C History

C15R History of Printing and Publishing in Europe

Max: 12, Sessions: 6

Tutor / Leader: Dr David SHAW

• Gutenberg’s invention of moveable type;

• the spread of printing in the 15th century;

• religion and scholarship in 16th-century Europe;

• King v. Parliament in 17th-century England;

• English provincial printing and publishing in the 18th century (focussing on Canterbury);

• printing and the industrial revolution in the 19th-century;

• 20th-century developments, including the computer and the internet;

• the history of the Cathedral Library, including a visit.

The course will include use of historic materials from the Cathedral Library collections.

Venue: City centre; no on-site parking; no Precincts charge for attending the class but payment needed if visiting the Cathedral.

Weekly on Mondays 10:30–12:30

4 Oct to 18 Oct, 1 Nov to 15 Nov

Venue: Cathedral Archives Reading Room

Clashes: E15T F19Y F20Z G03U G04V H04W H05X

C16T The Holocaust in Film and Memory

Max: 8, Sessions: 14

Tutor / Leader: Mrs Barbara ROGERS

This course, presented jointly by Barbara Rogers and Miriam Westendarp, is designed to present multiple aspects of a particularly grim period of European history as it has been represented in writing.

We will watch 11 films, covering a mixture of fact and fiction, some of them split over two sessions if they are long (eg ‘Schindler’s List’, ‘Conspiracy’). A programme will be sent out in advance to offer flexibility should some attendees not wish to watch the entire selection. Refreshments will be provided, and it is expected that these breaks will be opportunities for discussion.

Weekly on Tuesdays 10:30–12:30

5 Oct to 16 Nov, 4 Jan to 15 Feb

Venue: Host’s house. Check your programme for details.

Clashes: B09W B10X C17U C18V C19W C20X E18W E19X E20Y F24R F25T F26U F27V F28W G05W G06X J22T M06N M01W M02X M03Y M04Z

C17U Britain since 1945

Max: 12, Sessions: 8

Tutor / Leader: Mr Keith AIKIN

We shall discuss the many changes that have occurred in Britain since 1945, including those in the economy, foreign affairs, politics and personalities.

Weekly on Tuesdays 10:30–12:00

2 Nov to 21 Dec

Venue: Host’s house. Check your programme for details.

Clashes: B09W C16T E18W E19X E20Y F24R F26U F27V G05W J22T M06N M01W M02X

C18V The History and Practice of Espionage

Max: 18, Sessions: 8

Tutor / Leader: Dr Gini AUSTIN

This course will concentrate largely on the UK during the 20th century. However, early history will also be covered to explain how we arrived at the modern era and what features and themes are recurring. The course is very similar to the one I offered in 2019.

Weekly on Tuesdays 10:00–11:45

4 Jan to 22 Feb

Venue: Lounge, St Mary Bredin Church, Nunnery Fields, Canterbury, CT1 3JN

Clashes: B10X C16T C19W C20X E19X E20Y F28W G06X J22T M03Y M04Z

C19W British Prime Ministers since 1945

Max: 12, Sessions: 8

Tutor / Leader: Mr Keith AIKIN

We shall discuss and evaluate the performance of the fifteen prime ministers Britain has had since the end of the Second World War.

Weekly on Tuesdays 10:30–12:00

11 Jan to 1 Mar

Venue: Host’s house. Check your programme for details.

Clashes: B10X C16T C18V C20X E19X E20Y F28W G06X J22T M03Y M04Z

C20X “A voyage round my grandfathers”

Max: 98, Sessions: 2

Tutor / Leader: Rev Brian MCHENRY

My grandfathers’ early lives have always fascinated me. George Wainford served in the Royal Navy in the Great War. His ship was badly hit during the Battle of Jutland. He saw the surrender of the German fleet at the war’s end. Eddie McHenry was in service in Ireland at the same time. He worked for the famous Anglo-Irish author, Lord Dunsany. This will be an illustrated talk using some of my grandads’ original words.

Weekly on Tuesdays 10:30–12:00

18 Jan to 25 Jan

Venue: Zoom

Clashes: B10X C16T C18V C19W E19X E20Y J22T M03Y

C21Y The ‘Shambolic’ 1970s

Max: 9, Sessions: 6

Tutor / Leader: Mr Roger LANSDELL

This course offers a recent and different approach to history. It is for members who enjoy participation and discussion and are prepared to research and present, for about 30 minutes, a topic from anywhere in the world or any subject from the period, including their own memories. Possible topics may include: The Three-day week, Britain joining the EEC, The Yom Kippur War, British Pop Music or The Winter of Discontent. Roger will present an overview of the main events in the decade at the first session.

Directions: Bus route 25 stops nearby on Nunnery Fields. There is paid parking on Nunnery Fields

Weekly on Tuesdays 14:15–16:15

11 Jan to 15 Feb

Venue: Host’s house. Check your programme for details.

Clashes: B13L E21Z F29X F30Y F32L H06Y J24V

C22Z SOE in Burma during WW2

Max: 30, Sessions: 1

Tutor / Leader: Mr Robert GARDINER

In Burma SOE was called Force 136. It operated clandestinely behind Japanese lines and its modus operandi was different to SOE in Europe. Force 136 brought Aung San (the father of Aung San Suu Kyi) to prominence. Following the war, the official account was not publicly available until well after the normal 30-year release rule for government documents.

This talk outlines the history, the activities and the consequences.

Wednesday 10:00–11:00

24 Nov

Venue: Upper Room, St Mary Bredin Church, Nunnery Fields, Canterbury, CT1 3JN

Clashes: F33N H07Z

C23L British Women 1880–1920

Max: 20, Sessions: 6

Tutor / Leader: Mr Cedric REBUCK

Starting with what it was like to be a woman in 1880, we look at the issues that affected women at that time, continuing to the campaign for women’s suffrage and women’s contribution to winning WW1, on the way, looking at the lives and achievements of some outstanding women, all illustrated with slides and with plenty of time for questions and discussions.

Weekly on Wednesdays 10:00–12:00

12 Jan to 16 Feb

Venue: Upper Hall, Baptist Church, St George’s Place, Canterbury, CT1 1UT

Clashes: A17R F33N

C24N Some Feisty English Queens

Max: 25, Sessions: 6

Tutor / Leader: Rev’d Christopher SKINGLEY

A look at the life and times of Æthelflæd, Matilda, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Isabella, Margaret of Anjou, Margaret Tudor, Katherine of Aragon, Mary I, and Elizabeth I.

Weekly on Thursdays 10:00–11:30

7 Oct to 11 Nov

Venue: Lounge, St Mary Bredin Church, Nunnery Fields, Canterbury, CT1 3JN

Clashes: B14N B15P F34P J27Y J28Z

C25P Life in Chaucer’s England

Max: 29, Sessions: 6

Tutor / Leader: Revd Christopher SKINGLEY

A look at some aspects of life in fourteenth-century England including food and drink, health and hygiene, law and order, leisure, religion, and travel and markets.

Weekly on Thursdays 10:00–11:30

20 Jan to 24 Feb

Venue: Upper Room, St Mary Bredin Church, Nunnery Fields, Canterbury, CT1 3JN

Clashes: B15P B16R B17T C26R F35R H09N

C26R A Microcosmic History of Kent

Max: 25, Sessions: 5

Tutor / Leader: Mr David REEKIE

A microcosm is something small which represents a larger reality. This course will look at the history of Kent and how the events which shaped it were embedded in the wider history of England and Europe. We will look at some pivotal episodes in the story of Canterbury and East Kent and show how they both reflected and changed the wider world. These will include the AD 597 Conversion, The Norman Conquest, The Peasants Revolt, Chaucer and Marlowe, The Reformation, and The Canterbury and Whitstable Railway.

Weekly on Thursdays 10:00–11:30

27 Jan to 24 Feb

Venue: Lounge, St Mary Bredin Church, Nunnery Fields, Canterbury, CT1 3JN

Clashes: B15P B16R B17T C25P F35R H09N

C27T Egyptology – The Pyramids

Max: 60, Sessions: 5

Tutor / Leader: Mr Roger SHARP

The Pyramids of Egypt, their location, purpose, design, materials, construction, and surviving contents. There are over one hundred pyramids dating to the Old and Middle Kingdoms, the most famous being those at Giza, Saqqara and Dahshur, which date back over four thousand years.

Materials for this highly illustrated course have been accumulated over many years, which include four years of residence in Egypt, and appointments to accompany many Archaeological Tours as Guest Lecturer.

Weekly on Fridays 10:30–12:00

5 Nov to 3 Dec

Venue: Zoom

Clashes: B19V B20W C28U F37U F38V H13U H14V

C28U Canterbury in Victorian and Edwardian Times

Max: 98, Sessions: 5

Tutor / Leader: Dr Doreen ROSMAN

This course, repeated from 2019, charts what it was like to live in Victorian and Edwardian Canterbury. It explores work and play, disease and destitution, and changes brought by the railway revolution. Battles were fought over religion, the franchise, and the building of sewers, while personal antagonisms tore Canterbury’s Edwardian Conservative party apart. Grand Victorian buildings transformed the city’s appearance, but some people opposed new developments such as electricity, telephones, and even ‘railway time’.

Weekly on Fridays 10:30–11:45

12 Nov to 10 Dec

Venue: Zoom

Clashes: B19V B20W C27T F37U F38V H13U H14V

C29V Egyptology – Mastaba Tombs and the Development of Egyptian Art and Sculpture

Max: 60, Sessions: 5

Tutor / Leader: Mr Roger SHARP

This course will cover the Noble’s Tombs of the Pyramid Age, their location, design, decoration, and surviving contents. We will continue with a study of Egyptian art and sculpture, and its development over three thousand years of Egyptian civilisation.

Materials for this highly illustrated course have been accumulated over many years, which include four years of residence in Egypt, and appointments to accompany many Archaeological Tours as Guest Lecturer.

Weekly on Fridays 10:30–12:00

7 Jan to 4 Feb

Venue: Zoom

Clashes: B21X C30W H13U H14V

C30W Canterbury in War and Peace

Max: 98, Sessions: 4

Tutor / Leader: Dr Doreen ROSMAN

This course, repeated from 2020, explores life in Canterbury during and after two world wars. The inter-war years brought major change as slums were cleared and council houses built. Two super-cinemas opened on the same day. Plans to redevelop the centre, after the 1942 bombing, provoked fierce controversy, before higher education—and high-speed trains—transformed a sleepy market town into a bustling city, thronging (pre-Covid) with students, shoppers, and modern-day pilgrims.

Weekly on Fridays 10:30–11:45

14 Jan to 4 Feb

Venue: Zoom

Clashes: B21X C29V H13U H14V