In his tribute to Shakespeare on the publication of the First Folio of Shakespeare’s plays in 1623, Ben Jonson addresses him as ‘Sweet Swan of Avon’ , ‘Thou Star of Poets’ and ‘Not of an Age, but for all Time’. 400 years after Shakespeare’s death his words still have the power to thrill, to move, […]

This lecture traces British marine painting back to the Van de Veldes, father and son, who were invited to England in 1672 and shows how they influenced British marine painters. After a brief look at the 18th century marine painters that followed, 19th century marine painters are divided into four categories: painters of naval battles, […]

Johann Sebastian Bach, composer of the Baroque era and the most celebrated member of a large family of north German musicians. Bach is now generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time. Appearing at a propitious moment in the history of music he was able to survey and bring together the principal […]

This lecture examines how the theatre responded to the upheavals of the Great Depression, two World Wars, the Cold War, the Space Race and the Information Revolution.  It considers how, throughout this age of extremes, the show still went on and continues to reflect our story right up to the present.   Lecturer: Mr Giles Ramsay BA MA PGCE […]

We explore how the iconic structure of Stonehenge has inspired painters, potters and poets resulting in a diverse catalogue of images and impressions which now grace tea towels in Wiltshire, phone cards in Japan and stamps from Bhutan.   Lecturer: Mr Julian Richards BA FSA Julian is an archaeologist who ran the Stonehenge Environs Project, a detailed […]

London has a world-class reputation for art in its many galleries.  This, however, is a lecture about the remarkable range of art outside in the streets, ranging from huge and expensive commissions to unofficial graffiti, sometimes audacious and often playful. We look at why art is there, how it has developed over the years and discover many […]

Fanny Mendelssohn, who later came to be known as Fanny Hensel, was a German pianist and composer. She was the sister of the composer Felix Mendelssohn and is considered to have been as equally gifted as her genius brother.  Even though there is a constant comparison of her music with that of Felix, she had […]