The ianVisits guide to September's unusual events, tours, lectures and exhibitions happening around London.
Tuesday 1st September
Online events / webinars
This lecture will trace the development of country houses on the South Downs (many of which still survive and are accessible to the public) during their golden age.
6:30pm to :
More London events on Tuesday 1st September
Wednesday 2nd September
Online events / webinars
In this one-hour Zoom talk, Joe Studman marks the 400th anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower, who began her epic voyage from Rotherhithe.
2pm to 3pm
Sue Mckenzie looks at how and why Brixton was home to so many people from music hall, early cinema and variety in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
7pm to :
The most expensive square on the British Monopoly board for good reason. Hear the scandalous stories hidden behind these grand addresses
7pm to 8pm
More London events on Wednesday 2nd September
Thursday 3rd September
Online events / webinars
A local history Zoom tour and talk
Diane Burstein, a London Blue Badge Tour Guide, helps us explore one of London’s most picturesque and historic spots.
2pm to 3:15pm
Illustrated talk: The Tideway Tunnel by Roger Bailey, Tideway’s Chief Technical Officer.
7:30pm to :
More London events on Thursday 3rd September
Friday 4th September
Online events / webinars
Juliette Desplat examines the four operations carried out by SOE and the Norwegian Resistance in Norway in 1942-1943, that wrecked Nazi plans for an atom bomb.
2pm to 3pm
This talk examines these incredibly audacious missions that wrecked Nazi plans for an atom bomb.
2pm to 3pm
This talk follows their early development, and meets the colourful characters, real and mechanical, who played the royal game locally.
7pm to :
More London events on Friday 4th September
Saturday 5th September
£15.00
Chelsea Kayak Club is the only London club specialising in Sea Kayaking - join in at their club taster session to experience it for yourself.
11am to 12pm
Chiswick
More London events on Saturday 5th September
Sunday 6th September
£15.00
Chelsea Kayak Club is the only London club specialising in Sea Kayaking - join in at their club taster session to experience it for yourself.
11am to 12pm
Chiswick
A charming garden created by the owner who studied garden design at Capel Manor.
11am to 4pm
New Southgate
An inspiring exotic jungle of lush big leafed plants and Southeast Asian influences.
11am to 5pm
Camberwell
A monthly opening of the Victorian museum of industrial testing equipment.
11am to 3pm
Southwark
Monthly open day at Gatton Park, the core 250 acres of the estate originally laid out by Capability Brown.
12pm to 5pm
Reigate
Online events / webinars
This virtual walk from Clapham North to Clapham Common explores the fading remains of old advertising.
2:30pm to :
More London events on Sunday 6th September
Monday 7th September
Online events / webinars
Take a stroll through Vauxhall, the most famous of them all, hear about its history, the people who frequented it, the scandal and the stories.
7pm to :
More London events on Monday 7th September
Tuesday 8th September
Online events / webinars
Discover what it largely hidden beneath the streets of the City of London, train and tube lines, sewers, burials, and remains of ancient buildings.
11am to 12pm
Find out how to start researching First World War army records, or a specific person listed on your local war memorial, in this this short expert-led webinar.
2pm to 2:30pm
Join author and actuary Chris Lewin for an exposition on the early history of pensions.
2pm to 3pm
Join author Dr Rita Cruise O’Brien to learn more.
2pm to 3pm
Rick Poynor talks about his new book on designer, activist and historian David King with an online panel of distinguished guests.
6pm to 7:30pm
More London events on Tuesday 8th September
Wednesday 9th September
Online events / webinars
This webinar brings the experts together who helped shaped the NLA research, all of whom played critical roles in these major sites of regeneration and opportunity.
10am to 11am
Bill Linskey will talk about the history of The Empress Theatre of Varieties.
7pm to :
Architectural historian Geoff Brandwood tkaes you on virtual exploration of Victorian pubs.
7pm to :
In discussion with our Collections Expert, Mark Dunton, Dermot Turing will discuss his latest book The Codebreakers of Bletchley Park, which examines the lives of the brilliant and eccentric individuals who cracked the seemingly unbreakable Enigma code.
7:30pm to 8:30pm
More London events on Wednesday 9th September
Thursday 10th September
Online events / webinars
Join Professor Pier Luigi Dragotti for Science Breaks: When art meets science - the algorithms that revealed Leonardo’s hidden drawings
12:30pm to 1:30pm
This talk examines these incredibly audacious missions that wrecked Nazi plans for an atom bomb and were described by the commander of German troops in Norway as ‘the most splendid coup [he had] seen this war.
5pm to 6pm
This talk by Len Reilly explains the evolution of care and public health in Lambeth.
7pm to :
Three young professionals were invited to join "Engineers Combating COVID” event to discuss their experiences of using engineering skills in combating the pandemic.
7pm to 8:15pm
£8.00
A virtual trip around the felines on the capital and the stories they inspire.
7pm to 8pm
From the Corn Dolly to Demeter, from Lammas to Samhain we shall take the Harvest Home.
8pm to 10pm
More London events on Thursday 10th September
Friday 11th September
Free
Join Sir Simon Mayall KBE CB as he discusses his first-hand experience of the Middle East from his military and diplomatic appointments over the past 40 years.
12pm to 1pm
Chelsea
Free
This installation from Ray Lee takes the form of a series of giant towers which hold suspended bell-like speaker cones.
2pm to 5pm
Victoria Dock
Free
As dusk turns to darkness, follow a trail through a transformed riverside park landscape in Silvertown, a place with many historic connections with fire.
8pm to 10pm
Victoria Dock
Online events / webinars
Join the History of Parliament and guest speakers for an online workshop marking the 300th anniversary of the South Sea Bubble.
2pm to 6pm
During the talk Susie Orbach will explore what people have been bringing to therapy during the current Covid-19 pandemic.
3pm to 4pm
Based on the book Classics of American Architecture: The World Trade Center, this lecture reviews the story of the Trade Center.
6:30pm to 7:30pm
More London events on Friday 11th September
Saturday 12th September
A range of events taking place around Mitcham to show off the local history.
10am to 4:30pm
Mitcham
£15.00
A guided walk along the River Roding, detouring into the tidal marshlands, to emerge into the strange world of the redeveloped Beckton Gas Works.
10:30am to 2:30pm
Barking
Free
This installation from Ray Lee takes the form of a series of giant towers which hold suspended bell-like speaker cones.
2pm to 5pm
Victoria Dock
Annual open days at Scadbury Manor, a medieval moated manor house site.
2pm to 4:30pm
St Mary Cray
More London events on Saturday 12th September
Sunday 13th September
Free
Find out how this masterpiece of Victorian engineering saved lives in Tottenham.
11am to 5pm
South Tottenham
Annual open days at Scadbury Manor, a medieval moated manor house site.
2pm to 4:30pm
St Mary Cray
More London events on Sunday 13th September
Monday 14th September
Online events / webinars
Reputed to be the richest woman in England in the 1950s, join us in this talk to discover Nellie’s life, love of art and dogs, and her legacy within the Twickenham community.
6pm to 7pm
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall talks about sustainability, food provenance and wellbeing with award-winning food writer Bee Wilson.
6:30pm to 7:45pm
Edmund Bird – heritage advisor to Transport for London will talk about the diverse range of buildings commissioned by Lambeth between 1964-1981
7pm to :
A story of men's fashion over the past 200 years. Told through the lives and works of the men who created, made and wore it.
7pm to 8pm
More London events on Monday 14th September
Tuesday 15th September
Online events / webinars
Brighton is not just the sea front, pier and pavilion. Let Stephen show you the many sides of the city often called London by the Sea
3pm to 4pm
This talk will explore how Marble Hill fits into Howard’s fascinating life story, Howard’s role in its creation, and her life at this most hard fought for retreat.
6pm to 7pm
The story of the Mayflower is usually presented as a tale of persecuted Pilgrims crossing the Atlantic in circumstances of grave adversity to inhabit a desolate wilderness. There is another perspective.
6pm to 7pm
This online talk reflects the way in which professional and amateur theatre have complemented each other through the ages, and shows how talented amateurs became stars of the West End stage.
7pm to :
Leonard Mlodinow recalls his nearly two-decades as a friend and collaborator with Stephen Hawking, bringing a complex man into focus like no one has before.
7pm to 8:30pm
This introductory talk is a summary review of how Earth has maintained its stable climate within a few degrees in the “Goldilocks zone” orbit around the Sun.
7pm to 9pm
£5.00
The politics, challenges, inequalities, changes and motivators facing modern restaurants.
7:30pm to 8:30pm
More London events on Tuesday 15th September
Wednesday 16th September
This Autumn Southwark Cathedral invites all amateur and professional photographers to spend an atmospheric two hours taking photos of the Cathedral lit by candlelight.
6:30pm to 8:30pm
Southwark
£5.00
Sarah Wyndham Lewis from Bermondsey Street Bees gives a talk on her latest book Planting for Honeybees.
6:30pm to 7:30pm
Soho
Online events / webinars
The panel will discuss the implications of the pandemic on the Capital’s economy and the housing, workspace and transport needs of workers, residents and visitors.
11:30am to 12:30pm
In this webinar the director of award-winning short film Little Miss Sumo Matt Kay takes us on a tour inside the world of female sumo wrestling.
12pm to 1pm
This talk will explore Walpole’s greatest creative achievement, and how it was the clearest manifestation of his personality, interests and place in the world.
6pm to 7pm
New research allows us to understand the role of property owning at the heart of the story of the Boleyn family.
6pm to 7pm
An online feast and exploration of this critical event in the fifteenth-century English conflict.
7pm to 8:30pm
Nerd Nite London is a monthly event where three speakers give 18-21 minute fun-yet-informative talks across all disciplines.
7:30pm to :
More London events on Wednesday 16th September
Thursday 17th September
Online events / webinars
This walk follows the street plan of medieval St Paul’s and uncovers the ever-present echoes of its history.
11am to 1pm
Nursing did not begin with Florence Nightingale. But what was it like in the days before Nightingale nursing?
5:30pm to 6:30pm
This talk will consider what the villa meant to Pope himself and attempt to recreate what it might have been like for him to live and work there, surrounded by reminders of his friendships and cultural influences.
6pm to 7pm
Politician, barrister and human rights activist Shami Chakrabarti will be joining Rachel Holmes in conversation about Sylvia’s extraordinary life.
7pm to 8pm
Repeat prison-breaker Jack Sheppard was hanged at the age of 22 in 1724, it was said that 200,000 Londoners turned out to see the rogue.
7pm to 8pm
An online event with bestselling science writer Jo Marchant in conversation with Astronomer Royal Lord Martin Rees, to coincide with the release of Marchant's latest book, 'The Human Cosmos'.
7:30pm to 8:30pm
More London events on Thursday 17th September
Friday 18th September
Although open daily, the Supreme Court also has a number of special open days with events and tours through the year.
10am to 3:30pm
Pimlico
Online events / webinars
Victoria Iglikowski-Broad reveals some of the clandestine LGBTQ+ spaces that were raided and closed by police, and the covert methods of communication that had to be relied upon in 1918-1967.
2pm to 3pm
Using unique archive items, this talk seeks to tell the important story of some of the clandestine LGBTQ+ spaces that were raided and closed by police and the covert methods of communication that had to be relied upon.
2pm to 3pm
This talk will explore the close relationship between Joseph Mallord William Turner and his friend and fellow fisherman, the architect Sir John Soane.
6pm to 7pm
More London events on Friday 18th September
Saturday 19th September
Knife-making workshop Blenheim Forge open their doors to display their most recent work alongside the processes and techniques used in the creation of their knives.
10am to 8:30pm
Peckham
Complete with a musical finale with a song that was once heard in many music halls up and down the land, join Sheldon from the Cemetery Club to discover a real gem of London's heritage
1:30pm to 3pm
Barnes
Online events / webinars
Free
In their talk and virtual walk, Ian McInnes and Laurence Marsh look at the houses, now long gone, that were built on the Lambeth side of Denmark Hill.
7pm to :
More London events on Saturday 19th September
Sunday 20th September
Knife-making workshop Blenheim Forge open their doors to display their most recent work alongside the processes and techniques used in the creation of their knives.
10am to 5pm
Peckham
Online events / webinars
An online Zoom LGBTQ tour of the British Museum, revealing LGBTQ history and culture across the ages
7pm to 8:15pm
More London events on Sunday 20th September
Monday 21st September
Online events / webinars
In this lecture, a team of Shakespeare scholars will look at the challenges and opportunities of teaching, editing and staging Shakespeare in our current ‘age of offence’.
5:30pm to 7pm
Clare Wright, architect of the new library building scheduled to open in the grounds of Lambeth Palace early in 2021, tells us about the thinking behind the building’s design.
7pm to :
Discover the history, culture and traditions of Jewish food.
7:30pm to 8:30pm
This talk will trace their careers throughout the 19th century from surveyors of sewers to city office designers, with an emphasis on their legacy in south London.
8pm to :
More London events on Monday 21st September
Tuesday 22nd September
Santander Cycles are offering free hires across London on Car Free Day
All Day
Online events / webinars
Professor Trotta will discuss how AI and Machine Learning are helping us hunt for dark matter.
12:30pm to 1:30pm
A tour which takes you from Vincent Van Gogh's workplace in 1873/4 to his lodgings, exploring what London would have been like then.
3pm to 4pm
When was the last time you read a grand statement, accompanied by a large number, and wondered whether it could really be true?
7pm to 8:30pm
An online walk exploring the architecture and history of London's shapeshifting landscape north of the Thames.
7pm to 8pm
£1.00
Performers will astound and amaze you with insights and intrigue about museums, archives and libraries, all through the medium of video.
8pm to :
More London events on Tuesday 22nd September
Wednesday 23rd September
Diana Darke traces ideas and styles from vibrant Middle Eastern centres like Damascus, Baghdad and Cairo, via Muslim Spain, Venice and Sicily into Europe.
6:30pm to 8pm
Southwark
Online events / webinars
Hear from the London Borough of Southwark and their partners about an upcoming visioning exercise and community conversation on the future relationship with the Thames.
10am to 11am
In this lecture Professor Andrew Coates will discuss the search for life beyond Earth on our closest target, using the Rosalind Franklin rover.
1pm to 2pm
England’s Catholic Reformation is the reformation that sixteenth-century England nearly had: a reformed and renewed English Catholic Church, its new schools and revived parishes matched with a firm smack of discipline.
6pm to 7pm
Can you sort your Sairey Gamps from your Florence Nightingales? Join the myth busters from Crimson Tea Parties and the RCN Library and Archive Service to find out in this online talk and quiz.
6:30pm to 8pm
Kerri Andrews discusses her book, Wanderers, about ten women over the past three hundred years who have found walking essential to their sense of themselves, as people and as writers.
7:30pm to 9pm
More London events on Wednesday 23rd September
Thursday 24th September
Online events / webinars
Join artist Mary Branson as she discusses the concept and construction of her contemporary light sculpture 'New Dawn' inside the Houses of Parliament.
6pm to 6:30pm
Alison Jackson, BAFTA and multi award-winning artist, photographer and filmmaker talks about how in today's world, so saturated by different types of media, we can’t distinguish between the real and the fake anymore.
6:30pm to 7:30pm
This talk by public historian Kelly Foster will explore her research into the heraldry of Archbishop Juxon and discuss the presence and representation of Africans in the early 1600s.
7pm to :
A panel of physicists from the Large Hadron Collider reflect on what they've learned over the past decade and what they hope to discover in the next.
7pm to 8:30pm
More London events on Thursday 24th September
Friday 25th September
Making London - and the South East - Electric Vehicle Ready
2pm to 3:30pm
Strand
Online events / webinars
There are a surprising number of closed railway lines and stations in London. Join Stephen to explore some lost and forgotten railways.
3pm to 4pm
More London events on Friday 25th September
Saturday 26th September
The Ian Allan transport bookshop in Waterloo's Lower Marsh is having a closing down sale.
9am to 4pm
Southwark
More London events on Saturday 26th September
Sunday 27th September
Free
Find out how this masterpiece of Victorian engineering saved lives in Tottenham.
11am to 5pm
South Tottenham
Nightingale's partnership with Sidney Herbert was the most important of her life, thus an inevitable target for innuendo...
2pm to 3pm
Southwark
Online events / webinars
The Florence Nightingale Museum will take you through the highlights of the collection and its bicentenary exhibition.
2:30pm to :
More London events on Sunday 27th September
Monday 28th September
Online events / webinars
In which years does February have five Sundays? How many right-angled triangles with whole-number sides have a side of length 29?
4:30pm to 5:30pm
This illustrated lecture will cover Newton’s life and his mathematical and scientific labours in the context of 17th-century England
6pm to 7pm
Taking the history of Brixton’s own windmill, we look at the way that mills have traditionally kept us baking bread through difficult times.
7pm to :
Join Balham Cycling Club’s Paul Darby for a look at the South London cycling scene during this period.
7pm to :
A video look at the creation of this garden and its ongoing evolution over the past two decades
7pm to 8pm
More London events on Monday 28th September
Tuesday 29th September
Come tour our printing workshop, historic rooms, and famous library.
6pm to 8pm
City of London
Online events / webinars
How do we ensure we are rebuilding a London that can withstand any future crises and that we have a profession equipped to embrace a whole new approach?
10am to 11am
The economic shock that ruined so many investors, from royal mistresses to royal footmen, was the bursting of the South Sea Bubble in 1720.
2pm to 3pm
Hear tales of London's great West End stores, from Selfridges to John Lewis via Liberty, HMV and many others
6pm to 7pm
In examining the legacy of this conflict, Professor Nice will consider documents newly-released by the UK and US governments.
6pm to 7pm
In this illustrated talk, Antony will examine these main characters and recreate the atmosphere of the pubs, clubs and music halls of the time and examine the underworld of drug-taking, pornography, prostitution and the occult.
6:30pm to 7:45pm
Howard Gardner reflects on his intellectual development and his groundbreaking work on multiple intelligences
7pm to 8:30pm
An online walk exploring the architecture, business deals, booms and bust behind the making of a 21st century icon - Canary Wharf.
7pm to 8pm
More London events on Tuesday 29th September
Wednesday 30th September
A panel discussion on how music hall linked Brixton to the world and how performance names and personas disguised true identify.
7pm to 8pm
Online events / webinars
Dr Judy Hill looks at the parishes that gave medical relief to the aged and the chronically sick, the help they gave, and how doctors dealt with the parish poor.
2pm to 3pm
This presentation outlines the types of seismic stations operated in the UK, how data is handled and some of the pitfalls and problems of running a network that has been operational since 1969.
6pm to 7pm
This lecture summarises Roger’s insights from his own experience as a clinician, his decades-long collaborations with extraordinary experts, and his Gresham Lecture series.
6pm to 7pm
A panel discussion on how music hall linked Brixton to the world and how performance names and personas disguised true identify.
7pm to :
