Winter lecture series unveiled at Huntingdon’s Cromwell Museum

This is the third year of the lecture series, although due to the covid-19 pandemic the talks will for the first time be held online via Zoom.

Four talks will be given on Wednesday evenings from January 13 to February 3 with speakers on aspects of the period in which Oliver Cromwell lived.

Money raised from the programme will help fund the museum’s future development.

The first talk, on January 13 at 7.30pm, is by the historian and editor of ‘History Today’ Paul Lay, and is entitled ‘Providence Lost: Cromwell’s Western Design’.

The talk will look at Cromwell’s disastrous attempt to seize Spain’s Caribbean territories, and the impact on his regime.

The second talk, on January 20 at 7.30pm, is being led by the historian and author Andrea Zuvich and looks at ‘Sex and Sexuality in Stuart Britain’. This talk looks beneath the bedsheets of people in the 17 th century and the saucy secrets of the Royal Stuarts.

The third talk, on January 27 at 7.30pm, is by Miranda Malins and looks at ‘Imagining the Cromwells’. Miranda has recently published a best-selling novel about the Cromwell family, and talks about the challenges of producing convincing fiction about historical figures.

The final talk, on February 3 at 7.30pm, is a joint talk by Steve Ellis and Mark Beattie-Edwards on ‘The London: Cromwell’s Mary Rose’, on the current marine archaeological project to excavate one of Cromwell’s warships, which sank off Southend and has been remarkably preserved.

Stuart Orme, curator of the Cromwell Museum says: “It’s a real privilege to have such knowledgeable speakers talk on these diverse and fascinating topics, all relating to the life and times of Oliver Cromwell. This year’s programme will be a bit different due to current circumstances, in that we will be conducting all the talks via Zoom rather than in person, to keep everyone safe during the pandemic.”

Tickets for the talks cost £5 per talk (£4 for students), but a discounted season ticket for all four talks is available for £17 (£13.50 for students). Additional discounts are available for members of the Friends of the Museum.

For more details, and to book tickets, visit the museum’s website at www.cromwellmuseum.com.