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Gresham College

Gresham College

Gresham College was founded in 1597 and has been providing free lectures in the City of London for over 400 years.

This four-century-old tradition continues today with three or more lectures a week available to watch on YouTube and our website.

Gresham College is able to continue to offer free public lectures thanks to the generosity of our supporters. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/support/

Links:
Support us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege
Twitter: https://twitter.com/greshamcollege
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@greshamcollege
Website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/

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  • Yesterday · 1 hr 4 min

    The Victorians: Art and Culture - Professor Richard J. Evans

    The Victorian age began as an age of realism, in literature and art, and of nationalism and romanticism in music and culture. By the end of the century, however, the high noon of Victorian culture was starting to give way to more disturbing developments - the disintegration of musical tonality, the emergence of abstract art, the eruption of the 'primitive' into cultural styles and the arrival of modernism onto the artistic scene. This lecture examines the characteristics of Victorian culture and the reasons for its decline. Uploaded 10-08-11 The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-victorians-art-and-culture Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: https://gresham.ac.uk/support/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 1 hr 11 min

    A "Sing In" with Gilbert and Sullivan - Robin Wilson and Others

    What is it about Gilbert and Sullivan that has made their works so enormously popular for so many generations? It is, among other things, their perfect marriage between words and music that gives endless pleasure to singers and audiences alike. Gilbert's wonderful wit and Sullivan's irresistible tunefulness magically combine to provide entertainment on the highest level, of the sort which has so magnificently stood the test of time and will surely continue to do so. Professor Wilson's lecture could well provide an opportunity for audience participation! Uploaded 10-08-11 The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/a-%E2%80%9Csing-in%E2%80%9D-with-gilbert-and-sullivan Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. http://www.gresham.ac.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 57 min

    Lung Cancer and Mesothelioma

    Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in both men and women, but kills the most people through a combination of being common and currently having much less effective treatment. Both treatment and prevention are currently improving, slowly. Uploaded 10-06-26 Mesothelioma, a lung-associated cancer caused by exposure to asbestos, is now the commonest occupational cancer. While treatment for these cancers is still at an early stage, they are largely preventable through public health measures. A lecture by Chris Whitty 12 February The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/lung-cancer Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website. Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege Support the show (https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/one-donation) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 56 min

    The Sky at Night, Tonight: A New View of the Changing Sky - Chris Lintott

    00:00 // Welcome and Meet the Vera Rubin Observatory Uploaded 18-09-26 01:10 // First Look: Sloan vs Rubin's Stunning Images 03:57 // Just How Big Is Rubin's View of the Sky? 07:08 // The Old Way: Begging Telescopes for Time 14:17 // The Sky Surveys That Paved the Way 17:44 // Building a Billion-Dollar Telescope 19:27 // Mirrors, Cameras and Engineering Marvels 24:41 // Disaster Strikes: Storms in the Chilean Desert 26:30 // First Discoveries: Asteroids, Comets and an Interstellar Visitor 35:40 // Supernovae, Dark Matter and What's Next Watch the Q and A session here: https://youtu.be/ehP4fkdVEFM On a remote mountain top in Chile, scanning the sky with the largest astronomical camera ever built, the Vera Rubin Observatory is conducting the deepest and most sensitive survey of the sky yet. This lecture covers whatever it’s found in the previous week, from supernovae to asteroids, giving us a glimpse of science in action. This lecture was recorded by Chris Lintott on the 14th of September 2026 Professor Chris Lintott is a Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Oxford, and a Research Fellow at New College. Having been educated at Magdalene College, Cambridge and University College London, his research now ranges from understanding how galaxies form and evolve, to using machine learning to find the most unusual things in the Universe, to predicting the properties of visiting interstellar asteroids. He was the founder of the Zooniverse citizen science platform, which provides opportunities for more than two million online volunteers to contribute to scientific research, and which was the topic of his first book, 'The Crowd and the Cosmos’. His latest book is ‘Our Accidental Universe’. Professor Lintott is best known for presenting the BBC's long-running Sky at Night program, and as an accomplished lecturer. Away from work, he cooks, suffers through being a fan of Torquay United and Somerset cricket, and spends time with a rescued lurcher, Mr Max. He can often be found at the helm of Oxford’s science comedy night, ‘Huh, That’s Funny’. The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/sky-night Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham College's mission, please consider making a donation: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Website: https://gresham.ac.uk X: https://x.com/GreshamCollege Facebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollege Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/greshamcollege.bsky.social TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@greshamcollege Support Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 1 hr 8 min

    From Printed Page to Performance - Christopher Hogwood, Emma Kirkby and Jakob Lindberg

    When so much in music education is formulated on the principle of imitation, and the passing down of received 'traditions' from teacher to pupil, it is important to readdress the significance of original and informed opinion in performance. Uploaded 27-08-11 Dame Emma Kirkby, who has done more than any other musician of our generation to reassess the vocal approach to earlier music will discuss with the Lecturer her approach to singing, teaching, recording and performing and the effect her performances have had on singing world-wide over the last forty years. The lecture is illustrated by live examples taken from Renaissance lute songs and other repertoire, including the following pieces: John Dowland Prelude Go Crystal Tears Shall I sue? Shall I seek for grace Fantasia Tarquinio Merula Canzonetta Spirituale Sopra La Nanna Henry Purcell She loves and she confesses too The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/from-printed-page-to-performance Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. http://www.gresham.ac.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 55 min

    How to be a Shakespearean Atheist

    Villainous atheists were, like witches, stock figures of the European imagination in the Renaissance. But when Shakespeare and his contemporaries put them on the stage, 'atheists' could be uncomfortably compelling. Uploaded 10-06-26 This lecture will explore how the sixteenth century found ways of distancing itself from religion - like Christopher Marlowe, who raged against its moral constraints, or Michel de Montaigne, a devout Catholic who cloistered his faith in one honoured corner of his life where it would not be disturbed. A lecture by Alec Ryrie, Gresham Professor of Divinity 24 January 2019 The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/shakespearean-atheist Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website. Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege Support the show (https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/one-donation) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 1 hr 5 min

    Is Robocop Now A Reality?

    Robocop (1987) embodied a particular vision of an electronic crime fighter but what is the reality of electronic crime fighting? How are the police and security services using technology to trap villains? Uploaded 11-06-26 In this lecture we will examine not only the murky world of electronic crime but also how information technology can be used to solve physical crimes. A lecture by Richard Harvey 05 May The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/is-robocop-reality Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website. Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege Support the show (https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/one-donation) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 51 min

    Artificial Intelligence and Religion

    This lecture addresses the potential links between AI and religious belief, which include the question of whether an artificial "superintelligence", were one to arise, would be well-disposed towards us. Religious traditions historically assume that creations are well disposed to those who made them. Uploaded 11-06-26 The lecture also looks at the recent US cults claiming to be ready to worship such a "super-intelligence", if and when it emerges, as well as other futurist discourse on "Transhumanism" and its roots in 18th-century rationalism. A lecture by Yorick Wilks 12 May The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/ai-religion Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website. Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege Support the show (https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/one-donation) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 1 hr 9 min

    Maths in the City: Future Cities

    The world's population is rapidly expanding and the majority of this population will live in large city conurbations. What will out future cities look like? How will transport system work, how will people move around, and how will we supply them with energy and remove their waste? What sort of houses will people live in in the future and what will our communities look like? The lecture will show how mathematical models can help us understand how cities work and how they might evolve in the future. Uploaded 10-06-26 A lecture by Chris Budd, Gresham Professor of Geometry 12 February 2019 The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/maths-future-cities Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website. Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege Support the show (https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/one-donation) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 1 hr 8 min

    Sheep Across London Bridge: The Freedom of the City of London - Murray Craig

    One of the oldest surviving traditional ceremonies still in existence today is the granting of the Freedom of the City of London. It is believed that the first Freedom was presented in 1237. The medieval term 'freeman' meant someone who was not the property of a feudal lord, but enjoyed privileges such as the right to earn money and own land. Town dwellers who were protected by the charter of their town or city were often free - hence the term 'freedom of the City'. Uploaded 30-11-11 The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/sheep-across-london-bridge-the-freedom-of-the-city-of-london Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. http://www.gresham.ac.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 58 min

    Volcanoes and Society

    There are an estimated 800 million people living close enough to active volcanoes to be affected when they erupt. As well as casualties from volcanic eruptions there can be major economic losses and societal disruption, especially when communities have to be evacuated. The eruption of Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland in April-May 2010 did not kill anyone but disrupted the travel of millions of people and cost the airline industry billions of dollars. This highlighted the increasing vulnerability of modern globalised societies. Uploaded 10-06-26 New approaches to volcanic hazard assessment and risk management are emerging as more information is required to respond to volcanic emergencies - illustrated by approaches to some recent eruptions, such as the Soufriere Hills Volcano, Montserrat. A lecture by Sir Stephen Sparks, Visiting Professor of Geology 20 February 2019 The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/volcanoes-society Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website. Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege Support the show (https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/one-donation) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 56 min

    The Business of Santa Claus in Lapland

    The myth of Santa Claus has been translated into an extraordinary market on a global scale. We see Santa everywhere in adverts and products, and people also travel quite long distances to meet the 'real Santa' in his faraway home. Uploaded 10-06-26 The first Concorde flight from Britain to Northern Finland was organised in 1984 with around 100 passengers wanting to experience the magic of Christmas in this authentic setting. But how did this marketing success materialise? How did Finland become the home of Christmas? A lecture by Teea Palo 11 December The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/santa-claus Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website. Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege Support the show (https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/one-donation) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 1 hr

    Forgotten Victims from the Age of Atrocity

    Some of the atrocities of the age of Europe's religious wars immediately became notorious. The execution of tens of thousands of women and men for witchcraft, by contrast, passed largely unremarked - until modern times, when this history was revived, rewritten and wildly exaggerated. Uploaded 11-06-26 This final lecture will ask why it suits each age to select, reinvent and suppress different parts of the history of religious atrocity, and why some victims, such as Anabaptist radicals, remain neglected down to the present. A lecture by Alec Ryrie 06 May The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/age-of-atrocity Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website. Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege Support the show (https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/one-donation) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 53 min

    Gresham's World: Global Traffic, Trade, and the Metamorphosis of England

    Global trade and traffic, many of Gresham's contemporaries would say, had altered sixteenth-century England beyond recognition, from its food, fashion, and language, to the look and feel of its cities and neighbourhoods. How did its subjects respond to this transformation? Uploaded 10-06-26 Using contemporary print and theatre, this lecture will discuss how England and Englishness was defined, even as the boundaries between the home and the world became increasingly diffuse. A lecture by Nandini Das, Professor of English Literature, University of Liverpool 6 February 2019 The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/gresham-global-traffic-trade-england Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website. Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege Support the show (https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/one-donation) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 45 min

    Asylum seekers and ambivalence in contemporary Britain - Andrew Keefe

    Psychoanalytic theory illuminates the polarised nature of the asylum debate and the powerful feelings for and against refugees. Historic, literary and clinical examples reveal migration as part of human nature and the unconscious forces revolving around the concept of exile. Uploaded 11-08-11 The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/why-do-we-hate-why-do-we-help-asylum-seekers-and-ambivalence-in-contemporary Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. http://www.gresham.ac.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 1 hr 2 min

    What Do We Owe Society?

    How has Covid-19 re-shaped our ideas about what we owe society? The lockdown has had a terrible impact on the economic prospects of young people - and the elderly have suffered from high mortality in care homes. Choices have to be made between the generations. Should people save and pay for their own pensions, care in ill-health and old age as an individual responsibility? Or is it a societal duty that should be funded by compulsory payment of taxes? Uploaded 11-06-26 The role of collective versus individual responsibility has shifted across time and between societies around the world according to different cultural understanding, political calculation, and pragmatic necessity. Might Covid-19 mark a further shift in the balance? A lecture by Martin Daunton 10 November The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/owe-society Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website. Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege Support the show (https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/one-donation) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 1 hr 1 min

    Christian Modern Art: Catholic Elegance and Joy

    In the period under consideration a fair number of the artists considered have been Roman Catholics, but at one time there was a particular symbiosis between two of them, Eric Gill and David Jones, who will be discussed along with others who shared their faith. Uploaded 23-01-12 This lecture is part of Lord Harries' series on 'Christian Faith and Modern Art'. The last century has seen changes in artistic style that have been both rapid and radical. This has presented a particular problem to artists who have wished to express Christian themes. The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/catholic-elegance-and-joy Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. http://www.gresham.ac.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 1 hr 10 min

    Maths with Pictures - Professor John D. Barrow

    How pictures have been used in mathematics. The use of illustrations in ancient mathematics books, the invention of the first graphs and the representation of probabilities, sets and formulae by pictures. We look at the role played by computers in exploring and displaying the behaviour of extremely large and complicated problems. This has changed the culture of applied mathematics and science and influences the way research is done and the forms in which it is presented. Uploaded 10-08-11 The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/maths-with-pictures Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. http://www.gresham.ac.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 49 min

    The Role of the Media in Post-Conflict Societies: Northern Ireland - Carrie Porter

    Since Northern Ireland's sectarian politics turned to power-sharing in 1998, the country has struggled to define itself within its "peace process". The media serves as a barometer of this progress as it re-defines its own purpose within the newly formed society. Caroline Porter will look specifically at the role of different media outlets, with particular emphasis on the most popular radio shows, to see how the media becomes a player in the contemporary peace process of Northern Ireland. Uploaded 10-08-11 The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-role-of-the-media-in-post-conflict-societies-a-contemporary-look-at-northern Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. http://www.gresham.ac.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Yesterday · 1 hr 10 min

    The Life and Work of Mervyn Peake - Sebastian Peake

    A public lecture on the life and work of Mervyn Peake, by his son. Uploaded 18-10-11 Often described as the ultimate Renaissance Man, Mervyn Peake was just eight when his father, a medical doctor, arranged for a Mandarin expert in calligraphy, to teach him the art. Soon he was able to form many of the six hundred plus characters that make up the language. At the age of twelve, Mervyn left the Orient for his boarding school in England, where his talent at drawing was noticed by his art master, and frequently in demand from fellow pupils. The Royal Academy followed a short period at Croydon School of Art, and from his early twenties onwards was producing illustrations for magazines and other publications. The decade that followed the end of the war, was perhaps the greatest period of artistic power, and while living on Sark in the Channel Islands from 1946 until 1949 produced a non-ending stream of illustrations to many of the classics. These included: Treasure Island, The Hunting of the Snark, The Ancient Mariner, Grimm's Household Tales, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. As well as these commissions he was also writing and illustrating his own books at the same time. From 1950, an interest in the theatre developed with several plays being written some of which were staged, but mostly not. It is only now that this less well-known area of his eclecticism is gaining audiences, in staged productions. His painting and drawings can be seen at many institutions across Britain, including the National Portrait Gallery, the British Library, Imperial War Museum, Manchester City Art Gallery, the Wordsworth Trust (Dove Cottage) Cumbria, the Guernsey Museum and Art Gallery, and several others. Mervyn Peake died near Oxford after a long illness in November 1968 and is buried in the graveyard of the 11th century St Mary the Virgin church at Burpham, near Arundel in Sussex. The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the full conference's page on the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-life-and-work-of-mervyn-peake Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. http://http://www.gresham.ac.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Showing 21–40 of 79 episodes