I also give lectures in person both as one off talks and as longer courses. These are usually booked directly with the organisers. Details of what I currently have booked can be found below.

St. Albans Learning for Leisure, 10.15-12.15 Mondays Starting 12th January, 5 Weeks.

Art and Artists 1800-1950 Through the Eyes of a Historian

In this series of lectures, which can be booked individually or as a full series we will look at artists an their work to see what they can tell us about their times. Artists covered will range from Ford Madox Brown to Laura Knight. Further details from : https://salfl.org/our-courses/

Harpenden Leisure Learning, 2.00-4.00 p.m., Wednesday.

Art and Artists Through the Eyes of a Historian., Starting 7th January, 10 Weeks.

This course uses art from the 16th to the 20th Centuries to look at aspects of history. In some classes this will involve looking at the work of a particular artist to illuminate a period; such as Holbein and the court of Henry VIII. On other occasions we will look at a painting and work out from that to look at an area of history; such as Thomas Gainsborough’s portrait of Mr. and Mrs Andrews as a starting point to look at the English countryside in the mid 18th Century. Not all of the artists will be well known and amongst those we will examine are William Henry Hunt whose watercolours have much to tell about England in the first half of the 19th Century. The artists included will mostly be British but some from other countries will be included, such as Jan Davidsz de Heem, for his 17th Century Dutch still lives, and John Singer Sargent for his portraits of the elite of America and Britain in the years around 1900. Further details from : https://www.harpendenlearningforleisure.org.uk/spring26.html

Letchworth Settlement, 1.30-3.30, Mondays Starting 12th January, 5 Weeks.

Hertfordshire Country Houses.

This course looks at a selection of country houses in Hertfordshire setting them in the context of the history of the area and country house history. Houses studied will range from well known mansions like Hatfield House to smaller houses like Tring Mansion. Further details from : https://www.letchworthsettlement.org.uk/courses/

Dunstable Adult Learning Group, Tuesdays 10.30-12.30, Maids and Mistresses ; Women and Country Houses 1500 – 1950. Starting 13th January, 10 Weeks.

This course aims to reveal the importance of women as mistresses, owners and servants in English Country Houses from 1500 to 1950. We will look at the roles women have played in these great houses. Mistresses as hostesses, managers and decorators; maids as ever more important workers making a luxurious life possible. For further details email zilpha history@gmail.com and I will pass you on to the organisers.