The ianVisits guide to March's unusual events, tours, lectures and exhibitions happening around London.
Coronavirus: Events may be cancelled and venues closed at short notice, you are advised to check on their websites before making a trip.
Monday 1st March
Online events / webinars
Join author and screenwriter Lisa Morton to explore how our fascination with talking to the dead grew and evolved
7:30pm to 9pm
More London events on Monday 1st March
Tuesday 2nd March
Online events / webinars
Join Librarian Ann Martin to learn about the history of Guildhall Library and to view some of the Library’s treasures.
2pm to 2:30pm
Political parties are taken for granted today, but how was the idea of party viewed in the eighteenth century, when core components of modern, representative politics were trialled?
5:15pm to 7pm
A talk about how a single woman of average means gain access to more than 100 works of history, politics, and biography, in English and French in the 19th century.
5:30pm to 7:30pm
This lecture explores the issue of prosperity, innovation, and natural capital for iconic locations around the world and asks what will it mean for the future.
6pm to 7pm
This talk will tell the untold story of the men who shaped Britain’s gardens.
6:30pm to 7:30pm
Rosemary Hill, the award-winning biographer of Pugin, discusses a little-known aspect of his work.
7pm to 10pm
Duncan Bowie, of the Dulwich Society, will cover the lives and politics of some of the 30 radicals and socialists who have either been politically active in Dulwich or have lived in the area over the last 200 years
8pm to 9pm
More London events on Tuesday 2nd March
Wednesday 3rd March
Online events / webinars
This lecture considers just how energetic cosmic rays are, the origins of their extreme energies and the implications for Earth.
1pm to 2pm
Discover how and why the Elizabeth Tower, the Great Clock and the Great Bell, Big Ben, were built and learn about the enormous task of restoring the tower to its former glory.
6pm to 7pm
Audrey Hepburn's relationship with Givenchy has been declared 'fashion's greatest movie moment'. Find out why.
6:30pm to 7:30pm
Juliet discusses Frostquake and how, when the thaw came, it became clear that ten weeks of extraordinary weather had acted as a catalyst between two distinct eras.
7:30pm to 8:30pm
More London events on Wednesday 3rd March
Thursday 4th March
Online events / webinars
Free
Aristotle's philosophical beliefs are analysed in this lecture, as well as the major works of the next generation of practitioners of what became known as 'Peripatetic' philosophy.
1pm to 2pm
Explore Guildhall Library’s rich and varied resources for Merchant Navy history from the Lloyd’s Marine and Newall Dunn Collections.
2pm to 3pm
Join Dr Okasha El Daly as he overturns this long-held misconceptions by uniting Egyptology and Islamic Studies.
5pm to 6pm
Gatwick’s Surface Transport Planning Manager will talk about the challenges of planning airport surface access for the future.
5pm to 6pm
This talk intends to show the important rôle that nitrogen played in the earlier projects aimed at quantifying human food consumption.
5:30pm to 5am
This talk explores the legal implications facing the state and what steps can be taken and implemented to save more lives and have safer policing.
6pm to 7pm
More London events on Thursday 4th March
Friday 5th March
Online events / webinars
Until now, Winston’s servants have been largely invisible, including the crucial figure of his favourite cook.
2pm to 3pm
Celebrate International Absinthe Day with a Virtual Lecture on the Origins & Rituals of Absinthe
6:15pm to 7pm
More London events on Friday 5th March
Saturday 6th March
Unfortunately, there seems to be nothing special happening today. Sorry about that!
More London events on Saturday 6th March
Sunday 7th March
A beautiful historic parkland designed by Lancelot 'Capability' Brown with Edwardian gardens in Reigate, Surrey.
1pm to 5pm
Reigate
Online events / webinars
Join Professor Peter Godfrey-Smith on a fascinating journey to the depths of the ocean to learn how nature became aware of itself.
7:30pm to 9pm
More London events on Sunday 7th March
Monday 8th March
Online events / webinars
Join Janan Nuri for a guided tour of nursing and women's history for International Women's Day.
2pm to 3pm
Join Sheldon from CemeteryClub for an immersive online tour through the gravestones of one of the most beautiful and exclusive burial spaces in London
7pm to 8:15pm
More London events on Monday 8th March
Tuesday 9th March
An introduction to some of the best places around the UK for seabirds and cetaceans.
7pm to :
Hampstead
Online events / webinars
A talk about a new more plausible candidate for the original outlaw.
1pm to 2pm
This seminar will interrogate the system of food renders (sometimes termed ‘feorm’) by which, it is widely accepted, early royal households were supported.
5:30pm to 7pm
In this talk we will see that not only is the history of computers rich and diverse, their architecture likewise. Astonishingly, all the computers ever made can be modelled by one universal machine – the Turing machine.
6pm to 7pm
This talk will explore how the garden was created and who might have been involved in its design.
6:30pm to 7:30pm
£5.00
Peter Howell, author of a new book on Bentley, explores the work of this great Roman Catholic architect.
7pm to 10pm
Join historian Nick Lloyd, in conversation with Dr Jonathan Boff, as he discusses his new book and highlights some of the misconceptions about the Western Front.
7pm to :
More London events on Tuesday 9th March
Wednesday 10th March
Online events / webinars
The lecture considers how the upheavals of the Tudor era led to the emergence of a genuinely new religious consciousness in England.
6pm to 7pm
Learn about the career of Hollywood's greatest comedienne Carole Lombard from film historian Lucy Bolton
6:30pm to 7:30pm
Chief Curator Lucy Worsley is joined by Gardens & Estates Manager Graham Dillamore and curator Lee Prosser for a fascinating exploration of royal gardens, past and present.
7pm to :
More London events on Wednesday 10th March
Thursday 11th March
Online events / webinars
From pandemic recovery and Brexit to climate change, what tools do we need as an industry in order to tackle these obstacles and ensure a brighter future for London?
4pm to 5:30pm
This is an opportunity for audiences to learn more about Camden Highline and the team delivering it.
5:30pm to 6:30pm
Simon Garfield discusses his new book, exploring one of the world’s most successful and enduring relationships: human and dog.
7pm to 8pm
Roman Britain’s Missing Legion: What Really Happened to Legio IX Hispana.
7pm to 8pm
A talk about Reginald Scot's 1584 rebuttal to the witch crazes sweeping Europe & the British Isles.
8pm to 10pm
More London events on Thursday 11th March
Friday 12th March
Online events / webinars
Gareth Glover outlines his contribution to the long-standing debate over which regiments defeated the Imperial Guard during the 'crisis' of Waterloo.
12pm to 1pm
Principal Records Specialist Vicky Iglikowski-Broad will reflect on women and protest in modern Britain.
2pm to 3pm
More London events on Friday 12th March
Saturday 13th March
Online events / webinars
Virtual tours of the UK's own particle accelerator, the national synchrotron - Diamond Light Source.
10am to 2pm
More London events on Saturday 13th March
Sunday 14th March
Online events / webinars
The Director of Cornwall's Museum of Witchcraft & Magic will discuss the extraordinary history of the institution and look at some pieces
8pm to 10pm
More London events on Sunday 14th March
Monday 15th March
Online events / webinars
A talk about James Gibbs’s Church of St Mary-le-Strand.
6:30pm to 7:30pm
In an illustrated zoom lecture Marina Warner will uncover the long associations of balm with the pleasures and solace of the East.
7pm to 8:30pm
More London events on Monday 15th March
Tuesday 16th March
Online events / webinars
This talk will focus on the research of astrophysicists trying to understand this conflict between observations of galaxies and their supermassive black holes and the current best model of the Universe.
1pm to 2pm
Modernist architecture permeates Clerkenwell. Be inspired by architect Berthold Lubetkin's blueprint for alleviating social deprivation .
4:30pm to 5:30pm
This talk explores the role of law in producing, using and circulating geographical knowledge through an examination of the emergence and application of copyright legislation in eighteenth-century Britain.
5:30pm to 7pm
The talk will also discuss how boards, investors, policymakers, and executives themselves can address these biases to make better decisions – that affect not only companies but also wider society.
6pm to 7pm
This talk looks at some of Kent’s best work including Rousham, Esher and Stowe and evaluates him in relation to his contemporaries, Charles Bridgeman, Stephen Switzer and Robert Castell.
6:30pm to 7:30pm
Free
Monthly(ish) series of talks by museum workers on their jobs and passions.
8pm to :
More London events on Tuesday 16th March
Wednesday 17th March
Online events / webinars
Join Robert Ayton, Westminster City Council discussing recent planning issues impacting the Westminster Abbey and Parliament Square Conservation Area
11am to 11:40am
For several hundred years, Fairburn Tower has been left deserted and near ruin. Hear from Linda Lockett & Tom Addyman how they plan to rescue this building for the Landmark Trust.
6pm to 7pm
Recent researches have revealed that the Duke and Duchess were major patrons of architecture, leaving some important, but little known, buildings to posterity.
6pm to 7pm
This talk looks at the links between the cemeteries and railways including the Necropolis service to Brookwood.
6:30pm to :
Architectural historian Simon Green discusses the work of a major neglected Scottish architect.
7pm to 10pm
A talk about the ceramic finials used to decorate social housing in St Pancras.
7:30pm to 9pm
More London events on Wednesday 17th March
Thursday 18th March
A notice that the Thames Barrier and the Barking Barrier will have their monthly test closures today.
9:30am to 12pm
Online events / webinars
A presentation about Europe's oldest continuously functioning Synagogue, in the City of London.
2pm to :
The Houndsditch Murders: Find out more from the archives of the case and exhibits taken to the trial.
2pm to 3pm
This paper will explore the many revolutionary developments which occurred within the drive-in theatre concession stand, but also discuss its lasting influence on movie-theatre refreshments today.
5:30pm to 7pm
What implications did the economic growth in the Victorian period have for women? In this event, Emma Griffin discusses work and family life in 19th-century Britain, the inequality of opportunity women faced and why the gender pay gap is still an issue today.
6pm to 7pm
An evening with author and freelance journalist Wendy Moore as she reveals the startling story of the pioneering women who ran Endell Street, a trailblazing military hospital in WWI.
6pm to 7pm
Historian Shane McCorristine will reveal how ghosts, dreams, and frozen mummies actually played significant roles in how polar exploration was imagined and carried out.
7pm to :
Travelling from medieval London to the present day, learn about a variety of macabre spectacles from the religious to the voyeuristic, and from upholding the law to the decidedly illegal.
7pm to 8pm
More London events on Thursday 18th March
Friday 19th March
Online events / webinars
Steve Gibson will offer a new understanding of the complex British role in the Cold War and reflect on its ongoing role towards broader intelligence function.
12pm to 1pm
Greg Jenner brings this vibrant talk which reveals why celebrity burst into life in the early eighteenth century, as he assembles a vibrant cast of over 125 actors, singers, dancers, sportspeople and more, to search for its historical roots.
2pm to 3pm
To celebrate the paperback release of Dead Famous, Greg Jenner brings this vibrant talk which reveals why celebrity burst into life in the early eighteenth century,
2pm to 3pm
More London events on Friday 19th March
Saturday 20th March
Online events / webinars
Make your own treasure map with Sally Kindberg as you travel back in time to London three hundred years ago, and explore a mysterious house.
2pm to 3pm
Join The Apothecary's Daughter and learn about herbal preparations for self-care and nourishment as we head into Spring
4pm to 5:30pm
One of the 20th century's master architects – communications, power stations, homes, halls and churches in central London
6pm to 7pm
More London events on Saturday 20th March
Sunday 21st March
Online events / webinars
The colourful life of the prolific author who effectively invented the novel
11am to 12pm
Remembering some marvellous Art Deco buildings and looking at the structures that have replaced them
6pm to 7pm
More London events on Sunday 21st March
Monday 22nd March
Online events / webinars
Ever since Darwin, biology has been used to support racial prejudice and gender inequality, but – happily – has also been used to challenge both in the 150 years since the Descent.
6pm to 7pm
In this talk Dr Ashley Morgan will address the questions of the lack of diversity in men's clothing.
6:30pm to 7:30pm
A discussion of Brick Lane's cultural significance for the Bangladeshi community, its history and the challenges which threaten it.
7pm to :
Join Dr Pat Morris for a fascinating tour through the history of taxidermy, from its earliest examples to modern incarnations
7:30pm to 9pm
More London events on Monday 22nd March
Tuesday 23rd March
Online events / webinars
This lecture celebrates 500 years since the birth of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, an intelligence-gatherer for Elizabeth I across Europe, who also brought his son, Sir Robert Cecil, into the world of secret Elizabethan intelligence.
6pm to 7pm
An opportunity to hear from two of the nations’ most admired personalities, followed by an interactive Q & A.
6:30pm to 7:45pm
This illustrated lecture will analyse the social dynamics of London’s most popular and celebrated Pleasure Garden in Vauxhall.
6:30pm to 7:30pm
Discover the original boundaries of Knightsbridge and the story of how most of it vanished over the years
6:30pm to 7:30pm
Burlington Magazine editor Michael Hall explores Morris's friendship with a leading Gothic revival architect.
7pm to 10pm
Burlington Magazine editor Michael Hall explores Morris's friendship with a leading Gothic revival architect.
7pm to 10pm
All sorts in all weathers – London's linear kerbside markets
7pm to 8pm
More London events on Tuesday 23rd March
Wednesday 24th March
Online events / webinars
Virtual tour of Sir Christopher Wren's masterpiece, St Paul's Cathedral.
2pm to 3:15pm
An intense examination of five ghastly murders committed in London in the first half of the 20th century.
2pm to 3pm
Understanding and addressing financing frictions in Deep Tech entrepreneurship.
5:30pm to 6:30pm
Explore the life of the most famous TV chef of all with Kevin Geddes.
6:30pm to 7:30pm
Prepare to be transported to a world of opulence and sixteenth century bling...
7pm to :
A virtual walking tour looking at what's under London - exploring 'lost' rivers and secret tunnels!
7pm to 8pm
Join Amy as she explores the function and meaning of white embroidery in the past and highlights some of the most delicate and interesting pieces in our Collection.
7pm to 8:15pm
A journey from Whitechapel to Mayfair looking at some of London's lesser-appreciated architectural masterpieces
9pm to 10pm
More London events on Wednesday 24th March
Thursday 25th March
The plague and Great Fire are well known, but what other disasters and seminal reversals did Londoners face?
6:25pm to 7:45pm
Online events / webinars
Professor Shusaku Kanazawa will talk about the peculiarity of Britain in terms of charity through the lens of some Japanese observers in the 19th and 20th centuries.
12pm to 1pm
This talk will focus on May's beautiful designs and completed embroideries, demonstrating why she should be regarded as one of the most significant artists of the arts and crafts movement.
3pm to :
Dr Erin Spinney reveals the history of Black nurses before Florence Nightingale in the annual History of Nursing Forum Lecture.
6pm to 7:30pm
Social Historian Carol Harris will look at the first children to enter the Foundling Hospital, and what their reception meant for them and for their mothers.
6:30pm to 7:30pm
A lecture by Professor Frances Spalding CBE on the personal friendship and creative collaborations of poet, architectural commentator and broadcaster Sir John Betjeman and artist John Piper.
6:30pm to 7:30pm
A lecture by artist and researcher Ibby Lanfear on the history and significance of the seventeenth century portrait collection at the Charterhouse.
7pm to 8pm
A presentation by the Chair of the Independent Expert Advisory Panel into the Grenfell Tower fire.
7pm to :
Librarians Andrea Del Corno and Tudor Allen explore the rich historical legacy of the city's lost Italian quarter.
7pm to :
From cigars and snuff to Art Deco Egyptian splendour
7pm to 8pm
More London events on Thursday 25th March
Friday 26th March
In this talk, Dr Erica McAlister looks at the astonishing mechanics of fly anatomy, revealing the engineering embodied in each species of fly.
7pm to 9:30pm
Online events / webinars
This Breakfast Talk presents ideas for the future of retail on London’s high streets, learning from the challenges of the past year
8:30am to 9:30am
Join Jennifer Grant in this online talk as she explores the relationship between the Polish and British armed forces during the Second World War.
12pm to 1pm
Join Angelina Osborne in exploring the hidden voices of women in the archives, women who campaigned to have control over their lives and their families.
2pm to 3pm
Join Royal Observatory Astronomer Patricia as she explores the Star Trek technology that is no longer in the realms of science fiction but is now part of our daily lives.
7pm to :
More London events on Friday 26th March
Saturday 27th March
Online events / webinars
Ten of London's under-rated and over-looked architectural masterpieces
10am to 11am
A virtual visit to the UK's largest Victorian cemetery
7pm to 8:30pm
More London events on Saturday 27th March
Sunday 28th March
A secluded S-facing cottage style garden, developed over 25 years for yr-round interest.
2pm to 5pm
Woodford Green
Online events / webinars
Jazz Age jazz hands – architectural indulgence in interwar Central London
11am to 12pm
Oscar Wilde's London. His life and works and the people and the places he was associated with.
6pm to 7pm
A special live adaptation of one of the most intriguing Dickens encounters on record.
7pm to :
Join Viktor Wynd for an illustrated zoom lecture on his new book, hear about fairies, mermaids, ghosts, shrunken heads and his dead friends.
8pm to 9:30pm
More London events on Sunday 28th March
Monday 29th March
Online events / webinars
Learn about the man who pioneered children's welfare and created the UK's first chidlren's charity.
6pm to 7pm
More London events on Monday 29th March
Tuesday 30th March
Online events / webinars
In the three hundred years since, the bubble has been much misunderstood – this lecture separates fact from myth and aims to move beyond simplistic ideas of “gambling mania”.
1pm to 2pm
A chance to hear from one of Britain's best-loved gardening experts, followed by an interactive Q & A
6:30pm to 7:45pm
Historian DAN CRUICKSHANK outlines the story of the world famous Truman Brewery in Brick Lane
7pm to :
Dr Alec Hamilton, author of Arts & Crafts Churches (Lund Humphries, 2020), considers twenty-two churches that deserve to be better known.
7pm to 9pm
Discover the fascinating story of the King’s Observatory, a hub for scientific research in Richmond for over 200 years.
7pm to :
More London events on Tuesday 30th March
Wednesday 31st March
Online events / webinars
City Guide Jill Finch’s talk looks at the turbulent years leading up to that meeting at Runnymede and how the City forged its own way into the history of Magna Carta.
2pm to 3pm
Nick Biddle, Park Manager, will outline plans for Spring and Summer as well as some of the challenges he is facing.
6pm to 7pm
Matthew Rosenberg and Sav Kyriacou from digital-works talk about recording the stories of London and Londoners.
6:30pm to 7:30pm
Matthew Rosenberg and Sav Kyriacou from digital-works talk about recording the stories of London and Londoners.
6:30pm to 7:30pm
In this conversation with Sir Sherard, Bettany will discuss her recent book, which charts ancient art, evocative myth, archaeological revelations and philosophical explorations
6:30pm to 7:30pm
Join Dr Elizabeth Dearnley on this mysterious tour of London of popular imagination, enveloped in darkness and fog...
6:30pm to 7:30pm
A talk about how a formerly grand railway station was reduced down to a modern shed.
7pm to :
A virtual walking tour uncovering the hidden historic gems of Waterloo & Lambeth
7pm to 8pm
Join poet and writer Chris McCabe online as he shares his findings from his forthcoming book, Buried Garden, which documents the lost poets of Abney Park Cemetery.
7pm to 8:15pm
