NEW! Stained Glass in Cotswold Churches

A series of three richly illustrated lectures exploring the history of stained glass in Cotswold churches from the earliest medieval glass, through the great resurgence of glass making in the 19th century, and Arts and Crafts innovations in the early 20th, to contemporary glass for the modern church.

1. The Medieval Legacy: Stained Glass throughout the Middle Ages in the Cotswolds

2. Victorian Abundance: Stained glass in the 19th Century Cotswolds

3. Facing the Future: Stained Glass of the Cotswolds in the 20th Century and Today

Commissioned by the Museum in the Park, Stroud

The Arts and Crafts Movement in Cotswold churches

Can be booked as either a single 45min talk or a series of 4 talks

The Arts and Crafts Movement made a big impact on the county's churches - from church building to stained glass, from woodcarving to conservation, this talk explores the impact of makers from William Morris, through the Guild of Handicraft, Gimson and the Barnsleys, Christopher Whall, to 20th century artists such as Edward Payne who worked in the tradition.

1. Introducing Arts and Crafts in churches

2. Sapperton and Chipping Campden designers 

3. A national style for our churches?

4. Arts and Crafts stained glass in the Cotswolds

The Golden Age of Book Illustration

A three-part series exploring the art of book illustration in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Discover how book illustration took off as an artform under the Pre-Raphaelites and their followers, reaching new heights in the period that saw the beginning of the Arts and Crafts Movement, and into the decadent 1890s - with a brilliant flowering in the early 20th century.

1. Into the Golden Age of Book Illustration: the Victorians

2. The Golden Age of Book Illustration: the 1890s

3. The Golden Age of Book Illustration: the early 20th century

Wee Folk, Good Folk

Discover the great age of fairy and folklore painting and illustration in Victorian and Edwardian art. The Victorians and Edwardians loved fairy tales and were rediscovering the folklore of the places around them. Join Kirsty Hartsiotis in exploring the work of artists from Richard Dadd's dark fantasies to Walter Crane's bright toy books and into the riches of the Edwardian age.

 Arts and Crafts Movement First World War Memorials in the Cotswolds

The Cotswolds have an unusual number of Arts and Crafts memorials, due, in part, to the architects and designers who had settled in the county from the 1890s onwards. This talk will feature designers such as Ernest Gimson, Henry Payne, Edwin Lutyens and F. L. Griggs with a rich array of memorials from church and town alike, crosses to stained glass to water troughs – and all the attendant local politics in erecting them!

Delighting in the Countryside: Gloucestershire's Arts and Crafts Movement artists

Inspired by the craftspeople of the Arts and Crafts Movement already in the area and by the beauty of the Cotswolds, many artists came to settle in the Gloucestershire countryside in the early 20th century; among them, Charles March Gere and Margaret Gere, Henry and Edith Payne, F L Griggs and William Rothenstein. Kirsty explores their interpretations of the natural landscape and the ideals that led the artists to settle here.

Enchanted Cotswold Country: John Drinkwater and the Arts and Crafts Movement

Dymock poet John Drinkwater had links with the Arts and Crafts Movement from his early days in Birmingham, through to his time living in Far Oakridge, near Stroud, during the First World War.

Folk Tales and Legends

A three-part series exploring the local folk tales and legends of three very different areas of the UK, the Cotswolds, East Anglia and Wessex. Discover what makes these places tick, and what dragions, fairies and monsters lurk in their fields and back streets: 

1. Folk Tales and Legends of the Cotswolds

2. Folk Tales and Legends of East Anglia 

3. Folk Tales and Legends of Wessex

Great British Ghosts 

Delve deep with Kirsty Hartsiotis into our collective British ghostlore in this talk to send shivers down your spine for the Christmas season. From the strange happenings at Borley Rectory in Essex, to Henry VIII's many ghostly wives, to lost Roman legions, to skulls that scream when you try to remove them, to villages busy with ghosts like Pluckley in Kent and Prestbury in Gloucestershire. There'll be grey ladies, hooded monks and phantom carriages galore!

Tales of the Celtic Saints

Discover the saints of Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Cornwall and Brittany and their nature-loving, magical lives in this talk - from Patrick to Gildas, from Bridget to Dympna.  Join Kirsty Hartsiotis as she explores these saints from Christianity's early days, and the art that has been produced in their local (and not-so local) churches.

Folk Tales and Legends of Brittany

From the Ankou to King Arthur, join Kirsty Hartsiotis in a talk exploring the fabulous folk tales and spectacular legends of Brittany. Discover tales that range from saint's lives to to dark supernatural creatures and lost sunken cities, from gentle giants to capricious fairies. Come and explore the land of Brittany, discovering its landscape and buildings at the same time as delving deep into folk tales.

Out with the Old and In with the New!

From New Year's Day to Christmastide, over the course of the year we observe many festivals and traditions that ease us through each season, many of which related to the farming year and nature around us. Join writer, storyteller and speaker Kirsty Hartsiotis on a journey from Plough Monday, through the equinoxes and the solstices, to harvest and beyond into winter, exploring our folklore and folk tales of the year's turning.

Mistletoe, Wrens and Mumming

Ever wondered where our Christmas traditions come from? Or how people celebrated Christmas in the past? Joina hunt for Britain's quirkiest Christmas traditions, and discover the secrets of some of the things we take for granted at Christmastide. From hunting the wren to kissing under the mistletoe, and from eating a mince pie a day to ensuring the house was clean to keep out the fairies, find out about the Christmas season from Advent to Candlemas.

Wonder Workers!

Miracles, murder, marvels! Discover the lives, deaths, yes, and the afterlives of saints from all around the British Isles. Stories of saints were among some of the most popular and famous tales of the Middle Ages and beyond. Join storyteller, writer and speaker Kirsty Hartsiotis in exploring a selection of fascinating saints' tales - expect the unexpected!

King Arthur was Here!

Here lies King Arthur, king once - and king to be. Explore the many local legends that claim King Arthur as their own. Join storyteller, writer and speaker Kirsty Hartsiotis for a journey around the British Isles in search of King Arthur, uncovering the local stories told about the once and future king.

The Fairies Revenge: getting your own back in British folklore

Think you can trick the fairy folk or disrespect the land? Well, think again! But if you play it right the rewards are great! This talks explores folktales from the British Isles and beyond, uncovering the dark traditions of the fairies' revenge - and how you can avoid it by fair dealing with the fairies and the land. 

Enchanting the Landscape: bringing the landscape to life with folklore

How much more enchanted is the land if we know its stories? A journey of discovery into the secret tales of the British countryside & town.  Take a journey with Kirsty in this illustrated talk as she explores stories and their settings - and what she found when she visited the places.

Ghosts in the Stones: Supernatural Tales in Gloucestershire

The spirits of history are lurking out there in the countryside and hidden in the buildings of the towns and cities of Gloucestershire. This talk explores some of the country's spooks, and the stories and histories behind them.

Christmas Ghosts: the Tradition of Winter Tales in Gloucestershire and beyond

We've told supernatural tales at midwinter for a very long time. This talk goes back to the earliest winter tales, comes up through the Victorians revisiting of the tradition, and up to the present day, with a focus on Gloucestershire's own midwinter stories.

Medieval Wonder Tales: Exploring the weird in the Middle Ages

Aliens! Vampires! Zombies! Giants! Space travel! Think the Middle Ages is all tales of knights and ladies? The truth is much more exciting! From zombie ghosts in Yorkshire, to sky ships over Bristol, to Alexander the Great's space adventure, and a vampire in Hereford, medieval wonder tales - or mirabilia, as they were called - have puzzled and delighted people for generations.

Monsters, Heroes and Saints: Tales of the Anglo Saxons in English folklore

Listen! Tales of war, of lost treasure, of heroes and of doomed love. Discover the tales the earliest of the English have inspired.  Journey around the folk tales that people have told about the Anglo-Saxons - from the first invaders Hengist and Horsa right up to Harold I getting it in the eye. Kirsty explores the landscape of England, searching out those places in England with legendary associations with kings, queens, warriors and saints.

The Dancing Stones: Folk tales and folk tale collectors in Wiltshire

From the Giant's Dance to the Moonrakers, no stone is left unturned in this talk about Wiltshire's tales and the people who collected them. This talk  looks at a selection of folk tale collectors over the centuries in Wiltshire, including 12th century Geoffrey of Monmouth, 17th century John Aubrey and into the 20th century with Alfred Williams, the Hammerman Poet.