LeisureCourses.net – short courses & residential study breaks in great locations

This course will bring your family history to life. Where did they live? What did they do? Did they move? We will see how social history affected their lives, looking at the bigger picture. There will be a chance for you all to participate, share research and learning experiences with each other, get updated on what’s new on the internet and have fun with your research! Please note this course is not suitable for beginners.

From Augustus’ creation of an organised empire in the first century B.C., the limits were established and (apart from one or two extensions!) remained largely unaltered through four centuries. We will look at the early frontiers, how different provinces adopted different solutions, and the gradual increase in scale and complexity as external threats came to bear on the empire. The course includes a visit to Ham Hill.

This year sees the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. The war was a major event in 20th-century Europe and attracted passionate interest across the world. This course introduces you to debates over the war's origins, its effects and the causes of Franco's victory as well as the passions roused in this conflict which divides Spain to this day.

The origins of the British seem to have been securely laid out since Bede in AD 731, who described the coming of the Anglo-Saxons, and since Buchanan in AD 1582, who suggested that the early British were from Gaul, ultimately leading to the modern concept of an Iron Age 'Celtic' Britain. However, the traditional views are coming under scrutiny with the tools of DNA-based population genetics. This course will explain the basics of DNA analysis, describe current genetic and linguistic…

A history of English furniture from its beginnings in 1500 through to the beginning of the Victorian period using, as a framework, the woods principally utilised, and combining this with art and social history. The course will aim to provide an appreciation of English furniture, and there will be an opportunity to handle some items.

Gothic is the most perfect fusion of art and engineering that’s ever been devised: it looks good because it’s structurally sound! Twelfth century France made the breakthrough but such was Gothic’s flexibility that England soon developed its own version – flowery and wayward to start with, grand and dignified later on. The course will follow these winding evolutions and tie them into their historical background. When the Reformation hit Europe, the style went underground. But when it did re-emerge and…

The 1920s were a time of great upheaval, as society was torn between a desire to return to the certainties of the past and rejection of the old certainties of the Edwardian era. The result was a creative tension that led to new developments in society, politics and the arts, including daring new plays, modern poetry, jazz, the golden age of detective fiction and the stories of P. G. Wodehouse. We shall explore the events, ideas and politics of this…

The course will look at all aspects of prehistoric development in Britain. We will explore topics such as Bronze Age burials, flint and metal implements, Stonehenge, megalithic burial mounds, stone circles, Iron Age hill forts and settlements, agriculture, fields and farming. We will discover how prehistoric societies developed from their early origins into the formalised tribal units which were seen by the Romans on the eve of the Roman invasion of AD 43.

John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (1340-99) is one of the most high-profile, and best-documented, English noblemen of the Middle Ages. This course will explore his life as a way into topics such as the Hundred Years War, the Great Revolt of 1381 (in which Gaunt was public enemy number one) and developments in the late-medieval church.

Our world today is defined by politics, people and personalities. It was so in the Tudor period in a redefined country forged by Elizabeth I and populated with adventurers and a generation of explorers. We look at the England re-shaped by Elizabeth I more than 450 years ago and examine the way it was changed for ever, seeking connections with the second Elizabethan age of today.

After twenty years of civil war most people looked to a return to ‘normalcy’ after the Restoration of Charles II in May 1660, yet the ‘Restoration Settlement’ settled very little. This course will explore this exciting period in English history. We will consider such topics as the Popish Plot and the Exclusion Crisis, the emergence of Whigs and Tories, the fear of Louis XIV’s France and the fact that the heir, James, Duke of York, was a Roman Catholic.

What happened to Britain after the Romans left? Was there genocide, ethnic cleansing or cultural assimilation? ‘Britain and Ireland after the Romans’ will examine the tumultuous changes that occurred from the fifth century onwards that ultimately gave birth to the separate English and British speaking communities of Britain and Ireland.

When precious metals and materials are discovered, archaeologists have to interpret their meaning and context. This course focuses on the variety of Prehistoric objects that are found in funerary contexts, in hoards and isolated chance finds. It will explore how archaeologists explain and give meaning to objects. Do grave goods reflect a person’s status in life? Were hoards meant to be retrieved? These are some of the questions that will be raised throughout the course. The weekend includes a visit…

Standard Weekend Price: See aboveFrom the first settlers that moved from Asia to North America to the European colonists who followed in the steps of Columbus and the Pilgrim Fathers, this is the story of successive generations – of Indians and of families from Europe – forging a life on the wilds of the New Frontier. The story begins 25,000 years ago and ends with the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the first decades of a new adventure in…

The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford and Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge house two of the finest collections of Egyptian antiquities in the UK. In this day course will explore a wealth of ancient Egyptian material, examining highlights of these two wonderful collections from the Predynastic Period (4th millennium BC) through to the Roman Period (2nd century AD). Outstanding pieces in terms of art, history and culture will include in Oxford: the giant decorated stone mace-heads of Egypt’s earliest kings Narmer and…

The appearance of Christianity is one of the great events in world history but how should it be explained? This course will introduce the latest thinking by scholars in the field and is intended to help participants arrive at their own, informed, conclusions. Each unit will focus on a question key to making sense of the subject. These include: are ancient explanations of the origins of Christianity of any historical value? Did Jesus intend to found the new religion or…

She was called Gloriana! The Virgin Queen! Elizabeth created a propaganda image of herself embodying English victories and English power which has endured into the 21st century. But what was the reality of her reign? This course will seek to explore the life and times of this extraordinary woman and, in the process, uncover something of the truth behind the mask. We will explore such topics as her troubled and often dangerous youth, her policies as Queen where she was…

This course showcases aspects of Britain’s rich industrial heritage, from Cheshire to Aberdeen, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and the Isle of Man. Typical sites include textile mills, water and wind mills, railways, canals, mines, limekilns, cement works, breweries, maltings, salt works and ports, but often the smallest industries are the most fascinating. There is a field visit to local sites and the course concludes with a European viewpoint. All-comers welcome but please note we will be walking over rough and uneven ground…

Four towns will be examined, all in Eastern England, each with a different story. Norwich was largely swept clear by the Normans in a dramatic exercise of royal authority. Canterbury evolved more slowly and came to be dominated by the Church and the Cult of Becket. King's Lynn was totally invented by the Normans, a planned town that became a flourishing port. Cambridge is that rarity, a town almost squeezed out of existence by the needs of education. There will…

All complex societies are characterised by the unequal distribution of resources. In this course, we will take a fresh look at the extent to which Britain is united or divided in the early 21st century by exploring social class, ethnic and gender inequalities. We will consider definitions of social class and its impact on life chances, and will evaluate theories of inequality to explore the issue of social justice.

Few nations left such a lasting legacy on our world as the Roman Empire. In this course we will analyse the legacy of Rome through its politics, laws, religions, military, engineering, and art and architecture. What are the crucial achievements of the Romans? How did the Romans innovate and which elements of the Roman world are still with us today?