As we are about to open our Edmund’s Open Lecture Series 2025/26 this week, we wanted to take stock of the achievements and guest speakers who were involved in the academic series just gone in 2024/25. This was our biggest series so far, with over a thousand attendees across both the daytime, weekend and evening lectures.
For our evening lectures – we started in October, welcoming academic Dr Frances Young to discuss St. Edmund’s Abbey, with an engaging and detailed talk dispelling popular myths about the Abbey.
In November, we welcome three speakers – series regular Dr Richard Hoggett began our first even Saturday lecture, on the topic of St Edmund with great success, George Irving – a master maltster provided his expertise on the brewing industry past and present and we welcomed Professor Emeritus Malcolm Gaskill for a fascinating lecture on the witch-craze, which sold out.
We closed 2024 with two December lectures, one by Dr Georgia Philip, former student and staff alumnus, on her research on the impact of fathers and fatherhood. We also ran our first Christmas lecture by our own series veteran Robin Herne – on ghost stories and literature, accompanied appropriately enough with mulled wine.
We recommenced in February 2025, with the Eastern Education Group’s expert theatre manager Tim Westerman – who provided an insightful lecture how theatres mimic reality in the high tech XR Lab.
In March and April, Dr Andrew Fagan discussed the topical concept and illusion of meritocracy and Adrian Tindall lectured on his latest cutting-edge research on Bury’s historic Market Cross building.
In May, Course Lead for the English and History degree here at UPDC, Dr Julia Firmin tackled the controversial topic of cancel culture and literature. While Dr Keith Ruiter provided new insights in Viking History.
We finished the series in June, welcoming Taff Gillingham for his expert talk on the individual stories of Suffolk Regiment D-Day veterans and Neil Storey finished the year, with well received and gripping account of the Jack the Ripper murders. We would like to thank all the speakers involved, everyone who supported these lectures and everyone who attended them. We very much looked forward to seeing you for this coming year’s series.
