Following the success of the 2022 lecture series, which proved very popular with both members and non-members, a fresh series of lectures have been scheduled.

A Brief History of Swansea as ‘Metropolis of Wales’

This talk by Louise Miskell examines the status of Swansea as a Welsh urban centre in the early nineteenth century and the attempts made by some of the town’s elite, to advance Swansea’s claims to be a kind of unofficial ‘capital’ of Wales. We will explore what these claims to Welsh urban supremacy were based on, and how other towns responded to the growing urban ambitions of Swansea in these years.

Thursday 23rd February 7:00

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Layers of London

The Layers of London website brings together historic maps of London, covering 2,000 years of history, with content that has been created and uploaded by community groups, individuals and organisations across the capital and beyond. This talk by Matthew Davies will explore the origins and development of the project, introducing some of the techniques used to create the maps, as well as some of the important maps layers themselves.

Thursday 23rd March 7:00

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Mapping Urban Britain from the Past to the Past: a Scottish view on three episodes in cartographic history

In this talk by John Moore, three specific undertakings in the history of urban mapping in Great Britain over the last two centuries will be considered from a particularly Scottish point of view, beginning with the work of John Wood, a 19th century Edinburgh-based cartographer whose plans of Scottish towns, dating from 1818 to 1844 are reasonably well-known. 

Thursday 6th April 7:00

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The Historic Town of Beverley: because of a saint

At the time of Domesday Book there was only one East Riding settlement that could be considered a town, and that was Beverley. In this talk, Barbara English examines its heritage and later fortunes.

Thursday 27th April 7:00

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