The Plume Lecture
The Plume Lecture was established in 1975 by the Trustees of the Library, at the instigation of the Rev. Arthur Dunlop, to commemorate the life of Dr. Thomas Plume (1630 -1704) with a public lecture, held annually in the month of November. Speakers have been drawn from a wide range of disciplines, such as medicine, art, history, science and astronomy to reflect Plume’s own broad interests and the varied nature of the Library.
2011 – Censuses and surveys and the rise of the Information State,
1500-2011
Professor Edward Higgs, Graduate Director of the History Department, Director of the Centre for Historical Census and Survey Research, University of Essex
2010 – Witchcraft and Witchcraft Beliefs in England During the Lifetime of Thomas Plume, 1630-1704
Dr. Alison Rowlands, Senior lecturer in European history and Director of the Centre for Local and Regional History The University of Essex
2009 – Why do we need so many old books? The value of the Plume Library in the modern world
Dr David Pearson, Director of Libraries, Archives & Guildhall Art Gallery, City of London
2008 – “The Culture of Place-Making” – The Role of the Arts in Shaping Identity and Building Communities
Roy Clare CBE, Chief Executive of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council
2007 John Evelyn: Living for Ingenuity
Gillian Darley
2005 – Time Team St. Osyth Revisited: Documents and Buildings
Dr Christopher Thornton and Brenda Watkin
2004 – The Two Pepys
Claire Tomalin
2003 – Nautical tales from the archives: exploration and charting in the 16th and 17th centuries
Sarah Tyacke, Chief Executive of the National Archives
2002 – Mad about Travel
Michael Palin
2001 – Survival in Solitude
Terry Waite
2000 – No Lecture.
1999 – The Radical Tradition
Rt Hon. Tony Benn, M.P.
1998 – The 17th Century Time Machine: antiquarians and the discovery of the past
Professor Graham Parry
1997 – The Essex World of Thomas Plume
John Walter, Director of the Local History Centre, University of Essex
1996 – Robert Boyle and the Origins of Modern Science
Professor M. Hunter, Birkbeck College
1995 – Painting in Britain in Thomas Plume’s Day
Professor L. Herrmann
1994 – The Excavations at the Roman Town Heybridge
M. Atkinson
1993 – A Peculiar Collection: the Library of Westminster Abbey
Dr Tony Trowles, Librarian
1992 – 3rd Lord Rayleigh, Victorian Scientific Genius
B. Gruhn & A. Humphrey
1991 – To the Edge of the Universe
Professor A. Boksenberg, Director of the Royal Greenwich Observatory
1990 – Dr Plume & the World of Collecting
Frank Herrmann
1989 – Medical Practice in 17th & 18th Century Essex
Dr M. Neave
1988 – If Books could speak: Tales of the Old Town Library
Dr J. Blatchly, Librarian, Ipswich Town Library
1987 – Behind the Scenes at the BBC
Derek Robinson, BBC Engineering Information Department
1986 – Thomas Hooker: Father of American Democracy
Revd Deryck Collingwood
1985 – Pepys the Collector
R. Latham, Librarian, Pepys Library
1984 – The World of Books
Miss Christina Foyle
1983 – Exploring the Universe
Professor James Ring, Imperial College
1982 – Honey & Wormwood: the voice from the Pulpit in Dr Plume’s Day
V. Gray, Essex County Archivist
1981 – The Intentions of Thomas Plume
Dr W. J. Petchey
1980 – Dr Plume’s World of Science
Dr Ludmilla Jordonova, Essex University
1979 – Facts at your Fingertips
John Laidlaw, Librarian, Post Office Research Centre
1978 – Life without Gravity – Man’s Future in Space
Dr Heinz Wolff
1977 – Aircraft, Birdflight & Radar
Sir Eric Eastwoood
1976 – Stars & the Universe
Professor Martin Rees, Plumian Professor
1975 – Radio Waves
George Millington, FRS