Portsmouth Historical Association 2026-27 Programme

The Portsmouth Historical Association is starting its 2026-27 programme of talks at the Park Building Room 1.09, with the first session on Tuesday 13 October. It's a series that runs through the winter and into the spring, with talks on Tuesday 10 November, 8 December, 12 January, 9 February, 9 March and 11 May.

The theme this year is identity and deception, and the association is bringing in some of the country's top scholars to talk through it. Ted Morris looks at the thirty-one men who've held the role of Foreign Secretary, with a particular focus on Portsmouth's own James Callaghan; Morris says Callaghan's time in the post has been a generally overlooked period. Professor Peter J Ling talks US election scandals, drawing on his 2024 book After Watergate, which traces presidential scandals from Watergate to Trump. And Neil Spurgeon looks at the 1830 Swing Riots, when farm workers driven by economic distress and harsh legislation destroyed threshing machines in Warblington.

It's a wide-ranging set of talks, and you don't have to commit to the whole thing — you can just pick the ones that interest you. Each lecture is £4, or you can get the full run from October to May for £20. It's free for students and HA members, and there's no booking needed, so you can just turn up on the night.