Gloucester History Festival Mug

£10 / £7 Livestreamed

Gloucester stood at the crossroads of industry and coalfield, with links both to the Forest of Dean and the national drama of 1926. Often characterised as a Communist plot, the General Strike was seen as a missed opportunity by the left. The Labour Party
and TUC largely ignored it or retreated from it as soon as possible. The King was delighted no one was shot and Joseph Stalin used it to consolidate his position in the politburo. Little of this concerned Gloucester strikers, who took it as a comradely adventure.  Leading historian Tony Conder explores the strike in Gloucester alongside both the national background, and the more bitter miners’ strike in the Forest of Dean.

£10 / £7 Livestreamed

Acclaimed historian Geoff Andrews’ new book Radicals is a vivid and passionate journey through working class protest and struggle. He explores the Chartists and Peterloo, the bold experiment at Snigs End Chartist Colony just outside Gloucester, the courage of the Suffragettes, the hardships of the Jarrow March and the struggles of the Tolpuddle Martyrs.

Join him for a fascinating exploration of dissent that shaped modern Britain and which still resonates today.

£10 / £7 Livestreamed

A globe-spanning detective story and a love letter in one, award-winning theatre director Greg Doran talks about his memoir, following his electrifying hunt for Shakespeare’s surviving First Folios, from great libraries to hidden collections, piecing together the real, historical man behind the legend.

Alongside a moving portrait of life with Antony Sher and their unforgettable work at the Royal Shakespeare Company, it is a gripping tale of passion, history and theatre. Chaired by Vernon Harwood.

“Deeply Enjoyable.”  – Dame Harriet Walter

Scriptorium Sessions

£12

Award-winning third-generation baker David Wright traces the story of bread from the first cultivated grains of the Fertile Crescent in c.8000 BC to the rise of industrial sliced loaves in the 1960s and today’s sourdough revival.

What role did bread play in ancient Egypt and Rome, the Great Fire of London, the Peterloo Massacre or conflicts today in Ukraine and Gaza? And what does the future hold for the humble loaf?

The talk is followed by an artisan bread and pastry tasting in the scriptorium from 3:30 – 4 pm.

£12 / £7 Livestreamed

Is Trump a shocking aberration or the product of a long, turbulent American tradition? With the current conflict in the Middle East, BBC broadcaster and former Today programme presenter Edward Stourton delivers a gripping re-examination of President Trump and the forces that shaped him.

With forensic insight and masterful storytelling, he traces the deep currents of power, protest and populism in US history, revealing how the past continues to shape America’s present moment.

Chaired by History Extra’s David Musgrove.

In partnership with History Extra.

Scriptorium Sessions

Historian and broadcaster Janina Ramirez, author of Legenda, joins David Musgrove of BBC HistoryExtra for a lively and personal conversation.

With warmth and wit, Janina explores what the past has taught her; not neat answers, but glimmers of resilience, compassion and optimism. She reveals how history’s stories can steady us, surprise us and occasionally make us laugh along the way.

In partnership with History Extra

Please Note: No booking needed for this free event.

£12 / £7 Livestreamed

National treasure Pam Ayres brings her trademark wit and warmth to a life well lived. From stories of a rural Oxfordshire childhood to Royal Command performances, her heart remains in the Cotswolds countryside – muddy lanes, loyal dogs and village life.

By turns hilarious and deeply touching, her reflections on family, fame and fortitude create a vivid social history of modern Britain, resilient, eccentric and full of laughter.

In conversation with broadcaster and fellow Cotswold-lover Mark Cummings.

£12 / £7 Livestreamed

Bendor Grosvenor, top art historian and star of the BBC4’s Britain’s Lost Masterpieces and Fake or Fortune? joins Waldemar Januszczak for a dazzling evening of Art Adventures. Expect great masterpieces under the microscope, bold opinions and brilliant storytelling as they look in depth at the artists of the English Civil War.

Beautifully illustrated and gloriously entertaining, this is art history at its liveliest as Bendy and Waldy lock swords in a special live recording of Britain’s favourite art podcast.

£10 / £7 Livestreamed

Meet Restoration London’s most irresistible observer in this bold, witty and revealing new translation of his diaries by bestselling historian Guy de la Bédoyère.

Samuel Pepys emerges ambitious, anxious and brilliantly alive, from the terror of the Great Fire, when he famously buried his precious Parmesan in the garden, to plague, politics and private indiscretions.

His diaries are a candid confession from the heart of the 17th century: vivid, scandalous and utterly compelling.

Please Note: This event is suitable for adults only.

£12 / £7 Livestreamed

This April marks 75 years since the battle that became a defining moment in the Korean War.

Outnumbered by Chinese forces, the 1st Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment held the line buying vital time for UN troops. Many were killed or captured, enduring harsh captivity in Chinese POW camps.

Robert Dixon, former Commanding Officer of the Glosters, Brigadier James Daniel from the UK’s Strategic Command and top ‘battlefield detective’ Nicola Nash explore the battle, the mission to identify the fallen and whether, with the current state of the Army, we could commit such an expeditionary force today?

Chaired by Vernon Harwood.

Scriptorium Sessions

£20 including buffet lunch

Step into Shakespeare’s world through taste. Leading food historian Sam Bilton has worked with Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre to discover what the Bard really ate and the dishes, from banquet pies to sweet tarts, that graced his plays.

Join her to savour history yourself at our delicious Shakespearean lunch which may include: salmon pasties, beef chewits, Elizabethan sticky gingerbread and Tudor shortbread!

£12 / £7 Livestreamed

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the 1951 defection to Moscow of Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean, the moment that first exposed the Cambridge spy ring and sent shockwaves through the Cold War world.

In Stalin’s Apostles, Antonia Senior revisits the infamous Cambridge Five, including Kim Philby and Anthony Blunt, revealing new facts, showing how their betrayal reshaped global politics and offering urgent lessons for understanding Russia’s complex relationship with the West today.

£15 / £7 Livestreamed

What’s exciting about a piece of bread 4,000 years old? Or some pots of paint abandoned in the eruption at Pompeii?

One of Britain’s best loved historians and presenters Mary Beard invites us to rediscover the ancient world in Talking Classics: The Shock of the Old, where surprising connections leap from from ancient to modern. With lively stories, curious facts and a lifetime of wisdom, she shows why the art, literature and lives of Greece and Rome still matter to our world today.

Join her for an irresistible and hugely entertaining celebration of the ancient world.

Chaired by Janina Ramirez.