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Octavia Hill Lecture
The annual Octavia Hill Lecture is an opportunity for respected voices and commentators to lead us in reflecting on nature, beauty and history. Watch this year’s lecture with guest speaker Professor Alice Roberts and catch up on last year's talk with Professor Mary Beard.
What are the Octavia Hill Lectures?
Octavia Hill Lectures were created to allow time and space to reflect on our impact as a charity in the modern day.
They're named after one of our three co-founders and allow us to explore our shared past and place in the world today. These lectures are an opportunity to connect with leading thinkers and public audiences through meaningful discussions.
A respected voice or commentator delivers the lecture, reflecting on nature, beauty and history through the lens of the places and objects in our care. We invite guest speakers to propose topics that they feel are relevant to their experience and perspective.
Watch the 2025 lecture with Professor Alice Roberts
The third Octavia Hill Lecture in collaboration with Times Radio took place on 1 April 2025 at The Royal Society in London. Professor Alice Roberts, anatomist, biological anthropologist, author and broadcaster, delivered this year’s lecture.
Professor Roberts explored connections between people and landscape to ask ‘Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?’. The lecture focused on how science is transforming our understanding of history – and our own connection with the past, with nature and each other.
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Video
The 2025 Octavia Hill Lecture with Professor Alice Roberts
Professor Alice explores the connection between people and landscapes in the third of this series of Octavia Hill Lectures, recorded in front of a live audience on 1 April 2025 at The Royal Society, London. The lecture considers how science is transforming our understanding of history – and our own connection with the past, with nature and each other.
In conversation with Dr Gus Casely-Hayford OBE
After the 2025 lecture, Professor Roberts was in conversation with Dr Gus Casely-Hayford OBE, Director of V&A East. Following their talk, they opened the floor to the audience who had the opportunity to ask questions.
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In conversation with Dr Gus Casely-Hayford OBE
Join Professor Alice Roberts, anatomist, biological anthropologist, author and broadcaster, in conversation with Dr Gus Casley-Hayford OBE, Director of V&A East. This conversation follows on from Professor Alice Roberts’ lecture, ‘Where do we come from and where are we going?’ – the third annual Octavia Hill Lecture.
Watch the 2024 lecture with Professor Mary Beard
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Who owns the past? By Professor Mary Beard
Watch the Octavia Hill Lecture in collaboration with Times Radio. Join guest speaker Professor Mary Beard (classicist, historian, author and broadcaster) as she examines what the past is for, how we can learn from and challenge it, and how we can bring it alive. Throughout her lecture, Professor Beard considers the issues of authenticity and ownership.
Trust houses should be exciting, even dangerous, places where we can all confront not just the past, but also ourselves.
A quote by Professor Mary Beard Historian and classicist
Further reading
Our partners
We’re working in collaboration with Times Radio to bring history to everyone. Times Radio provides intelligent and thought-provoking live coverage of news, politics and culture. Together, we’ll debate and explore the shared past and our place in the world today.
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