{"id":6527,"date":"2025-05-31T19:00:20","date_gmt":"2025-05-31T19:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.olivercromwell.org\/wordpress\/?page_id=6527"},"modified":"2026-09-03T06:58:48","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T06:58:48","slug":"study-day2025","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.olivercromwell.org\/wordpress\/study-day2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Cromwell Association Study Day 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Saturday 18th October 2025<\/strong>
Location: <\/strong>Wesley\u2019s Chapel, City Road, London, EC1Y 1AU<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The cost of attendance includes coffee and a light buffet lunch. To book place\/places at \u00a365.00 (non-members) or \u00a345 for members of the Cromwell Association \/ full-time students. To pay via PayPal use the form below:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n

[wp_paypal_payment_box options=”Non-Members:65.00|Cromwell Association members, full-time students:45.00|Test:0.01″ currency=”GBP” reference=”Your email address” payment_subject=”Cromwell Study Day 2025 attendance” return=”https:\/\/www.olivercromwell.org\/wordpress\/welcome-new-member\/”]<\/p>\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Please indicate if you have specific dietary requirements by emailing secretary@olivercromwell.org<\/a> and they will be accommodated, if possible: if not, you will be advised.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

All bookings must be received by: FRIDAY 10th OCTOBER 2025<\/strong>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

If you prefer to book and pay by cheque please download the booking form here<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The Association reserves the right to cancel the event if circumstances demand.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Cultural Cromwell: now and then<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Programme for the day<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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The idea that there was a cultural life to Cromwell\u2019s Protectoral court is unfamiliar to some and unbelievable to others. This event will consider different aspects of that cultural life and then look at elements of how Cromwell has been represented in contemporary culture.  From oil paintings to Richard Harris and Milton to modern fiction; a day of interesting insights and contrasts.<\/p>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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10.25 Registration and coffee<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

10.55 Welcome and introduction<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

11.00 Culture without Kings: presenting and representing the Protectoral Court<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Speaker: Dr Patrick Little<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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In recent years, historians have taken a renewed interest in the court of Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector. This paper reviews that work, including such topics as the architecture of the formal royal palaces, the art collection of the protector, the maintenance and creation of formal gardens, the fashions of dress among male and female courtiers, court ceremonial, and also the literature and music that might be encountered there. This was not only grandeur for its own sake: the culture of the court was designed to project an image – not least to visiting diplomats – of a modern and thriving state, that could compete on equal terms with the princely courts of Europe; it was also a conscious exercise in refashioning the existing courtly culture of England to accommodate a head of state who wasn’t a king. As a result, there were tensions, not least between those who favoured republican sobriety and those who wanted Cromwell to become an anointed king, and as a result Cromwellian Culture became increasingly contested and controversial in the last years of the Protectorate.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Patrick Little is an assistant editor at the History of Parliament Trust in London. He has written extensively on Cromwell and his times, and was one of the editors of the three-volume Letters, Writings and Speeches of Oliver Cromwell (Oxford, 2022).<\/em><\/p>\r\n<\/div>

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11.35 Cromwell in Seventeenth-Century Poetry<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Speaker: Dr Edward Holberton<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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This talk looks at how writers, including Andrew Marvell, John Milton, Edmund Waller and Payne Fisher, represented Cromwell in literary panegyric. Cromwell was reluctant to engage in the kind of programmatic cultural patronage that many early modern political figures developed in order to project their authority in personal terms, yet there was wide public interest in Cromwell\u2019s intentions across Britain and Europe. This tension became in itself a source of literary energy and innovation, as Cromwell\u2019s leading panegyricists sifted different literary languages and parallels for his likenesses. The discussion will look closely at Marvell\u2019s famously ambiguous \u2018An Horatian Ode\u2019, as well as some lesser-known, but equally probing, attempts to grasp Cromwell\u2019s cultural significance. The talk will do this in the light of a recent European turn in Civil War literary studies, which has given renewed attention to the continental influences and contexts shaping English vernacular writing during the 1640s and 1650s. The growing importance in the seventeenth century of what has been called \u2018public diplomacy\u2019, the use of textual and visual sources to shape European public opinion, meant that Cromwell\u2019s presence in literature was often connected to diplomatic occasions, and the need to \u2018translate\u2019 him into others languages and cultures.<\/p>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Edward Holberton is an Associate Professor of Early Modern English Literature at the University of Bristol. He is the author of Poetry and the Cromwellian Protectorate (Oxford University Press, 2008); Atlantic Circulations: Literature, Reception and Imperial Identities, 1650\u20131750 (Routledge, 2025), and co-editor, with Martin Dzelzainis, of the Oxford Handbook of Andrew Marvell (Oxford University Press, 2019).<\/em><\/p>\r\n<\/div>

\"Dr<\/figure><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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12.10  Cromwell \u2013 the armoured image<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Speaker: Angus Haldan<\/em>e<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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The physiognomy of Oliver Cromwell is arguably more recognisable to the school children of today than the face of King Charles I himself and it is notable that, for a man who refused the crown, the depth and variety of Cromwell’s iconography rivals that of any monarch.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

This paper will present a brief chronology of the portraits of Oliver Cromwell, culminating with a brief analysis of the works of Robert Walker, who was Cromwell’s de facto court portraitist.  This paper will discuss how Cromwell and his court harnessed the medium of portraiture as a tool of diplomacy, cultural power and state influence.  \u201cThe king is dead, long live the king”.<\/p>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Angus Haldane is an independent scholar and art- dealer, with a specialism in interregnum portraiture.  Angus has published and lectured widely on the subject and is the author of Portraits of the English Civil Wars: The Face of War.  Angus is currently preparing an article on the portraiture of John Hayls. <\/em><\/p>\r\n<\/div>

\"Angus<\/figure><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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12.45 Lunch<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

13.45   Oliver Cromwell on screen<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Speaker: Dr David L Smith<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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This talk will explore how Cromwell has been depicted on screen, in films and on television, from the silent era down to the present day.  It will consider what these portrayals reveal about the times in which they were made, and the ways in which they reflect changing perceptions and interpretations of Cromwell.  Discussion of the portrayals of Cromwell in various films and television productions will be set in the context of wider historiographical trends in Cromwell\u2019s reputation and shifts in public opinion about him.  The talk will look at changes in fashion and will focus in detail on some of the most famous cinematic portrayals of Cromwell.  These include the classic movie Cromwell made in 1970 and starring Richard Harris in the title role; two memorable portrayals of him by Patrick Wymark; and more recently the 2003 film To Kill a King, in which Cromwell was played by Tim Roth.  Throughout, it will seek to contextualise how Cromwell was presented on screen and to assess the films and television productions as forms of historical documentation in their own right.<\/p>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Dr David L. Smith has been a Fellow of Selwyn College, Cambridge, since 1988, and a College Associate Professor since 2024. He became a Director of Studies in History in 1992, and a Postgraduate Tutor in 2004. At Selwyn he has also served as Admissions Tutor (1992-2003), and as Praelector (1996-2006).  He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 1992, and he has been an Affiliated Lecturer in the Cambridge History Faculty since 1995.  In 2024 he was elected a Vice-President of the Cromwell Association.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

His books include Constitutional Royalism and the Search for Settlement, c. 1640-1649 (1994), A History of the Modern British Isles, 1603-1707: The Double Crown (1998), The Stuart Parliaments, 1603-1689 (1999), and (with Patrick Little) Parliaments and Politics during the Cromwellian Protectorate (2007).  He has also co-edited two series of A-level textbooks for Cambridge University Press.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\r\n<\/div>

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14.20 Fiction, historiography and the English Civil War<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Speaker: Professor Farah Mendlesohn<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"Ladybird<\/figure>
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Drawing on reading almost 200 novels set in the English Civil War, this talk will focus on the ways historiography shifts in fictional depictions. Although the focus will be on the fascinating changes in the depiction of Cromwell it will also look at how interests have shifted and how the Civil War has stood in for a range of contemporary concerns.<\/p>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Farah Mendlesohn wrote her PhD thesis on Quakers in the Spanish Civil War, turned her teenage passion for science fiction into an award-winning career as a science fiction critic and then revisited her childhood fascination with the English Civil War to write a short novel (unpublished), and a book about the historical fiction writer, Geoffrey Trease. That triggered a wider interest in other fiction on the period, and that turned into obsessive hobby reading on the War of the Three Kingdoms, until a publisher came along and offered a contract.<\/em><\/p>\r\n<\/div>

\"Farah<\/figure><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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14.55   Fictionalising Cromwell<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Speakers: Miranda Malins, S. G. MacLean<\/em> & Antonia Senior<\/em> in discussion<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"Miranda<\/figure>
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Miranda Malins is an author and historian specialising in Oliver Cromwell, his family and the Civil War period. She studied at Cambridge University, leaving with a PhD, and is a long-standing Trustee of the Cromwell Association. As well as co-hosting the podcast \u20181666 And All That\u2019, Miranda has published two historical novels, The Puritan Princess and The Rebel Daughter, and is  writing a narrative history of the Cromwell family, The House of Cromwell, coming out in 2026.<\/em><\/p>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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S. G. MacLean (Shona) was born in Inverness and brought up in the Scottish Highlands. She has a PhD in C17th Scottish history from the University of Aberdeen. She is the author of both the Alexander Seaton and the Damian Seeker series of historical crime fiction, both set in the C17th, and has twice win the CWA Historical Dagger for novels in the Seeker series. Her standalone Jacobite thriller, The Bookseller of Inverness, was Waterstones’<\/em> 2023 Scottish Book of the Year. Her four children now grown up, she lives near Inverness with her husband and their dog.<\/em><\/p>\r\n<\/div>

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\"Antonia<\/figure>
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Antonia Senior is a novelist, critic and journalist. She studied history at Cambridge University, and has retained a lifelong interest in the Seventeenth Century. Antonia has published three novels, two of which are set during the Civil Wars. <\/em>Treason\u2019s Daughter was picked for the WH Smith Fresh Talent initiative, and The Tyrant\u2019s Shadow was longlisted for the HWA Gold Crown award.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Antonia has spent more than a decade as the historical fiction reviewer for The Times. She spent thirteen years on staff at The Times in various roles, including acting Business Editor. <\/em><\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Antonia left the paper after the birth of her second child to become a freelancer and writer. She has written for, among others, the Spectator and the Guardian.<\/em><\/p>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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15.55 Closing remarks and thanks<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

16.00 Tea, book sales and signing<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

16.30 Day ends<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Saturday 18th October 2025Location: Wesley\u2019s Chapel, City Road, London, EC1Y 1AU The cost of attendance includes coffee and a light buffet lunch. To book place\/places at \u00a365.00 (non-members) or \u00a345 for members of the Cromwell Association \/ full-time students. To pay via PayPal use the form below: Please indicate if you have specific dietary requirements […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[54],"class_list":["post-6527","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","category-study-day","tag-study-day-2025"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.olivercromwell.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.olivercromwell.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.olivercromwell.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.olivercromwell.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.olivercromwell.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6527"}],"version-history":[{"count":36,"href":"https:\/\/www.olivercromwell.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6527\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6629,"href":"https:\/\/www.olivercromwell.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6527\/revisions\/6629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.olivercromwell.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.olivercromwell.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.olivercromwell.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}