William Sterling
Upcoming Events
March 2020
Life and Times of William and Mary
Following the attempt by James II to re-establish Catholicism in Britain his daughter and son-in-law were invited to oust him to protect the Protestant church. To do so they had to grant more power to Parliament. A survey of the Life & Times of Britain’s only Joint Monarchs. They came to power in what was called the Glorious Revolution and although they only reigned a short while they laid the foundations for modern Britain. It was also the period of…
Find out more »April 2020
Figureheads, Ship Badges and Silverware – Nineteenth Century Classical References in the British Museum
Delve into classical myths used in naval related and other items by examining some of the British Museum and other collections of C19th objects. Following on from the previous course we shall look at what Classical artworks were available to artists in the C19th and what literary works were studied in schools and were known to the general population. We shall identify some of the Classical gods, heroes, figures from myth and historical characters used as figureheads and ship badges…
Find out more »May 2020
Great Sea Battles from the Classical World – Salamis, Syracuse and Actium
A general look at ships and sailing techniques in the Ancient World and how vessels were used in warfare. We shall look at the strategies used by navies in the ancient world and specifically the tactics at Salamis in 480 BC where the allied Greek forces defeated the Persian fleet of King Xerxes, the second battle of Syracuse in 414 BC when the mighty Athenians were defeated by the Syracusans and the battle of Actium in 31 BC when Augustus…
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