Imagine a period of feasting, revelry, and merrymaking. A time when subjects were freed from everyday cares to indulge in drinking, dancing and game-playing. The English held the festival in such high regard that many Tudor Christmas customs weathered profound religious change remarkably intact.

Join us in the beautifully festive St Peter’s Church, mulled wine and mince pies a plenty, as we welcome our wonderful festival supporter and your favourite speaker Alison Weir, for the perfect introduction to Christmas. Alison’s A TUDOR CHRISTMAS, co-written with Siobhan Clarke, is a fascinating guide to the history of our festive celebrations.

We might assume that our modern Christmas owes much to the Victorians. In fact, as Alison Weir and Siobhan Clarke reveal, many of our favourite Christmas traditions date back much further. Carol-singing, present-giving, mulled wine and mince pies were all just as popular in Tudor times, and even Father Christmas and roast turkey dinners have their origins in this period. The Tudor Christmas was a time of feasting, revelry and merrymaking, a twelve-day-long festival, over which the Lord of Misrule held sway, and convention was thrown to the winds. Christmas was so beloved by English people that its traditions survived remarkably unchanged in this age of tumultuous religious upheaval.

‘Weir is excellent on the little details that bring a world to life.’ The Guardian

‘Weir provides immense satisfaction. She writes in a pacy, vivid style, engaging the heart as well as the mind.’ Amanda Foreman

Dr Alison Weir is the biggest-selling female historian (and the fifth best-selling historian) in the United Kingdom since records began in 1997. She has published thirty-two titles and sold more than 3 million books – over a million in the UK and 2.2 million in the USA. She is now working on two concurrent series of books: the Tudor Rose trilogy of novels about Elizabeth of York, Henry VIII and Mary I, and England’s Medieval Queens, a quartet of historical works of non-fiction.

Feedback from our 2026 History Festival audience

‘Alison Weir talks so passionately and with such authority, I could listen to her insights and stories all day!’

‘WONDERFUL It was like bringing the past history to life again.’

‘A hugely atmospheric church to hear speakers on history.’

St Peter’s Church, Hever Village

Join us from 7pm for refreshments. Talk 60mins incl. Q&A. Book signing follows.

Suitable for all ages