James, Duke of Monmouth, was Charles II's first and favourite son. He blazed like a comet through the skies of Stuart England. He was a rake, a rebel and a revolutionary. After invading England in 1685 in an attempt to replace his Catholic uncle, James II, as king and being defeated at the Battle of Sedgemoor - the last to be fought on English soil - he was executed for high treason on Tower Hill aged 36.
This season's final lecture will be given by Dr Anna Keay, Director of the Landmark Trust. You may have seen Anna last autumn in the fascinating Channel 4 series Restoring Britain's Landmarks which showed the work Anna and her colleagues undertake at the Landmark Trust. Other television series in which Anna has appeared include The Buildings that Shaped Britain (Channel 5, 2006) and The Tower (Channel 4, 2001). She also contributed to BBC television programmes on the Golden Jubilee (2002) and the State Opening of Parliament (2003-2006).
Anna's books include The Magnificent Monarch: Charles II and the Ceremonies of Power (Hambledon Continuum, 2008) and The Crown Jewels (Thames & Hudson, 2011). Anna's latest book, The Last Royal Rebel: The life and death of James, Duke of Monmouth, will be published by Bloomsbury next month.
The AGM
Anna Keay's lecture will be followed by a brief Annual General Meeting, during which the HA Bath Branch programme for 2016-17 will be announced.
Mike Short
