February 2020

The V&A Past, Present and Future

Dr Tristram Hunt

Dr Tristram Hunt will trace the V&A’s genesis from its Victorian roots, discussing how the Museum’s founding commitment to the ‘artisan in design’ continues to define its mission today.

Former MP and Shadow Secretary of State for Education, Dr Tristram Hunt is the Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London - the world’s leading museum of art, design and performance. His doctorate is in Victorian history from Cambridge University and he has written several books, including Ten Cities That Made an Empire (2014).

4th Feb

Harold Shipman

John Pollard

A phone call to John Pollard’s South Manchester Coroner’s Office in 1998, from a local doctor, started a chain of events which would dramatically affect all Coroners in England and Wales. The murders committed by Harold Frederick Shipman culminated in the conviction of one of the most prolific serial killers in UK history.

John Pollard recently retired as Senior Coroner for South Manchester He is a former Head Prefect of Hymers College and a graduate of the University

of Leeds.

11th Feb

Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him

Tracy Borman

Henry VIII is infamous for his six wives. But it was the men in his life who shaped this notorious monarch. Tracy Borman’s biography tells Henry’s story through the eyes of the men who surrounded him. It was these men who shaped Henry and he, in turn, dictated their fates.

Tracey Borman is a historian and author. She taught history at the University of Hull. She is also joint Chief Curator of London’s Historic Royal Palaces.

18th Feb

Margaret Thatcher – Her Life and Achievements

Charles Moore

Charles Moore is a journalist and a former editor of The Spectator, The Sunday Telegraph and The Daily Telegraph. He is now a columnist for the Daily Telegraph and the Spectator and appears regularly on BBC’s Question Time.

He is the authorised biographer of Baroness Margaret Thatcher and his third and final volume of her life will appear in October 2019 .

25th Feb