Morley College grew from a series of ‘Penny Lectures’ at the Old Vic Theatre in Waterloo, London. These began in 1882 and included talks about a wide range of subjects of current interest at the time, such as ‘Why is the Sea Salty?’ and ‘The telephone: how to talk to a man a 100 miles away’. Topics were chosen to encourage new thinking and ideas and provided illustrated lectures at affordable prices…a penny! The lectures were a huge success and quickly developed into evening classes and the setting up of ‘Morley Memorial College’ for Working Men and Women.
December’s Penny Lecture will be given by Henry Elliot, co-author of the book ‘Curiocity: In Pursuit of London.’ The writer Philip Pullman has called this work ‘the most ingenious, insightful, inspiring, intoxicating, and simply interesting guide to the great city that I have ever seen’. The book and some of the hidden and lesser-known stories of the capital, including dancing hippos, erotic cabbages and extra-terrestrials you can touch. An entertaining evening that will give visitors new ways to see London.