio also had an eccentric uncle who was an inventor and had invented a brand new kind of bagpipe….that no one wanted to make, so he died with his vision mostly unrealised. Feeling that his uncle’s legacy shouldn’t be forgotten, Ambrogio included the designs for his Uncle’s Bagpipe in his new book of prayers.

Sophie is a musician well-known for her prowess on the English border bagpipes and has become one of the foremost players of the instrument in the UK. She also plays a variety of early woodwind instruments such as shawm, rauschpfeife, crumhorm and recorder. She’s also one of a handful of British players of the baroque musette, an 18th century French bagpipe similar to the Northumbrian smallpipes. When not touring with GreenMatthews, Sophie also makes instruments (she made her own baroque oboe) and works with respected luthier Tony Millyard on his flutes. Sophie is self-taught on all of her instruments.

Far from being a ruin, Cardiff Castle is one of the most remarkable houses in Britain. Dating from the time of the Romans, centuries of change culminated in the complete transformation undertaken in the 1870s by the Marquess and Bute and his eccentric genius architect William Burges. They created a ‘Feudal extravaganza’ in fifteen highly imaginative interiors, including an Arab room, a Pompeian roof garden and rooms with an astrological theme. The lecture examines this wonderful building and the personalities of those involved.   

Matthew, one of our favourite returning lecturers, holds degrees from the Universities of Nottingham and Manchester and is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. A recognised expert on the work of the Victorian designer William Burges, Matthew was Curator of Cardiff Castle for nearly 30 years. His most recent publication is a major book Cardiff Castle and the Marquesses of Bute, published in 2019. A long-standing member of The Arts Society, Matthew has been a programme secretary and a chairman before becoming an accredited lecturer in 2001.

It’s often said Birmingham has more canals than Venice and today the city’s waterways are a fascinating mixture of traditional and contemporary design, architecture and engineering. The lecture looks at the distinctive features of Birmingham’s canals and, with archival maps and images, also tells the 250-year old story of their unique industrial heritage – wharves, warehouses, locks, bridges, tunnels and, of course, boats. 

Roger Butler is a landscape architect and an experienced writer, photographer and lecturer. He has a particular interest in the unique history, architecture and traditions of our canal network and worked on some of the UK’s major canal restoration projects. He has also acted as a consultant to bodies such as Waterways Ireland, Natural England and the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. He regularly contributes to waterway and heritage magazines and writes and provides images for a range of countryside and outdoor titles. Roger is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, a Licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society and a Chartered Member of the Landscape Institute. He lives near Stratford upon Avon and lectures across the country to groups such as the National Trust, RSPB, U3A, history societies, etc. His lectures inform, entertain and introduce the extraordinary world of our canals - only the National Trust and the Church of England have more listed buildings than our waterways.

Keith’s lecture begins with his personal experience of being introduced to Caravaggio, and how it impacted on his life. He follows the artist’s life story, from the town of Caravaggio, to Milan, Rome, Naples and the islands of Malta and Sicily, detailing and explaining a sequence of paintings which defined his career. Inextricably linked to this sequence, are the flaws in his character and personality which ultimately led to him murdering an enemy in an illegal duel with his sword. He was now on the run for the next and last four years of his life. He died in the summer of 1610 on his way back to Rome, in very mysterious circumstances. He was just 38 years of age when he died; such an ignoble death in an unmarked grave, for one of Italy’s greatest Baroque painters. Caravaggio was the first great realist painter. His paintings made religious and mythological scenes vivid and immediate, breaking away from the idealised version of reality. He used ordinary people as his models and used the drama of the everyday; dirty feet, ragged clothes, gestures and expressions that are familiar and relevant to everyone. His use of light and shadow, the chiaroscuro effect, created scenes of extraordinary physical presence and expressive force, images frozen in time. As a person, he was an outsider, a troublemaker, a difficult, dangerous and violent man, with an unerring gift for getting into trouble, yet he was a genius.

Keith is a retired teacher and senior manager in education. His introduction to Caravaggio was completely by chance during a weekend break to Dublin in 1995. It triggered an interest which developed into a passion. Several years of research and study, including a trip to Italy to trace his life story, spawned a book and this lecture which, to date, has been reviewed as outstanding/excellent by 84% of current recipients.

Alongside large lumps of gold, tea and Tangier, Bombay formed part of Catherine of Braganza’s Dowry.  This lecture commences with a look at the improvements made by the East India Company to this – its first overseas territory.  The key focus of the lecture though is on Bombay in the days of the Raj, in the second half of the 19th century.  In these decades of plenty this port became known as ‘The Gateway of India’. This economic boom-time coincided with the mid-Victorian enthusiasm for the Gothic Revival style and in Bombay were constructed the most extraordinarily impressive collection of civic buildings. Careful study is made of this, the finest collection of Gothic Revival buildings.

Anthony, another returning lecturer, is a freelance historic buildings' consultant, educated as an Architectural Historian at Manchester University and trained in building conservation at the Institute of Advanced Architectural Studies, York. After two years with SAVE Britain's Heritage, where he wrote Deserted Bastions, worked with the English Heritage Listing Division on the review of military buildings. In the mid-1990s was employed by the DTI in Bombay, India, setting up and running an innovative project to repair George Gilbert Scott's university buildings and training local architects and craftsmen in conservation techniques and philosophy. From 1998 until 2010, worked as Rodney Melville & Partners' historian, involved with research, analysis, assessment and conservation planning at such sites as The Workhouse, Southwell; Aston Hall, Birmingham; The Royal Institution, London and Cliveden.

In AD 79 the city of Pompeii was devastated by the eruption of Vesuvius and smothered in a thick blanket of volcanic material. Hundreds died and the city then disappeared literally and figuratively from sight for over one thousand five hundred years until the Bourbon King of Naples, Charles III, initiated excavation there in 1748. Thereafter work continued throughout the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries resulting in about 60% being uncovered but poorly protected.

Mike is making another very welcome return to our Society. Mike is a pilot-graduate of the RAF College and spent the first twenty years of his service career flying maritime patrol aircraft from bases in the UK, Mediterranean and Far East. Thereafter he undertook staff duties in national and international posts, his final position being in Naples as political adviser to senior NATO commanders on Greek-Turkish issues. While serving he completed a two-year part-time course in British Archaeology at Oxford University before transferring to the Open University where he studied Classical History and Renaissance Art leading to the awards of a Diploma in Classical Studies and a BA(Hons). On a more practical note he has planned and led many tours of ancient sites in mainland Italy, Sicily, Greece, Crete and Cyprus; carried out a survey of his ‘own’ villa in Italy; and excavated in Libya, Italy and the UK. He has also lectured extensively at home and overseas on the Classical World as well as the Egyptian, Minoan and Mycenaean civilisations.

During the Victorian Era, magnificent fancy dress balls became one of the grandest and most fashionable ways for a society hostess to make her mark. These balls were reported in newspapers and magazines in great detail. Importantly, who was there, what they were wearing, who designed their gown and the historical figure they represented. Today’s social media and influencers would literally have had a ball. No expense was spared and these balls became the elite event of the year.

Jacqueline, another returning lecturer, gained textile conservation experience with Museums' Service. Established freelance studio in 1982. Listed in ICON's Conservation Register. Accredited Conservator-Restorer. Lectured and given study days/courses for The Arts Society, Embroiderers' Guild, Lace Guild, Antique Collectors' clubs and others. Appeared on Channel 4, BBC 2 and the Discovery Channel.

The Walker Art Gallery began in 1874 and opened to the public in 1877.  It has grown and continues to add to its collection.  There are 8500 works of art on display.  It has hosted the John Moores painting prize since 1957 which adds to the collection.  For three years their galleries 1 - 4 Medieval and Renaissance were closed for refurbishment.  The Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque treasures of the Walker Art Gallery returned to public display on 29th July 2023.  The Walker covers painting, sculpture, works on paper 8000, decorative art,video and installations,fashion and design.  The talk will try andcor the vast collection picking out exceptional works and their stories.  We hope that it inspires you to visit.

Sarah, a BA Hons. PGCE, is a most wecome returning lecturer with a degree in History of Art from Manchester.  She has had a varied career from croupier to Detective Constable in Manchester, then on to Dressage rider, trainer and judge.  She has been lecturing in History of Art for 16years and runs a history of art course now at the Qube in Oswestry and tries to make art accessible to all so that when you go to a gallery or museum you can look with fresh eyes and hopefully a little knowledge. 

Liverpool, what other city can match the glories of the Three Graces along the waterfront? Inland there are monumental Egyptian ventilation shafts, banking palaces, dock warehouses, and the finest neo-Classical hall in the country. Oh, and two Cathedrals.

Ed has written more than a dozen books for many major publishers including The London Compendium (Penguin, 2003), The Manchester Compendium (Penguin, 2008) and 111 Places in Yorkshire You Shouldn’t Miss (Emons, 2021). He has also edited the entire Sherlock Holmes canon for Penguin Classics, given talks on cruise ships, and run tour companies in Manchester (New Manchester Walks), London (New London Walks) and Liverpool (New Liverpool Walks).

Aristocrat, politician, rake and revolutionary: William Cavendish, 4th Earl and 1st Duke of Devonshire, is certainly one of the more colourful of seventeenth-century noblemen; so wicked was he, that an Italian visitor to Restoration England described him as ‘the most dissolute man in London’. Yet Cavendish is also remembered as one of the great saviours of English civil liberties, part of a small group of aristocrats who overthrew James II and brought William of Orange and constitutional monarchy to the throne. In addition, he remodelled his Elizabethan family seat and transformed it into one of our greatest country houses and a monument to his success, Chatsworth in Derbyshire. So this is a lecture about depravity, politics and fine architecture, as we look at Cavendish’s morals, his political redemption and his wonderful house and gardens: truly, ‘a Palace for a Prince’.

Dr Gillian White specialises in the history and visual arts of late medieval and sixteenth-century England. After beginning her career at the Warwickshire Museum, she then worked for the National Trust as Curator/Collections Manager at Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire, about which she wrote her PhD at Warwick University. Since then she has taught part-time at Leicester University in the Centre for the Study of the Country House and continues to teach History of Art in the Department of Continuing Education at Oxford University and elsewhere.

Venice, what was once a refugee camp on the coast of the Adriatic became a wealthy republic and trade centre. A link between east and west, it produced some of the finest art, architecture and music in the world. 

Hugh, a welcome returning lecturer, studied philosophy in Rome followed by a degree in architecture at the University of Manchester. Previously he was an architect partner with Building Design Partnership, the largest multi-discipline design organisation in the UK, and was for some years an external examiner in architecture at the University of Manchester. For several years he was a visiting lecturer in the history of art and architecture at the University of Central Lancashire. A watercolourist, and has also lectured extensively to various societies and organisations, including cruises, on art and architecture.

The Great Omar was the most fabulous, elaborate and opulent binding ever created. It was embellished with over one thousand jewels, five thousand leather on lays and a hundred square feet of gold leaf and took a team of craftsmen over two and a half years to make. It went down with the Titanic. This lecture tells the story of the making of the fabulous Great Omar. It is also the story of the renowned bookbinding firm of Sangorski and Sutcliffe - who were known for their elaborate jewelled bindings - and the men that made this extraordinary book. It also tells the moving story of life after the tragedy, and of one young man in particular, who decided against the odds to recreate the binding, a venture which itself is mired in tragedy and which occupied him for the rest of his life. 

Dominic is a bookbinder, artist and teacher. He first learned bookbinding at 16 from Benedictine Monks at Douai Abbey in Berkshire and later at the London College of Printing. He has worked at the V&A, and for various binderies in London, New York and San Francisco, and spends part of the year teaching across the USA. He has his bindery in the Lake District, from where he travels across the UK teaching master classes and lecturing. He is Vice President of the Society of Bookbinders and was elected a Fellow of Designer Bookbinders in 2008. His binding work is mostly the restoration of antiquarian books and Design Bindings. He has won many prizes in the Designer Bookbinders competition, including both first prizes and the Mansfield Silver Medal in 2007. His bindings are in collections worldwide, including the British Library and the John Rylands Library in Manchester. In 2010 he bound a special copy of the winner of the Booker Prize which was presented to the author. In June 2013 he won first prize in the prestigious Sir Paul Getty International Bookbinding Competition. His winning binding was acquired by the Bodleian Library in Oxford.

Due to our original Lecturer Charles Hadjemach falling ill just prior to him giving his talk on Crystal Palace, we were able to secure Matthew Williams from Cardiff, who fortunately, just happened to be available to save the day.

DUMFRIES HOUSE in Ayrshire was acquired for the Nation following a last minute rescue in 2007, largely through the involvement of HRH the Prince of Wales as he was then.  Never before opened to the public, Dumfries House is a forgotten Georgian gem, designed by Adam and furnished by Chippendale and others.

Matthew, one of our favourite returning lecturers, holds degrees from the Universities of Nottingham and Manchester and is a  Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.  A recognised expert on the work of the Victorian designer William Burges, Matthew was Curator of Cardiff Castle for nearly 30 years.  His most recent publication is a major book 'Cardiff Castle and the Marquesses of Bute', published in 2019.  A long standing member of The Arts Society, Matthew has been a programme secretary and a chairman before becoming an accredited lecturer in 2001. 

At the turn of the last century, Vienna was the capital of a vast empire and one of the most exciting artistic laboratories in the world. It produced painters such as Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka, architects like Otto Wagner, Adolf Loos and Josef Hoffmann, the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, the composer Gustav Mahler and the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. Looking at these and other figures in the context of the society in which they worked, this talk asks how and why the City of Dreams became a cultural hotbed around 1900.

Gavin, another returning lecturer, is a writer and broadcaster, appearing on BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4 and contributing to newspapers, magazines and opera and concert programmes worldwide. He lectures widely about the culture of Central Europe during the 19th and 20th centuries. Recent talks include the Royal Opera House, the National Gallery, the National Trust, the National Theatre, the British Museum, the V&A, the Southbank Centre, the Tate and the Neue Galerie, New York. His first book, A Home for All Seasons, is published in June 2022. 

Dan, another returning lecturer, is an educationalist with a passion for all things Italian. He is a Housemaster and Teacher at Cheltenham College, a full boarding and co-educational independent school established in 1841 and was formerly Head of History of Art at Wycombe Abbey School. He has been lecturing since 2001 and spent 9 years working as a senior lecturer, tutor and tour guide for Art History Abroad. He was voted the British winner of the World Guide of the Year Awards in 2008 and alongside his lectures and special interest days he also leads educational study trips for groups of friends to a range of destinations in Italy.

The Sistine Chapel is rightly considered one of the modern Wonders of the World. It is a sacred building where mysterious elections take place infrequently whilst for the rest of the time thousands visit it on a daily basis. This lecture will look at the decoration of the ceiling by Michelangelo and concentrate on some of the more unusual inclusions in the Old Testament scheme.

It is a mighty piece of painting that demonstrates incredible artistic talent but contains plenty of somewhat subversive elements. Sin and punishment were key themes for much of Michelangelo’s career and it seems that he decided to project these ideas onto the Pope, Conclave and Tourist.

James, a welcome returning lecturer, studied at the Universities of St Andrews and Manchester and is a former curator of paintings, drawings and prints, and co-ordinator of various exhibitions and galleries at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. He is also a lecturer and ships' historian on board cruise ships. Publications include illustrated histories of Marine Painting (1995) and yachting art Yachts on Canvas (1998),

The Voyage of the Beagle: Darwin’s extraordinary adventure aboard FitzRoy’s famous survey ship (2008), Careless Talk Costs Lives: Fougasse and the Art of Public Information (2010) and Your Country Needs You: the Secret History of the Propaganda Poster (2013), Dazzle: Disguise and Disruption in War and Art (2016) and Picturing the Pacific: Sir Joseph Banks and the Shipboard Artists of Cook and Flinders (2018).

James completed his PhD at the University of Sussex in 2015 on the voyager artist William Westall (1781-1850) who sailed with Commander Matthew Flinders aboard HMS Investigator (1801-1803) the first ship to circumnavigate Australia. Darling’s daring rescue of steamship passengers off the Northumberland coast in 1838 brought her international fame. Discover more about her bravery and short life (died aged 26) and the artistic contribution that has helped to keep her in the public eye. Grace became the ‘poster girl’ of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and was the first woman awarded their medal for gallantry. This talk coincides with the commemorations to mark the 200th anniversary of the founding of the RNLI in 2024.

Formerly a Fellow and Director of Studies in History at Christ's College, Cambridge, Max now teaches at the University of Manchester and has previously won the university’s ‘Teacher of the Year’ award. He specializes in the cultural history of war and heroism, and is currently writing a new history of British heroes. Public lecturing is Max’s passion. Alongside lectures at Manchester and other universities, he has spoken about his research to public audiences throughout the UK and beyond, from the Isles of Scilly to Hobart, Tasmania. 

George William Joy’s painting of the death of General Gordon in 1885, 'murdered' on the steps of the governor’s palace in Khartoum by the Mahdi's dervishes, was ignored by critics and dismissed as inaccurate by scholars. In spite of such indifference, over the next century Joy's depiction of a heroic officer battling 'natives' was reproduced again and again in books and films, comics and toys. Using a wealth of unpublished illustrations, this lecture will explore why Joy’s vision inspired generations and came to define how the British empire was remembered: as a force for good promoting civilization over savagery.

Dr Diane Davies is a Maya archaeologist and honorary research associate of the Institute of Archaeology, University College London. She completed her PhD at Tulane University, New Orleans. Little is known about the Maya in the UK and so aside from carrying out research in Guatemala and teaching, Diane is an educational consultant for schools giving workshops to both teachers and children on the Maya. She has created award-winning resources, organizes trips to the Maya area and is also the Chair of Chok Education, a charity supporting the education of Maya children. Diane organises conferences on the Maya as well as lecturing to a variety of organisations, including the City Literary Institute, London and the Historical Association.

The Maya created one of the most sophisticated civilizations in the ancient world.  Their achievements in the arts and sciences, along with their complex social, political and economic systems, make them one of the most remarkable culture groups in the Precolumbian Americas. These people brought us an intricate calendar system, complex hieroglyphic writing, some of the largest pyramids in the world, a form of ballgame that was like no other and most importantly chocolate! This lecture will discuss the major achievements of the Maya as well as pointing out the common misunderstandings we have of this remarkable civilization.

 

Welcoming John back to our Society, formerly a lecturer at the University of Bath where he was Director of Studies in the School of Education with responsibility for the professional development of teachers. He has worked extensively overseas as an educational consultant and this has given him the opportunity to give lectures and presentations at conferences all over the world. Over the last decade he has been a popular speaker on the Arts Society circuit in the UK and Europe as well as a frequent visitor to the societies in Australia and New Zealand. In his professional life he has developed a particular interest in presentation skills including the role of pictures in learning and the appropriate use of PowerPoint. This coupled with his ability to relate well to people of all ages and backgrounds makes him an impressive and confident public speaker.
As well as the talks he has developed from his professional background, he offers presentations on an eclectic range of topics that are derived from his diverse interests and enthusiasms such as, Pub Signs, Children’s Book Illustrations and the Shakers of North America. All his talks are entertaining, highly informative, very well illustrated and presented with warmth and humour.

Matthew, one of our favourite returning lecturers, holds degrees from the Universities of Nottingham and Manchester and is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. A recognised expert on the work of the Victorian designer William Burges, Matthew was Curator of Cardiff Castle for nearly 30 years. His most recent publication is a major book Cardiff Castle and the Marquesses of Bute, published in 2019. A long-standing member of The Arts Society, Matthew has been a programme secretary and a chairman before becoming an accredited lecturer in 2001.

There is something incomparably romantic about a long-lost country house, and although Britain still possesses some of the finest of these architectural treasures to be found anywhere, many have been destroyed. A single ruined lodge or pavilion, an over-grown drive or group of mature trees are sometimes all that now exists to remind us of a lost house and pleasure-ground. This lecture tells the story of just some of these losses to our National Heritage – destroyed for a variety of reasons; from neglect, arson, enemy action, incompetence, family rivalry, financial disaster or even insanity! In the mid-twentieth century particularly, profound social change, wars, high taxation and bad management often contributed to the demise of many grand houses. Hundreds were demolished after 1945 – some beautiful, some ugly, but each lost house, as the lecture shows, is fascinating in its own way

‘Antonio Gaudi’

We are pleased to welcome back Hugh. He studied philosophy in Rome, followed by a degree in architecture at the University of Manchester. Previously an architect partner with Building Design Partnership, the largest multi-discipline design organisation in the UK, and was for some years an external examiner in architecture at the University of Manchester. For several years he was a visiting lecturer in the history of art and architecture at the University of Central Lancashire. A watercolourist, and has also lectured extensively to various societies and organisations, including cruises, on art and architecture.In the city of Barcelona at the end of the 19th century an astonishing genius produced forms of architecture unique to Catalonia. Widely regarded in Barcelona he was known to the rest of the world for his design of the cathedral of La Sagrada Familia.

Anthony, another returning lecturer, is a freelance historic buildings' consultant, educated as an Architectural Historian at Manchester University and trained in building conservation at the Institute of Advanced Architectural Studies, York. After two years with SAVE Britain's Heritage, where he wrote Deserted Bastions, worked with the English Heritage Listing Division on the review of military buildings. In the mid 1990s was employed by the DTI in Bombay, India, setting up and running an innovative project to repair George Gilbert Scott's university buildings and training local architects and craftsmen in conservation techniques and philosophy. From 1998 until 2010, worked as Rodney Melville & Partners' historian, involved with research, analysis, assessment and conservation planning at such sites as The Workhouse, Southwell; Aston Hall, Birmingham; The Royal Institution, London and Cliveden. Published a book on the History of Birmingham Town Hall in 2012, to critical acclaim. Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and Deputy Chairman of the Ancient Monuments Society.

In the roughly three hundred years during which the British constructed buildings in India there persisted an unresolved dialogue about the creation of an authoritative British style. The Victorians and Edwardians looked with envy at the confident, distinctive and appropriate architectural style of the buildings in India constructed in the time of the Mughal Empire. The questions - as to whether the British should impose a British style, fuse a British style with Indian or even adopt the Mughal style for their own – were never satisfactorily answered in India … That is until Edwin Lutyens penned his designs for New Delhi. This lecture gives consideration to the several styles of Indian architecture – not least the Mughal, before celebrating the masterpiece, and innovative stylistic triumph, that is New Delhi. 

Janusz is a freelance lecturer and researcher in English furniture history and also an antique dealer.

A suitable sub-title would be ‘The good, the bad and the ugly’ as all three are to be found within Victorian furniture! The 19th century saw both the production of some of the finest furniture ever made and the commercialised mass production of ‘cheap’ furniture to meet the demands of a rapidly increasing population.

The development and production of Victorian furniture will be examined through exploring what JC Loudon was to describe as the “principal styles”: “the Grecian or modern style…the Gothic or perpendicular style…the Elizabethan style…and the style of the age of Louis 14th, or the florid Italian, which is characterised by curved lines and excess of curvilinear ornament.” Making sense of these and the various other styles of this period will, if nothing else, be fun! 

‘Another Man’s Shoes’

Ellie’s father wrote his first-hand account in the book Another Man’s Shoes which is testament to one man’s courage and a nation’s fight for freedom. She is an after dinner Speaker having presented her father’s story at several Rotary Conferences over the past fifteen years as well as several literary festivals including Hay on Wye two years ago. Her speaking engagements have taken me all over the country and several times to Norway. Her father, Sven Somme, a Norwegian and Professor of Freshwater Biology, was a leading scientist in Europe during the 1940’s and 50’s. He was a world authority on Salmon and the first scientist to discover that salmon migrate and four years later go back to their river of spawning.

When his beloved country was occupied for five years during WWII he joined the Resistance movement XU and became a leading spy for the Allies. Working directly under the noses of the Nazis, he lived in the same house as the German Commandant; he was responsible for recruiting and training 90 other agents – the largest group in Norway - and sending hundreds of secret documents and photographs of German military installations to the Allies until his arrest in June of 1944. A large map of German military installations that he sent to London was used by the RAF in one of the biggest bombing raids during the war. His work was also used by agents with SOE and SIS.

His brother Iacob, also a scientist, was arrested in October 1942, tortured and then executed in 1944. He was Head of Intelligence of Milorg, the military wing of the resistance, and was implicated in the intelligence gathering for the bombing of the heavy water at Rjukan.

With a presentation of over 90 slides which include photographs of letters from XU written in invisible ink, postage stamps with microfilm hidden underneath, secret documents never before seen and one big surprise half way through, we see how the brave men and women of Norway managed to resist the relentless cruelty and doctrine of the Third Reich for five long years. President Eisenhower spoke about the bravery of the Norwegians and how their courage and cooperation with the Allies helped bring about the surrender of Germany in 1945.

This is now a story of international importance with documentation and proof of a powerful underground movement that existed until 1988. XU was considered the best and most effective underground movement during WWII with around 2,400 members.

‘Secrets and Lies’ - What great masterpieces really tell us

Sarah Gathercole BA Hons PGCE. Sarah, a most welcome returning lecturer with a degree in History of Art from Manchester. She has had a varied career from croupier to Detective Constable in Manchester, then on to Dressage rider, trainer and judge.She has been lecturing in History of Art for 16 years and runs a history of art course now at the Qube in Oswestry and tries to make art accessible to all so that when you go to a gallery or museum you can look with fresh eyes and hopefully a little knowledge.

Secrets and Lies – what great masterpieces really say? Will hopefully give you an insight into how to read and interpret a small number of art works with incredible stories from when made to the present day. In this lecture we will look at 8 works of art and through their history see how they have been given the title of Masterpiece. Pictures are windows. They open up a view that extends beyond the familiar horizons of everyday life. They bring us face to face with figures we do not know, with buildings from times gone by, and with landscapes that no longer look the same or indeed never existed at all. Pictures offer adventure. At least to those who are willing to step out of the four walls around them and – using their physical senses, their powers of intellect and their own life experience –discover all that the work of art holds in store”