IN an unusual twist, a leading Australian academic is coming to Worcester to deliver a lecture on the English Civil War. 

Professor John Adamson was born in Australia and educated at the University of Melbourne and his visit to the Faithful City on Thursday (May 23) has been arranged by the Battle of Worcester Society.

His talk in The Great Hall of The Commandery in Sidbury, is to be called “Venice on the Thames - What was the English Civil War Fought About?”

“It’s a very intriguing title,” said Richard Shaw, the Society’s chairman.

“I am sure Professor Adamson will provide a fascinating insight into the conflict that had such a great influence on England’s history and which started and ended at Worcester.”

Prof Adamson is a renowned authority on the subject and has authored several books, including  “The Noble Revolt - the Overthrow of Charles I” and “The English Civil War - Conflicts and Contexts”.

He is currently Director of the Humanities Research Institute, a Professional Research Fellow in Modern History and Fellow of Peterhouse, University of Cambridge.

At the University of Melbourne,  he took a First in Classics and History and at Cambridge University, where he took his PhD as a research scholar at Christ’s College. He moved to Peterhouse on the completion of his doctorate to take up a Research Fellowship, and has remained a Fellow of the College ever since.

Prof Adamson’s historical research has focused on the political and cultural life of Britain and Europe in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and his book “The Noble Revolt” was named by The Economist as a “Book of the Year” and described by the London Review of Books as the most important work on the period for more than half a century.

His historical writings have received a number of prizes and awards, including the Royal Historical Society’s Alexander Prize, Cambridge University’s Seeley Medal and Thirlwall Prize for History, the Samuel Pepys Award and Latham Medal for “The Noble Revolt”.

In the United States, Prof. Adamson has been a Visiting Fellow both at Yale University and the University of California, Los Angeles, plus a Visiting Scholar at the Aspen Institute  in Colorado, where he has also served as a moderator for its Leadership Seminar.

His talk in Worcester on Thursday starts at 7pm and The Commandery Cafe will be open until then. 

Tickets are £7, £5 for Battle of Worcester Society members and £3 for students.  They are available from The Commandery Shop; the Tourist Information Centre; on the Society's website:- thebattleofworcestersociety.org.uk, or on the door on the night.