Archives Events

Beautiful buttonhole and button skills

Fun times for sewists and their sewing machine at any level. Complete beginners or long time stitchers … everyone is welcome to spend a Saturday morning with us, sewing and eating cake. We will be offering a number of Pick and Mix workshops over the Summer. A workshop with the aim of developing your skills […]

The economics behind the AI revolution

Nick Gardener will answer your questions about the astonishing rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in recent times. Is it a threat? How far might it replace human intelligence and decision making? What about deep learning in areas like speech recognition? What about the economics behind what has been called the industry of the future? Is […]

Roots to Remedies: A Medicinal Talk by Resident Artist Becky Ullah

Join us on the 17th July when one of our Resident Artists, Becky Ullah will be giving a free talk on her medicinal series of artworks. Think all plant-based medicines are just herbal remedies? Through her art, Becky reveals how many modern prescription drugs originate from plants—some still harvested today. In her Medicinal Botanical Collection, […]

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

This iconic building came perilously close to collapse in the 1990s owing to its inadequate foundations. An international team of engineers succeeded in saving it, but the road to salvation was far from smooth.

FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY – LETCHWORTH

🎤 A brilliant night of stand-up comedy featuring Garrie Grubb, Mary Bourke, Arthur Smith & MC Gary G Knightley 🗓 Saturday 19 July 2025, 7–10pm 🚪 Doors open at 6:15pm 📍 229 Nevells Road, Letchworth Garden City, SG6 4UB 🔞 Ages 18+ 💸 Refunds available up to 7 days before the event Join us for […]

Writing Convincing Dialogue

 ‘A good story is life with the dull parts taken out.’ Alfred Hitchcock Great writers write great dialogue – they know what to leave in and what to leave out. They know dialogue is a valuable instrument in their writers’ toolkit. We will discuss its functions, consider extracts from published works and practise writing effective […]

Dynasty: The Shape of Chinese History

Chinese history for over 2,000 years has been all about the rise and fall of successive dynasties. The empire was founded around the same time as the Roman Empire and it collapsed not long before the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Then, unlike Rome, it rose again - and again. This lecture examines the […]

Introduction to Watercolours

This 2-hour workshop is aimed at those who have never used watercolours before or those who want to start with some basic skills. We will discuss how to choose between the materials: paper, brushes and paints. We will cover 8-10 different skills, making a reference swatch pad that you can refer to at home as […]

Sixty years on: was 1965 music’s best ever year?

Sixty years ago, the music world was on the crest of a creative wave unlike any experienced before or since. Bob Dylan forsook folk music to go electric while the Beatles made Rubber Soul, their most mature album yet. Motown put black music centre stage as never before while the likes of Dusty Springfield, the […]

Tai Chi & Qigong: Swords & Fans

This two hour taster session of Tai Chi Sword (Jian) and Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan will give those students who have already gained experience of the Tai Chi Hand Forms a chance to extend their practice of Tai Chi principles in ways that will enhance and perhaps challenge their applications of the movements. For […]

Corruption in British Politics in the 1850s

Learn how voters could be corrupted. Who could vote? Which political parties were involved? Who became MPs? Which issues gave rise to reform and how were they suppressed? What events were happening at the time? Who was involved? What tactics were employed? Is it all about money and/or power? Drawing from recently published diaries a […]

Painting Animals in Acrylic

Learn how to use acrylic paints to create realistic images of animals. This course covers painting birds, horses, dogs and cats but all animals and pets can be visualised.

Art Nouveau and its National Varieties

This talk reviews the development of various national varieties of Art Nouveau at the turn of the 20th century.  It also points out the connections and differences between Art Nouveau and the national varieties of what became known as Art Deco in the 1920s.

Make a Country Frame Basket

Make a willow frame basket for harvesting garden produce, foraging or collecting eggs. In this workshop you will make an ancient style of basket by constructing a frame with hoops, traditional bindings and ribs, followed by lots of weaving. You will learn the principles of strength, balance and tension that help shape your basket. Completed […]

Collage Workshop with Callum Abbott

Join artist Callum Abbott for his collage workshop, where he will be showing you a variety of 20th century collages as well as his own artwork as preparation to create your very own collage! Beginners welcome, all you need is a pair of scissors and some glue and feel free to bring along your own […]

The 1960s and the birth of modern protest

The 1960s were a tumultuous decade in American social and political history, marked by a rising culture of protest that reshaped the way Americans engage with their political process. This lecture will explore how the civil rights movement, Vietnam War demonstrations (both pro- and anti-), and an emergent youth culture ushered in novel forms of […]

Map as Art; Art as Mapping

Maps can be very beautiful, and many, over the centuries, have been considered to be art. More recently, contemporary art has adopted mapping – its conventions, aesthetics and ways of representing the world and orienting ourselves in it - in its own spatial explorations. This talk will be an introduction to this journey from map […]

Willow Bread Basket Workshop

Suitable for beginners, this workshop will teach you traditional stake and strand weaving to make a small basket for serving bread or storing foods such as eggs or fruit. You will learn how to make a base, add stakes and weave the siding using techniques that include pairing, waling and English randing. The basket will […]

A Beginner’s Guide to Dating Buildings by Eye

Have you ever wandered down a picturesque high street or through a lovely old church and wondered what the architecture around you was telling you?  In this two-hour session we will cover the basics of dating English buildings by eye, identifying the clues that will reveal a structure’s age, and taking a glance at the […]

Make a Crown Book

Discover how you can make a small crown book which can be used as a folio to store prints, postcards or notes. This book is made from just two pieces of card/paper. It can be adapted to different sizes. In the workshop you will make a crown folio. You will also make an example which […]

Easy Rider and American Graffiti (A Classic Albums soundtrack special)

Released four years apart and aimed at young Americans disaffected by the Vietnam war and the Nixon years, Easy Rider and American Graffiti were seminal films on so many levels, and their use of rock music to comment on or amplify the narrative re-defined what a movie soundtrack could be. In this next instalment in […]

An introduction to Classical Studies

An introduction to Classical Studies: the Ancient History and Civilisations of the Greeks and Romans from the perspective of many different disciplines, including architecture, archaeology, art, drama, literature, philosophy, politics, religion, social history, and much more.

Still Life Drawing Club

Vanessa has been running a Still Life Drawing Club for the last three years in Newark on Trent and brings this monthly club to the Settlement. The club focuses on bringing out each person’s individual style by everyone working from a still life arrangement of fascinating objects and given the freedom to respond in different […]

Still Life Drawing Club

Vanessa has been running a Still Life Drawing Club for the last three years in Newark on Trent and brings this monthly club to the Settlement. The club focuses on bringing out each person’s individual style by everyone working from a still life arrangement of fascinating objects and given the freedom to respond in different […]

Still Life Drawing Club

Vanessa has been running a Still Life Drawing Club for the last three years in Newark on Trent and brings this monthly club to the Settlement. The club focuses on bringing out each person’s individual style by everyone working from a still life arrangement of fascinating objects and given the freedom to respond in different […]

Festive Wreath Workshop

Create your own country style, beautiful festive wreath including a selection of decorations and ribbon. Could be door hung or used as a table decoration for advent. Long lasting.

Festive Table Arrangement

Create your own country style, beautiful festive elongated table arrangement using sustainable materials and a selection of decorations. Long lasting to see you through the festive season! This makes a great crafting day out combined with the morning wreath making.

Still Life Drawing Club

Vanessa has been running a Still Life Drawing Club for the last three years in Newark on Trent and brings this monthly club to the Settlement. The club focuses on bringing out each person’s individual style by everyone working from a still life arrangement of fascinating objects and given the freedom to respond in different […]

Jane Austen Birthday Party

Please join us to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of one of our most beloved authors! There will be a discussion of her wit, style and genius, an analysis of her considerable critical heritage, and close study of passages from all six of her published novels, as well as letters and juvenilia (all […]

Keep Up to Date

We no longer produce an annual brochure. This is simply because things change so quickly—we're always adding new courses, workshops and events, and a printed brochure can’t keep up! Not printing the brochure also helps us save on costs, so we can spend more on improving the activities and facilities we offer.

But don’t worry—getting the latest information is still easy. You can find up-to-date details of all our courses, workshops and events on our website, and we continue to put notices on the boards inside the Settlement building, just as before.

If you’d like up to date information sent straight to you, please sign up for our regular Settlement Newsletter. It’s a friendly way to stay in the loop, and we’re here to help if you need a hand with anything.