What's On
Our Programme of Talks
September 2025 to June 2026
Talks will be held in the
Parish Centre, Jewry Street, Winchester, SO23 8RY
at 6.30pm (unless indicated otherwise)
and others at Winchester College, starting at 7pm.
September
Dr JAMES ROSS
University of Winchester
​​​
'Henry VII - A Reassessment'
Despite his tenuous claim to the throne Henry was the first king of the Tudor Dynasty. He united the warring factions of the Wars of the Roses.
Wednesday 17th September 2025
Starts at 6.30pm
October
MGR PHILIP WHITMORE
​​​​
'I Have Come to Set the World on Fire:
The Founding of the Venerable English College in Rome'
The English College was founded as a Seminary in 1579 to prepare priests to serve on The English Mission after the Reformation. After the Acts of Uniformity in 1549 and 1559 to be a Catholic was to be a traitor. Over the next 100 years 44 priests died a martyr’s death.
Wednesday 15th October 2025
Starts at 6.30pm
November
LORD PATTEN of Barnes
​
'What Ever Happened to the Global Order?'
To be held at:
Winchester College on Friday November 28th 2025
at 7pm
The former Chancellor of the University of Oxford 2003 - 2024
Chair of BBC Trust 2011 - 2014
European Commissioner for External Affairs 1999 - 2014
Chair of The Independent Commission on Policing in Northern Ireland 1998 - 1999
Governor of Hong Kong 1992 - 1997
Member of Parliament for Bath 1979 - 1992
December
Dr FRANCES SANDS
Curator of Drawings and Books, The Sir John Soane Museum
​'Architecture in the Age of Elegance:
An Introduction to Robert Adam'
Robert Adam (1728 - 1792) was one of the most important British Architects working in the Neoclassical style.
A movement in the Decorative and Visual Arts that drew inspiration from the classical arts and cultural of Ancient Greece and Rome
Wednesday 10th December 2025
​Drinks and Canapés from 5,30pm
AGM at 6.00 pm
Talk starts at 6.30pm
January to June 2026
January
CARDINAL TIMOTHY RADCLIFFE
​'An evening with Cardinal Radcliffe'
He was ordained in 1971 as a Dominican and was created Cardinal by Pope Francis in December 2024. He is a Honorary Doctor of Divinity at the University of Oxford he has 12 other doctorates including Georgetown, Fribourg and the Angelicum.
To be held at:
Winchester College on Friday 28th January 2026 at 7pm​
February
PROFESSOR ANNA
WHITELOCK
​'The Sun Rising: James 1
& The Dawn of a Global Britain'
Professor Whitelock is a historian, author and a well known broadcaster. Her latest book is an extraordinary account of the arrival of the Stuarts and the foundation of a Global Empire.
To be held at: Winchester College on Thursday 5th February 2026 at 7pm​
March
ANNA WITHERS
​'Medieval Monastic Gardens'
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Monastic Gardens were prominent in the Medieval period. They were carefully planned to serve as a source of food, medicine and a place of peace and spiritual reflection.
Wednesday 18th March 2026
Starts at 6.30 pm
SPECIAL EVENT IN APRIL
To Celebrate the Centenary of St Peter's Catholic Church in Winchester
THE REVD PROFESSOR DIARMAID MACCULLOCH
Kt, MA PhD Camb, MA DD Oxf, FBA​
​
​'Smashing Images during The Reformation: why did they do it, and why did they stop?'
Professor MacCulloch is Emeritus Professor of the History of the Church at Oxford and a prize winning Author who has written extensively on the sixteenth century. The Reformation was the seismic event in European history which tore the medieval world apart. The Reformation is where the modern world began.
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To be held at: Winchester College on Friday 24th April 2026 at 7pm​
May
PROFESSOR MARIA HAYWARD
University of Southampton
​'Dressing for the Restoration Court: Fashion in the reign of Charles II'
This talk will explore fashionable dress at the Court of Charles II by focusing on the clothes of the King, his Queen Catherine of Braganza and his mistresses. It will draw on Royal Collection accounts and the portraits of the leading Court artists including Peter Lely and John Michael Wright.
Wednesday 20th May 2026 - Starts at 6.30pm
June
PROFESSOR MICHAEL WHEELER
​'William Ewart Gladstone: The Heart and Soul of a Statesman'
Professor Michael Wheeler is a leading historian of the nineteenth century and currently a Visiting Professor of English at the University of Southampton. William Gladstone was one of the most important statesmen of the Victorian Age. This new book explores the spiritual dimension of his complex inner life.
‘His longest crusade was the enemy within’.
Wednesday 17th June 2026 - Starts at 6.30pm