Anne Sebba is a biographer, historian, author and broadcaster. Her lecture will be based on her book, published in 2016, which describes how the women of Paris lived, loved and died during the last war.

This lecture will provide an insight into the achievements of one of the most influential women in Chinese imperial history.
From a comparatively low position as a consort rising to Empress in 1861, Cixi preserved and revitalised imperial rule in China.

This lecture will demonstrate what can be learnt from the architecture and art forms in our country churches from pre-Christian times, through the arrival of the Romans and onwards to the Tudor era.

Dr Hopkins will give us some insights into Surrealist Art, addressing the way its artists embrace the unexpected as well as the impossible, question the nature of reality and truth, and challenge the viewer to look at everything afresh.

There were four major Frost Fairs on the Thames between 1621 and 1814 which have been depicted by various foreign and British artists. A wide variety of enjoyable, remarkable and even scandalous activities took place during these events!

Angela has worked extensively as an artist in the Criminal justice System in the UK and Germany. This thought-provoking lecture will explain the huge role that art can play in the rehabilitation of offenders of all ages

This lecturer, an archaeologist of great renown, will look at how the Queen of Sheba, who twisted King Solomon around her little finger, has captured the imagination of great artists and enticed archeologists to go in search of her land in both Yemen and Ethiopia.

James Gillray may well be the greatest political cartoonist who ever lived. He did not invent caricature but in his hands it became a highly inventive and sophisticated aspect of the culture of his day. We will be given a glimpse of the riotous society in which he lived and caricatured his contemporaries.

The Ottoman Empire, which was founded in the fourteenth century and continued until 1918, is renowned for its art. Here we will enter the world of the richness of silks, embroidery, carpets and ceramics as well as kaftans and turbans all embellished with floral and vegetal patterns. A feast for the eyes!