British & Irish History
Courses Online & In London
Study the history, culture and politics of the British isles through the centuries and up to the present day.
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- Bad Queens of England? Eleanor of Aquitaine and Isabella of AngoulemeCourse start date: Sat 10 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Vanessa KingEleanor failed to produce a son for Louis VII and urged her sons by Henry II to rebellion. Isabella abandoned her children by King John to start anew in France with her daughter’s fiancé. We consider their roles as queens.Full fee £49.00 Senior fee £39.00 Concession £32.00 - Black British Studies: Beyond WindrushCourse start date: Mon 12 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Michele ScottJoin a journey of the examination of the modern day complexities and critical deconstruction of contemporary Black British Life.Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £95.00 Concession £77.00 - A Very British History of MigrationCourse start date: Mon 12 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Siobhan McGuirkTaking a critical historical approach, this course with Dr. McGuirk charts how migration has shaped British politics, law, culture and society – and helped transform popular ideas about what it means to be British today.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £84.00 - Terrific Tudors: Act Three: Social lifeCourse start date: Mon 12 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Vanessa KingExplore the everyday life of men and women during the closing years of the Tudors as revealed in the works of local historians and other contemporary material.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - 17th century England, revolution and restoration: Oliver Cromwell and the Protectorate era
Course start date: Thu 22 May 2025Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ellen CarpenterA 'Brave, Bad Man?' Join us to explore the life of Oliver Cromwell, from his rise to power during the Civil Wars to his brief rule as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth in the period 1653-1658. We will also assess the brief rule of Cromwell's son, Richard, and his deposal in 1659.Where did it all go wrong for Richard?Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - Fantastic Beasts in Medieval Heraldry Course start date: Sat 31 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Vanessa KingExplore the design of English royal badges of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries; discover the attributes attributed to arrange of animals both real and mythical.Full fee £49.00 Senior fee £39.00 Concession £32.00 - The life and work of Sir Thomas More Course start date: Tue 9 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ellen CarpenterHumanist scholar, Lord Chancellor of England, advocate for women’s education, opponent of Luther, careful in his avoidance in acknowledging Anne Boleyn as Henry VIII’s wife…Since the 1520s Thomas More has been celebrated, commemorated and vilified as a shrewd ‘man for all seasons.’ With such a contended reputation, how can we best understand and situate his life, work, and politics in history?Full fee £49.00 Senior fee £39.00 Concession £32.00 - The Smashing Saxons: 600-1066Course start date: Mon 15 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Vanessa KingWhy did Offa build his dyke? Were the Vikings just ‘long-haired tourists who occasionally roughed up the natives’? Was Alfred really that great? These questions and more will be answered as we study the rise and fall of pre-Conquest England. - Irish history & identity 1: from the coming of Christianity to the Battle of Clontarf Course start date: Thu 18 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Colm Hickey
Although inextricably linked to Britain, Ireland’s history, identity, and nationhood has equally been shaped by its relationship with Europe. This course traces Ireland’s development from the advent of Christianity to the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. - British history: The rise and fall of the postwar consensus 1945-75Course start date: Sat 20 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: David IngledewThe course examines the postwar political, economic and social consensus in Britain in the 30 years after the Second World and the extent to which there was continuity in successive government policies.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - King John: the worst king in English history?Course start date: Sat 11 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Vanessa KingKing John is remembered as a murderer, treacherous, and a loser; ‘a bad king’. On the plus side, he was probably the cleanest medieval king around, carrying a tin bath wherever he went travelling! - The life and times of Ignatius Sancho: slave, composer, man of letters, grocer and first Black British voter Course start date: Sat 25 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: William SterlingExplore the life of the 18th century black Londoner, Ignatius Sancho. Orphaned on a slave ship bound for South America he had many lives in London: in service to noble family in Greenwich, a businessman, elector, correspondent with Laurence Sterne and others and composer of music. After his early death many of his letters were published and helped to raise awareness of the plight of black slaves and ex-slaves and fuel the drive to the abolition of slavery.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Irish history & identity 2 : From the coming of the English invasion in 1169 to the Coronation of Henry VIII as King of Ireland in 1541.Course start date: Thu 30 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Colm HickeyAlthough inextricably linked to Britain, Ireland’s history, identity, and nationhood has equally been shaped by its relationship with Europe. This course traces Ireland’s development from the coming of the English invasion in 1169 to the Coronation of Henry V111 as King of Ireland in 1541.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £116.00 - The Winter of Discontent 1978-79: myth and realityCourse start date: Sat 8 Nov 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: David IngledewThe course examines the causes, events, consequences and significance of the widespread industrial action that occurred across Britain during the final months of Callaghan’s Labour Government from October 1978 to March 1979.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - Irish history and identity 5: American and European Influences in the Modern EraCourse start date: Thu 8 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Colm HickeyAlthough inextricably linked to Britain, Ireland’s history, identity, and nationhood has equally been shaped by its relationship with Europe. This course traces Ireland’s the influence of European and American
politics.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00
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