Don’t miss our March 2026 Lectures

Don’t miss the last two events in Spalding Gentlemen’s Society’s spring lecture season. Everyone is welcome to attend these insightful talks by leading heritage experts. 

• 6th March – ‘The Worshipful Company of Stationers, Past, Present & Future’.
  
  The Worshipful Company of Stationers plays an important role in the communications world. This lecture will look at its long history and how it is adapting to the changing media industry.

  The speaker, Moira Sleight, is the Editor and Publisher of the Methodist Recorder, a weekly national newspaper. She is a Board member of the London Press Club and the Society of Editors, and is a past Master of the Worshipful Company of Stationers & Newspaper Makers.

• 20th March – ‘Hiding in plain sight: The Greyfriars Lincoln, England’s oldest Friary Church’.

  
  The original function of Greyfriars in Lincoln has been debated over many years. When the building was restored in 2025, scaffolding was erected, allowing access to the medieval roof. It was possible for the first time in over a century to study the building in detail. This was accompanied by a laser survey of the building and a reappraisal of the documentary evidence.

  It has been possible to show that this was the first friary church, the earliest still-standing such building in England. It has allowed us to consider how far the Franciscans adhered to their ideals of poverty.

  The speaker, Mark Gardiner, is Emeritus Professor of Medieval Archaeology at the University of Lincoln. He worked at University College London, where he was assigned to Archaeology South East, becoming Deputy Director. He left in 1996 to work at Queen’s University Belfast, lecturing in medieval archaeology, before coming to Lincoln in 2017. He has worked across Britain, Ireland and Scandinavia, excavating sites and recording standing buildings.

The lectures will be held from 7.30pm (doors open at 7pm) at Broad Street Methodist Church in Spalding. £5 admission per person, payable on the door. Free entry for full-time students.