Gloucester History Festival

Gloucester History Festival History comes alive each year in Gloucester with talks. walks, events and Gloucester Day!

Dates for 2023/2024:
King's Talk: 20 October 2023
Winstone Talk: 21 October 2023
Spring Weekend 12-14 April 2024

11/06/2026

Don't miss this unique opportunity to discover the extraordinary story of Gloucester -born Button Gwinnett, one of the men who signed the American Declaration of Independence.

Join historian and descendant Colin Gwinnett Sharp for an evening of fascinating stories, surprising facts, and local connections to one of the most important events in world history.

Tickets still available - but not for long!
Friday 3rd July, 7pm.
At St Mary de Crypt Church

We're delighted to be the first stop in Dan Jones' tour of his new book CASTLES. News of when tickets will be going on ...
04/06/2026

We're delighted to be the first stop in Dan Jones' tour of his new book CASTLES. News of when tickets will be going on sale will be coming soon!



Dr Janina Ramirez Dan Jones Head of Zeus Books

21/05/2026

As the Livestream digital festival draws to a close we’re setting our sights on the Autumn Festival.

We can’t wait to tell you about the programme of events and hear which ones you’ll be looking forward to coming to.

Save the date: Saturday 5 – Sunday 20 September

Sign up to our newsletter to be first to hear all our news about what to expect at the festival.



16/05/2026

Geoff Andrews shines a light on the Labour Party's founding members, and compares them to those in the Labour Party today.

Watch the whole of Geoff's talk as 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, the struggle of the Tolpuddle Martyrs and the life of the Forest of Dean writer Dennis Potter.

Available to watch on Livestream until 25 May.
https://www.gloucesterhistoryfestival.co.uk/events/radicals-chartists-suffragettes-strikes/



Dr Janina Ramirez Gloucester City Council Gloucester

14/05/2026

Mark Horton's talk at the Spring Weekend revealed the connections between Gloucester and early settlements in America in a vivid and insightful way.

Over 400 years after people from Gloucestershire’s Berkeley Vale sailed to America, Mark Horton headed to Virginia, and using archaeology, made fascinating new discoveries about their fate.

Watch the whole talk from the Spring Weekend now, at home, at your leisure, until 25 May.

https://www.gloucesterhistoryfestival.co.uk/events/the-berkeley-pioneers/



Dr Janina Ramirez Gloucester City Council Gloucester

12/05/2026

Rory Naismith highlights the issues we have when interpreting artefacts from the past.

Watch to the end to find out what Rory trusts more than historical texts to tell us about the past.

Then watch the whole of his compelling new talk here: https://www.gloucesterhistoryfestival.co.uk/events/anglo-saxon-kings/



Dr Janina Ramirez Gloucester City Council Gloucester

06/05/2026

Themistocles was called ‘the most illustrious Greek of his time but his life was full of ups and downs. Michael Scott's talk takes us back to C5th Greece and paints a vivid picture of what life would have been like at this time for Themistocles and the Athenians as a whole.

Watch the full talk here: https://www.gloucesterhistoryfestival.co.uk/events/michael-scott/



Dr Janina Ramirez Gloucester City Council Gloucester Yale University Press, London

05/05/2026

Lucy Hughes-Hallett highlights how the way history is recorded and remembered can often be more of a product of its time than a record of its truth.

Discover Cleopatra through the ages in this wonderful journey through time that Lucy took us on at the Spring Weekend.

Book your digital ticket here: https://www.gloucesterhistoryfestival.co.uk/events/cleopatra-life-legend/



Dr Janina Ramirez Gloucester City Council Gloucester

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