Gresham College’s Provost Simon Thurley will be giving a free online Gresham lecture series on Great Tudor and Stuart houses, starting Weds 16 Sep 6pm-7pm (online, or watch later). We hope to introduce live audiences in the new year.
In this four-part series Visiting Professor and Gresham Provost Simon Thurley sets out new research and perspectives on the great houses and estates of some of the leading Tudor and Stuart Aristocratic dynasties.He reveals how land and architecture were integral to the identity, ambitions and power-bases of the great families who ruled England for two centuries
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/series/the-great-houses-of-tudor-and-stuart-courtiers/
Tudor Ambition: Houses of the Boleyn Family Wednesday 16 September 2020 (6pm-7pm online, or afterwards).
A family best known for producing one of England’s most famous queen consorts started out owning substantial estates in Norfolk before buying, and inheriting, a series of major houses close to London. These mansions became the stage for the tragedy of Ann‘s life and death.New research allows us to understand the role of property owning at the heart of the story of the Boleyn family.
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/boleyn-houses
Ruling Passions: The Architecture of the Cecils Wednesday 4 November 2020 (6pm-7pm online, or afterwards)
Father and son, William and Robert Cecil, not only dominated politics for much of Elizabeth I and James I reign but dominated architectural fashion. Building a series of spectacular houses, they, and not the monarchy, were the great palace builders of their age. Burghley and Hatfield remain, but those that are lost were even more extraordinary in both their form and in how they were used.
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/cecil-architecture
Royal Restoration: Estates of the Duke of Monmouth Wednesday 17 Mar 2021 (6pm-7pm, online or afterwards/ Museum of London – check Gresham website)
Charles II‘s illegitimate son, the Duke of Monmouth, became one of the most influential and powerful men at the Restoration court. He married a Scottish heiress, Anne Scott, and together they became leaders of fashion and taste.Recent researches have revealed that the Duke and Duchess were major patrons of architecture, leaving some important, but little known, buildings to posterity.
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/monmouth-estates
Private Palaces: The Mansions of the Marlboroughs Tuesday 15 June 2021 (6pm-7pm, online or afterwards/ Museum of London – check Gresham website)
Due to the Duke of Marlborough‘s military genius and the crush that Queen Anne had on his wife, the duchess, the Marlboroughs were presented with two of the greatest houses of the age.Blenheim and Marlborough House encapsulate the architectural rivalries and ambitions of patrons and architects illuminating the febrile atmosphere of the last days of the Stuart dynasty.
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/marlborough-mansions