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London is one of the most diverse cities in the world. Many distinct places lie within its boundaries. There are many unusual corners, unexpected history, remarkable buildings, and fascinating characters which illustrate the city’s development both socially and culturally. These eight autumn walks will reveal contrasting parts of London and show how Londoners lived and worked, how they were entertained, how they travelled, how they constructed bridges. We shall meet novelists, con men, rock stars, minor royalty, politicians, a whole panoply of London life. In addition, these walks for two hours long will bring the benefit of healthy exercise!

Regency society rakish, raffish but with a fondness for wonderful architecture, or was there more to it than that?

Uncover the history and architectural significance of castles in Northern England and North Wales with this archaeological course. Ideal for history buffs and archaeology enthusiasts alike.

This exciting new course in art appreciation provides close attentions to particular works of art from ancient and modern periods. Ancient art from Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Rome; the European Renaissance; the Enlightenment and its derivations; twentieth-century Modernity; the present day. The focus will be upon the specific and often connected comprehensions of beauty and coherence through understanding specific works of art in relation to these concepts. The course will present a range of work each week and will select one part of the subject for a Close View for detailed attention. The focus will be upon works of art in relation to their sometimes specific and often varied concepts of beauty. This will encourage a range of attentions from ideal sculptures to presentations of works with planned proportions as well as incidental measurements. This will also involve attentions to both forms directly from the natural world to objects representing different aspects of humanity.

The Church has historically been a major patron of the arts, and all major artists have works in church buildings around Europe. From Saxon wall paintings and lavish medieval alter pieces, to contemporary installations in Cathedrals, this course looks at the variety of art commissioned by the Church, from the Sistine Chapel ceiling to Victorian church textiles. We discuss where good examples can be seen in this country, including stained glass and sculpture. The way in which art in Churches has reflected the major art history developments is at the core of this course.

We will look into the design of greenhouses and glasshouses – a diverse subject that embraces the Crystal Palace in London, the Eden Project in Cornwall and a recently completed spectacular project in Singapore. The development will take us from Oxford’s Botanic Garden to Paxton’s “Great Stove” at Chatsworth and the Temperate and Palm Houses of Kew.

The portrait has flourished as an art form from the ancient world to the present day and this innovative course will explore its continuing popularity. We shall study not only the painted face and figure but a variety of formats and formulae, from statuary to pendant medals and miniatures, and study artists as diverse as Holbein, Titian, Gainsborough, Singer Sargent and Francis Bacon. We include a reflection on the place of the photograph in this history of portraiture.

Settled by the Greeks in the 7th century BC, the city which is now called Istanbul, became Emperor Constantine’s ‘New Rome’ in AD 330 and it was named Constantinople. In 1453 the city was overrun by Mehmed II and it became the capital of the Ottoman Empire. The study day explores the rich architectural and artistic legacy left by both Byzantine and Ottoman rulers in a city which was shaped by being for centuries the meeting point of Europe and Asia.

A Medieval Recipe: Take 600 Norfolk Parish Churches, mix in a handful of 16th century Churchwardens’ Accounts and just add water! Through a triptych of subjects, we’ll whet your appetite with a three-course menu which, for starters, reveals the origins and development of Norfolk’s iconic architectural masterpieces - its ancient parish churches - investigating their oft-times pagan roots through to the Christianity of the late medieval period. Churchwardens were key players in implementing and recording the changes which affected these churches as they grew in size and complexity, particularly in the devastating years surrounding the Reformation and their accounts provide fascinating details of those changes. This Day School bill of fare finishes with an esoteric analysis of the importance of the Water of Life in medieval monasteries both in its symbolic, ritual use and its practical life-supporting function. This is no dry subject!

It is arguably a greater challenge for a modern architect to sympathetically expand the use of historic buildings, than to create new free-standing architecture. We will critically assess what a range of architects have achieved – including Norman Foster at the British Museum, Rick Mather at the Ashmolean in Oxford, and Herzog and de Meuron in creating and then expanding Tate Modern.