Entry to meetings is free to HA members, non-members £4 per meeting.

We are delighted to be able to welcome our members and interested members of the public to our 2025-2026 series of events! Of course, circumstances are always changeable and so events may be changed or cancelled at short notice, so we encourage you to watch out for updates on our website or Facebook page (details below).

For further information, please contact Sahand Razavi on 0161 2330818 or alternatively through email at srazavi@live.co.uk. All meetings take place at The Friends Meeting House, 6 Mount Street, Manchester, M2 5NS, on Saturday afternoons at 12pm (except for branch visits, in which details regarding meeting place and time can differ- please see details below) For directions and location of the Meeting House, please consult http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=383784&Y=397955&A=Y&Z=110.

The Meeting House is directly behind Central Library in the city centre, and can be accessed very easily by Metrolink, just get off at St. Peter’s station stop, and you will see the library.

 

Manchester with Liverpool & Chester Programme 2025-26

 

Saturday 18th October 2025

Dr Natlie Zacek (University of Manchester)

Manchester and Transatlantic Slavery

We begin the programme of events by welcoming back Dr Natalie Zacek to deliver another talk that looks at Manchester’s ties with the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

 

Saturday 15th November 2025

Dr Emily Jones (University of Manchester)

From Hughenden to Hollywood: Benjamin Disraeli, Mythmaking, and the Making of a Conservative Tradition

We are delighted to welcome Dr Emily Jones to present a talk on Disraeli and Conservative traditions.

 

Saturday 6th December 2025

Professor Yangwen Zheng (University of Manchester)

The Problem with Modernisation in China

We also welcome back Professor Yangwen Zheng to present what should be a fascinating insight into Chinese past and present history.

 

Saturday 10th January 2026

Professor Keith Laybourn (University of Huddersfield)

The General Strike of 1926: The Legends and Myths

Professor Keith Laybourn will analyse how the immediate impact of the strike on British society and politics was pervasive, even if it barely changed the long-term pattern of events.

 

Saturday 21st February 2026

Dr Neil Pye (The University of Liverpool)

The Dividing Line Between ‘Old’ and ‘New’ Labour

Dr Neil Pye will evaluate the impact of the 1985 Labour Party conference as a turning point in Labour Party history.

 

Saturday 21st March 2026

Dr Jonathan Spangler (Manchester Metropolitan University)

Emerging from the shadows: the developing role of kings’ younger brothers in Britain, France and elsewhere, 1600-1800

We are also delighted to welcome back Dr Jonathan Spangler to our branch again, who will expand on a previous talk about the younger brothers of Louis XIV and Charles II (the dukes of Orleans and York), and the younger brother of Frederick the Great of Prussia and the younger brothers of George III in comparison to those of Louis XVI.