Canterbury Branch Programme
Branch contact: Mike Gallagher mike.gallagher79@yahoo.co.uk
Venue: All talks start at 7.00pm, unless otherwise stated, at venues in Canterbury individually specified.
Associate membership: £10 per year. Talks free to national HA members and students. Visitors £5.
Twitter: @CanterburyHA
Canterbury Branch Programme 2025 -26
Thursday 9th October 2025 (Preceded by Branch AGM at 6.15pm)
The Hundred Years War and its Legacy
The Michael Berry Lecture Theatre, Old Sessions House, Canterbury Christ Church University CT1 1PH
Jonathan Sumption, Lord Sumption, Historian and former Supreme Court judge
Lord Jonathan Sumption, former Supreme Court judge and author of multiple volumes on the Hundred Years War will give an exciting lecture on the Hundred Years War, 1337–1453, and its legacy. Preceded by the Branch’s AGM at 6.15pm.
Thursday 4th November 2025
The 6th Form Great Debate 2025: Canterbury Heat
King's School, Canterbury, Old School Room, Mint Yard CT1 2EZ
An organised speaking competition for secondary school pupils from local schools. Attendance prioritised for pupils, teachers and parents. Contact Ben Marsh b.j.marsh@kent.ac.uk with any enquiries.
Thursday 13th November 2025
Corruption in Britain and its Empire from the Seventeenth to the Nineteenth Centuries
University of Kent, Grimond Lecture Theatre 1 CT2 7NZ
Professor Mark Knights, University of Warwick
Lecture: Professor Mark Knights from the University of Warwick, a renowned scholar of corruption, and the author of the influential Trust and Distrust: Corruption in Office in Britain and Its Empire, 1600-1850, will deliver an insightful lecture on corruption in Britain and its empire from c. 1600-1850.
Thursday 4th December 2025
"Don't let's be beastly to the Germans": Reconstruction, Denazification, and 'Winning the Peace' in Post-War Germany
Kent College, Chapel CT2 9DT
Dr Daniel Cowling, National Army Museum
Lecture: Dr Daniel Cowling, specialist in Modern European and British History at the National Army Museum, and author of the acclaimed Don't Let's be Beastly to the Germans: The British Occupation of Germany, 1945-49, will speak to us about the fascinating topics of reconstruction, denazification and 'winning the peace' in post-war Germany.
Wednesday 7th January 2026
History at University: a day of presentations for Year 12 students interested in studying history beyond 6th Form
Canterbury Christ Church University, The Old Sessions House CT1 1PH
A day of presentations and discussion groups run by university lecturers for current Sixth Formers. Contact David Hitchcock David.hitchcock@canterbury.ac.uk with any enquiries.
Thursday 15th January 2026
The Vatican Archives and the Second World War
Kent College, Chapel CT2 9DT
Dr Ambrogio Caiani, University of Kent
Lecture: Dr Ambrogio Caiani, Senior Lecturer in Modern European History at the University of Kent, and the author of multiple works, including the acclaimed To Kidnap a Pope: Napoleon and Pius VII, will speak to us about what the Vatican archives reveal about the Second World War.
Thursday 5th February 2026
The Annual Lyle Lecture: ‘A City fit for The Queen’: Elizabeth I’s Visit to Canterbury in 1573
Canterbury Cathedral, The Clagett Auditorium CT1 2EG
Cressida Williams, Archives and Library Manager at Canterbury Cathedral
Lecture: Keeping with the local history theme of our annual Lyle Lectures, Cressida Williams, the Archives and Library Manager at Canterbury Cathedral, will give an exciting lecture on Queen Elizabeth I's visit in 1573 to Canterbury, where she spent her 40th birthday.
Thursday 5th March 2026
Stonehenge in the Seventeenth Century: Landscape, Ancient Monuments and Memory
King's School, Canterbury, Mint Yard Gate, Science Auditorium CT1 2EZ
Professor Alexandra Walsham, University of Cambridge; HA President.
Lecture: Cambridge Professor, Alexandra Walsham, author of many works on early modern British religion, society and culture, and the current President of the Historical Association, will give a fascinating lecture on the meaning and significance of Stonehenge in the seventeenth century.
Thursday 7th May 2026 (reception at 6.30pm)
Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn: the French Connection
King's School, Canterbury, Mint Yard Gate, Science Auditorium CT1 2EZ
Professor John Guy (Teaching Fellow in History, University of Cambridge) and Julia Fox (author and historical researcher)
Lecture preceded by a reception at 6.30.pm in The Lattergate Garden, King's School.
Co-authors of the acclaimed 'Hunting the Falcon: Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and the Marriage that Shook Europe', Professor John Guy and Julia Fox, will give a lecture on their new research on Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.
Thursday 4th June 2026
Colonial America (specific title TBC)
Kent College, Chapel CT2 9DT
Professor Nick Guyatt, University of Cambridge
Lecture: Professor of North American History at the University of Cambridge, and author of numerous books on the topic, will give a timely lecture on the American Revolution, hitting that topic before the 250th Anniversary on 4 July 2026.
Saturday 20th June 2026
A Day Visit – Shoreditch
Exploring the Elizabethan theatrical world of Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare: an all-day walking itinerary in Shoreditch, London led by Dr David Perkins, King's School, Canterbury. Details re booking, price and timings to be confirmed. Enquiries to be sent to David Perkins djcp@kings-school.co.uk