Member Exclusive Lectures

Our Members can enjoy exclusive Lectures from leading experts on a wide range of topics connected with churches and heritage.

These lectures take place on the second Monday of the month and begin at 6pm in the evening. 

If you are a member, then keep an eye out for the members' e-newsletters every month for details of upcoming lectures and information on how to join these exclusive lectures. You can also contact the Membership team at supporters@thecct.org.uk or by calling 0800 206 1463.

These lectures are only accessible to Members of the Churches Conservation Trust and run in addition to our monthly "An Evening with CCT" Lectures that remain 100% free of charge and are accessible to all.

If you wish to become a Member to access these lectures, you can do so from as little as £3.50 a month. More information about our membership offer, and the many benefits, can be found here.

Upcoming Members' Exclusive Lectures

All of our Member's Exclusive Lectures are available to watch on CCTdigital.com by logging in with your membership details.  Please email the Membership team at supporters@thecct.org.uk if you encounter any technical difficulties with accessing these lectures.

We look forward to welcoming our CCT Members live from 5:50pm to hear about these fascinating topics. Instructions on how to join us will be sent in the Members' E-newsletter.

On Monday, 14 October from 17:50, we will welcome Dr Alex Langlands to talk about, Old Sarum, a greedy bishop and the twilight days of Norman England.

Evidence suggests that Old Sarum, a vast Iron Age hillfort in the south of England was specially chosen by King William the Conqueror to be a centre of Norman power in the newly conquered kingdom of Wessex. With its vast outer Bailey, new cathedral complex and imposing motte and keep it was designed as a ceremonial stage for the performance of power. It wasn't long though before the fault lines of the Norman project at Old Sarum began to creak apart and in the career of Bishop Roger of Salisbury we see the castle and cathedral become the setting for one of the most spectacular falls from grace in medieval England. This lecture examines new evidence for the rise of Old Sarum and vital archaeological clues that cast the downfall of Roger in a much more sinister light than contemporary chroniclers would have us believe . . .      

Alex Langlands is an Associate Professor in History and Heritage at Swansea University. He has a background in field archaeology and has spent over fifteen years working in prime-time broadcast media in the UK. His broadcast work has been awarded a prestigious Learning on Screen Award, he is a Sunday Times Bestselling author, and his book Cræft has won critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic.

On Monday, 11 November from 17:50, we will welcome James Patton Rogers to talk about, Traces of World War II in St Luke's Bombed Out Church, Liverpool.

On 30 November this month, many will be commemorating and marking the 150th anniversary of Churchill's birth. As for many, Winston Churchill navigated the British people through World War II. Due to this commemoration, we turn to look at some of our churches that remember the ravages and the conflict of the Second World War. 

During WWII, as the largest working port on the west coast, and therefore critical to the British war effort, Liverpool was one of the most heavily bombed areas outside of London. In 1941, the city was affected by a devastating seven-night bombardment, known as the ‘May Blitz’. Just after midnight, on May 6th, 1941, the church was struck by an incendiary bomb causing a large fire that swept through the building. By approximately 3:36 (the time at which the tower’s clock stopped due to its mechanism perishing) the fire ascended the tower, causing several of its bells to cascade to the ground. While the building’s masonry shell remained largely intact, its interior and roof structure was almost entirely destroyed.

James Patton Rogers is a war historian, broadcaster, and policy adviser at Cornell University. An expert on drone technologies, weaponry, and the history of war, James is the Executive Director of the Cornell Brooks Tech Policy Institute and advises the UN Security Council and NATO on the global proliferation of high-tech weapons systems. 

Monday 9 December: Coming soon

Monday 13 January 2025: Coming soon 

Monday 10 February 2025: Coming soon

Keep an eye on this page for further updates about upcoming lectures. Our programme for the coming months will soon be announced.