How the Middle Ages were Built: Exuberance to Crisis, 1300-1408 - Professor Simon Thurley

A look at the flourishing of distinctive English architecture in the 14th Century, against the backdrop of perhaps the most catastrophic period of history.

Britain in the 20th Century: The Road to War - Professor Vernon Bogdanor

In underestimating Hitler, was Chamberlain personally culpable for war? Did Britain consider suing for peace in 1940?

The Victorians: Religion and Science - Professor Richard J Evans

Christianity pervaded all of society and private life in the Victorian era, and yet the discoveries of Darwin were to change this forever. Professor Evans explains all.

Your night is my day: London's Underground never sleeps - Oliver Green

What goes in the underground when it closes down for the night?

Britain in the 20th Century: "Appeasement" - Professor Vernon Bogdanor

How should history judge Neville Chamberlain’s 1930’s government that was completely unmatched to the storm that would become World War II?

The Victorians: Gender and Sexuality - Professor Richard J Evans

Professor Evans uses recent research to overturn our ideas of the Victorians as sexually repressed and strangled by convention.

Britain in the 20th Century: The Economic Crisis and its Consequences - Professor Vernon Bogdanor

The great depression of the inter-war years in Britain brought in political upheavals and a coalition government that was only thrown off by WWII.

Charles Chaplin: Bridging Three Centuries - David Robinson

The journey of Charlie Chaplin: from poverty and East End music halls to Hollywood and global fame.

The Great War and its Consequences - Professor Vernon Bogdanor

Vernon Bogdanor discusses the developments of British politics between the World Wars.

English Architecture: Reaching for Heaven, 1130-1300 - Professor Simon Thurley

Simon Thurley describes the creation of some of Europe’s most remarkable buildings during the new gothic period of 13th century England.

Early Mathematical Instruments - Dr Jim Bennett

A survey of the refined number of tools and instruments used by the people associated with the early days of the Royal Society.

Sir Christopher Wren and Wadham - Professor Lisa Jardine

The life and work of Sir Christopher Wren, viewed through his association with this Oxford College.

Robert Hooke, Early Science and Surveying - Professor Michael Cooper

A survey of the work of England's greatest scientists, Robert Hooke, carried out in the aftermath of the Great Fire of London in 1666.

The setting up of The Royal Society - Professor Michael Hunter

The Royal Society: who founded it, why, and what were the early political contexts that allowed it to thrive?

The Early History of Wadham College - Dr Allan Chapman

An overview of the founders and early professors of this Oxford College and the important discoveries and work they carried out.

The Early Days of Gresham College - Professor Robin Wilson

An overview of the early Professor of Geometry at one of Elizabethan England greatest educational assets.

What did eighteenth-century men want? - Professor Amanda Vickery

We associate the history of home and private life with women, but what did house and domesticity mean to men?

Britain in the 20th Century: Responses to Decline, 1895-1914 - Professor Vernon Bogdanor

An investigation of the reactions of Britain to its decline as a world power; from imperialism to social reform.

Making England: The Shadow of Rome, 410-1130 - Professor Simon Thurley

Simon Thurley takes us through over 700 years of English architecture, from the departure of the Romans to the Norman conquest and beyond.

The Victorians: Art and Culture - Professor Richard J Evans

The characteristics of Victorian culture and the reasons for its decline: from realism, nationalism and romanticism through to the dissonance, abstraction and modernism.

The Character of Twentieth Century Britain - Professor Vernon Bogdanor

From a fearless empire to an ambiguous island: what was the position of Britain at the start of the 20th Century and how did it come about?

The Victorians: Time and Space - Professor Richard J Evans

A survey of the revolutions in transport and communications in the Victorian era, set in their cultural and political contexts.

From Balkan War to World War, 1908-1918 - Professor Richard J Evans

What was the social and political context of Europe that meant that a local conflict in the Balkans could draw the whole continent into conflict? From Social Darwinism to technological advances, this lecture gets below the surface of World War One.

Town and Crown: Why London never became an imperial capital - Simon Thurley

How London developed differently from the other great capitals of Europe, thanks to our constitutional monarchy.

The Russo-Turkish War, 1875-1878 - Professor Richard J Evans

A little-known conflict, but one of crucial importance for Europe. The decay of the Ottoman Empire was accelerated by the conflict and proved a major factor behind the outbreak of war in 1914. The war broke down the barriers erected in 1815 against the intrusion of colonial conflicts into European diplomacy, and introduced a new instability into international relations.

The Politics of Architecture in Tudor and Stuart London - Simon Thurley

How the Tudor and Stuart monarchs used the buildings of London to boost their power and influence.

The Wars of German Unification, 1864-1871 - Professor Richard J Evans

A lecture on the military conflicts and political manoeuvres of Otto von Bismarck that brought about the unification of Germany.

From boom to bust: The politics of heritage 1997 to 2009 - Simon Thurley

The Chief Executive of English Heritage surveys the politics of heritage and preservation over the last ten years, with special reference to London.

Napoleon to the Kaiser: The Crimean War, 1854-1856 - Professor Richard J Evans

The origins, course and impact of the Crimean War, from both the military and civilian perspectives.

War and Revolution in 1848 - Professor Richard Evans

A lecture on the liberal, nationalist and popular revolutionary movements that spread across Europe in 1848, and the consequences that they brought about.

Deportation: Some ins and outs - Professor Tim Connell

A lecture to offer a survey of deportation in its historical context.

The Birth of Heritage and the Fabrication of History - Professor Simon Thurley

This lecture examines how heritage protection began and went on to shape out attitudes to our history and the past.

Bound for Botany Bay: The Trauma of Exile - Alan Brooke

An overview of the convict transportation to Australia: the origins in 1787, the impact that transportation had on the families of convicts, how convicts coped with the voyage from Britain to Australia, the arrival of convicts in Australia and the ending of the system in 1868.

Newgate: London's Prototype of Hell - Professor Stephen Halliday

Newgate was the largest, most notorious and worst prison in London. Built during the twelfth century, it came to hold the likes of Dick Turpin, Daniel Defoe and Casanova. The site of great cruelty - only a quarter of prisoners survived until their execution day - it became the inspiration of more poems, plays and novels than any other building in London. This lecture tells the story of Newgate's origins, the criminals it held, the punishments meted out and its rebuilding and reform.

Napoleon to the Kaiser: The defeat of Napoleon, 1806-1815 - Professor Richard J Evans

In 1810 Napoleon's France ruled or controlled the greater part of Europe. Five years later, his Empire had crumbled into ruins. This lecture explores the reasons for his victories and later defeat, assesses his impact on Europe, and addresses the question of why decades of warfare were followed in 1815 by a prolonged period of peace.

Wergeld: Crime and the compensation culture in medieval England - Professor Anthony Musson

Wergeld is the payment demanded of a person who has killed someone. That is, until the 9th century when it was replaced by capital punishment. The history of 'compensation culture' is older than some might think.

London’s Lost Rivers: The Hackney Brook and other North West Passages - Iain Sinclair

A look at the long-lost rivers of London and the physical traces the City still bares.

Our Changing Bodies: The lessons of anthropometric history - Professor Sir Roderick Floud

Understanding the welfare of our ancestors through a studying of their height and weight.

Merchants and Heroes: London’s history in the time of John Stow - Dr Matthew Davies

A look at the 'heroic' status of merchants in 16th and 17th century London.

The American Presidency: George W Bush - Professor Vernon Bogdanor

An assessment of the presidency of the younger Bush, one of the most surprising and divisive presidencies of recent times.

The American Presidency: Bill Clinton - Professor Vernon Bogdanor

Clinton was the first democratic president since Roosevelt to serve two full terms in the White House. He sought to modernise the Democratic party by searching for a 'Third Way' between the traditional statist policies of the Left and the neo-conservatism of the Right. How successful was Clinton in securing a new direction for the Democrats?

The Livery Companies in Tudor London - Professor Tim Connell

In the Sixteenth Century London developed as a major trading centre. What role did the livery companies play in this and how powerful were they in practice? Did they ultimately help or hinder the growth of the City?

A history of the dictionary: Dr Johnson, I presume? - Henry Hitchings

In 1755 Samuel Johnson published the world's first dictionary. This is a lecture about the revolutionary and momentous achievement that this represented, and the man that brought it about.

Mary Rose: The first Ship of our Standing Navy - Rear Admiral John Lippiett

The Mary Rose is the only 16th century warship on display anywhere in the world. She was a revolutionary build, and one of the first ships able to fire a broadside. After a long and successful career, she sank accidentally during an engagement with the French fleet in 1545. Her rediscovery and raising were seminal events in the history of nautical archaeology.

The American Presidency: George H W Bush - Professor Vernon Bogdanor

The older Bush was a one-term president, yet his presidency saw momentous changes in world politics - the end of the Cold War, a resolution of the German question and the successful outcome of the first Gulf War. Is the older Bush an undervalued president?

Richard Hakluyt: London's role in navigation and history - Anthony Payne

Richard Hakluyt (1552-1616) is famous for his Principal Navigations, intended both to record past maritime achievement and to inspire new endeavours. This lecture will explore Hakluyt's enterprise in the context of the two London associations that supported him, the Clothworkers' Company and by his cousin, a Middle Temple lawyer connected to City overseas trading interests.

The American Presidency: Ronald Reagan - Professor Vernon Bogdanor

Ronald Reagan saw it as his task to restore American self-confidence following the policy failures of the 1970's. Charismatic, and a master of the media, he was the first president since the 1920's to come to power with an explicitly conservative ideology. Did he succeed in implementing it, or was the 'Reagan revolution' nothing more than smoke and mirrors?

The fall of the Third Reich, 1944-45 - Professor Richard J Evans

Why did Germans keep fighting even when the war was so clearly lost? The worse the situation became, the more the regime used terror and coercion to impose its will. Some hoped for rescue by 'wonder-weapons'. Many Germans carried on because they thought they were fighting for Germany. Nationalism was what fundamentally motivated the officers who tried to kill Hitler in July 1944. The last semblance of normal life disappeared in the destruction and chaos of the last months of war.

The Legal Quays: Sir William Paulet, First Marquis of Winchester - Dr Alan Bryson

The story of Sir William Paulet, who amazingly held positions under Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I, notably as one of the judges for the trials of Sir Thomas More and the alleged accomplices of Anne Boleyn. Dr Alan Bryson pays particular attention to the influence of Sir William Paulet with relation to the Port of London.

The American Presidency: Jimmy Carter - Professor Vernon Bogdanor

Jimmy Carter saw himself as the antithesis to Nixon - he wanted to be the president who would restore morality to American life. An outsider in Washington, he sought to base his policies on human rights rather than on they brute facts of power politics. Yet his presidency saw the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the revolution in Iran. Heavily defeated by Ronald Reagan in 1980, will the Carter presidency go down in history as a failed presidency?

Stalingrad and Beyond, 1942-1943 - Professor Richard J Evans

By December 1941 the Third Reich had reached the apogee of its success. But Germany's economic and manpower resources proved insufficient to defeat the Soviet Union, and the Battle of Stalingrad marked the turning of the tide. By the middle of 1943, Germans were beginning to realise they would lose the war. The Allied bombing of German towns and cities caused a further drop in morale.

History, Science, Religion: Capturing The Public Imagination - Dr Allan Chapman

The 2008 Joint Royal Historical Society/Gresham College Annual Lecture.

The American Presidency: Richard Nixon - Professor Vernon Bogdanor

Richard Nixon, tainted by Watergate, is widely seen as the villain amongst post-war presidents. But are we in danger of neglecting his positive achievements - the creation of a new Republican Majority, the development of détente and the establishment of the relations of China?

The Phoenix: Rebuilding London after the Great Fire and the origins of the London Fire Brigade - Leo Hollis

1666 saw the Medieval centre of London destroyed by the Great Fire. How did London and England survive this blow? How was it able to pick itself up and rebuilt? What lessons were learnt, and how do they show themselves in today's modern London?

Hitler's Victories, 1939-41 - Professor Richard J Evans

The story of the astonishing and crushing military victories of the first two years of the war that brought Nazi Germany to a position of supreme power in the European continent. But Germany's early successes were built on a mixture of good tactics and good fortune, and they could not last.

Digging up old London - Dr Gustav Milne

London is one of the most historically rich and yet most well developed cities in the world. How is archaeology accommodated in this city where real-estate it at a premium and development cannot wait?

The American Presidency: Lyndon Johnson - Professor Vernon Bogdanor

The Johnson Presidency was marked, almost from its inception, by the tragedy of Vietnam, the first war which the USA found it could not win. Yet this Presidency also saw a massive domestic reform programme. Johnson developed Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, greatly expanding the role of the federal government. The Presidents who succeeded Johnson have sought to limit the scope of the federal government, not to expand it. Did the Johnson Presidency, then, mark the end of an era?

Hitler and the Origins of the War, 1919-1939 - Professor Richard J Evans

Nearly half a century ago, the historian A. J. P. Taylor brought about a startling rethinking of our understanding of the origins of World War II. This lecture revisits the debate he unleashed, pointing to the evidence that has accumulated in recent years of Hitler's far-reaching plans for the creation of a new Nazi empire in Eastern Europe as a springboard for the rise of Germany as the dominant power in the world. Appeasement may have been the only feasible policy up to early 1939, but it rested all along on a misreading of Hitler's intentions.

The Last Mughal - William Dalrymple

Bahadur Shah Zafar II, the last Mughal Emperor of India, was a mystic, an accomplished poet and a skilled calligrapher, but he will be mainly remembered for giving his blessing to the largest uprising of the 19th Century. The siege of Delhi in 1857 is perhaps the seminal event in the history of Empire, and it saw thousands die in fighting on both sides, and then the execution of ten of thousands of Indians once the British troops had regained the now ruined city.

The East India Company and the Modern Multinational - Nick Robins

The East India Company was a defining company of the Victorian era, but what was the nature of the organisation and how does it relate to multinationals today?

Gresham and Antwerp - Professor Guido Marnef

Placing the great Elizabethan merchant and founder of the Royal Exchange, Sir Thomas Gresham, within the context of the political, religious, economic and cultural world of 16th Century Antwerp and London.

God meets Mammon: The Financing of the New Cathedral - Dr Negley Harte

St. Paul's is perhaps the greatest building to have emerged out of the carnage of the Great Fire of 1666, but how was this vast construction funded?

John F. Kennedy: President, 1961-1963 - Professor Vernon Bogdanor

Kennedy's brief Presidency still has glamour attached to it, over 40 years after his assassination. Yet, his actual performance in office divides the historians. What should the final verdict be?

The Literary Deans of St. Paul's Cathedral - Professor Tim Connell

The Deans of St. Paul's include a significant number of literary figures among their ranks. Apart from famous names such as John Colet and John Donne, there is a founder member of the Royal Society, a friend of Izaak Walton and the Gloomy Dean himself. And how many Deans have pubs named after them?

The Origins of the NHS - Professor Virginia Berridge

A review of the origins of the NHS, cutting a clear course through the many historical debates about the NHS and its origins. Did the NHS come about through consensus, or did it have to be fought for?

Dwight Eisenhower: President, 1953-1961 - Professor Vernon Bogdanor

An analysis of Eisenhower's presidency, in which he sought to heal the wounds which divided Americans, and to lower the temperature in foreign affairs after the death of Stalin. Critics argue that, in the search for consensus, he allowed deep-seated problems to fester, in particular civil rights. Was the price of consensus too high?