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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. Find out more about the 2026 lecture and watch a previous year's talk with Professor Mary Beard.
What are the Octavia Hill Lectures?
The Octavia Hill Lectures provide time and space to reflect on our past and on our role in today’s world. Named after one of our three co-founders, they offer an opportunity to engage with leading thinkers and public audiences through meaningful discussion.
Each lecture is delivered by a respected commentator, offering insights on nature, beauty and history through the lens of the places and objects in our care. Guest speakers propose topics that resonate with their own experience and perspective.
The 2026 Lecture with Professor Kathy Willis
The fourth Octavia Hill Lecture, held in collaboration with Times Radio, will take place in April 2026 at The Royal Society in London. Professor Kathy Willis, who is a renowned botanist and conservation scientist, will deliver this year’s lecture about the health-giving power of nature.
Why is nature good for our health?
“Nature is the physician of diseases,” said Hippocrates and today, the idea feels more relevant than ever. But how and why does spending time in nature improve our health?
Non-communicable diseases – such as heart disease, respiratory illness and mental health conditions – cause 41 million deaths each year, making up 71% of global mortality. At the same time, research shows that interacting with the natural environment can lower risks and support recovery.
But important questions remain:
- Which interactions matter most – sight, sound, smell, touch or even taste?
- How much time in nature is enough?
- What biological processes are triggered when we connect with the natural world?
This lecture explores the emerging science behind nature, health and healing.
The 2025 lecture with Professor Alice Roberts
The third Octavia Hill Lecture in collaboration with Times Radio took place in 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.
Although our 2025 Octavia Hill Lecture is no longer available to view online, you can watch 2024's talk below.
Watch the 2024 lecture with Professor Mary Beard
Who owns the past? By Professor Mary Beard
Watch the Octavia Hill Lecture and 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.
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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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Octavia Hill Lecture 2023
Watch the inaugural Octavia Hill Lecture in collaboration with Times Radio. Join guest speaker Neil MacGregor (writer, broadcaster, historian and former director of the British Museum and National Gallery) as he reflects on our national history and culture through the lens of places and objects in our care.
Times Radio panel discussion and Q&A 2023
Explore the topics covered in the lecture with Times Radio presenter Aasmah Mir as she chairs the panel discussion and Q&A with the audience. The panellists joining Neil MacGregor include historian and television presenter Dan Snow MBE, Times journalist and best-selling author Sathnam Sanghera, and historian, author and broadcaster Professor Suzannah Lipscomb.
