Exploring Big Ideas in Small Groups: The Gresham Group Story

The Gresham Group in Oxted, Surrey began informally around 2017, following the closure of a local Workers’ Education Association history class. A few class members decided to continue meeting, inviting friends and family to join. Over time, the group grew organically through word of mouth and personal invitations. Today, the Gresham Group has 16 paid-up members, with consistently high attendance. 

A planning team of five, including the current chair, organises the programme. The team meets ahead of each new term to prepare and circulate the schedule. 

The group gathers on Friday mornings during term-time. The chosen Gresham College lecture is watched together via YouTube on a large television. Topics vary widely: the current programme includes subjects ranging from the future of healthcare to middle-class communists in the 1930s, and from the waste and water crisis to the private diary and public history. 

Each session includes a short coffee break followed by around 50 minutes of lively discussion.  

Celia Blakeway-Phillips, Gresham College’s Head of Fundraising & Engagement, recently visited the group to learn more. 

Politics and religion often feature prominently in their lecture choices. When asked about their favourite speakers, members enthusiastically named Professors Alec Ryrie, Vernon Bogdanor, Chris Whitty, Richard Evans and Victoria Baines. 

One member, Maureen Roberts, remarked: “It’s the breadth and depth of the Gresham College lectures that’s so good. They allow you to explore ideas beyond your usual perspective. Our discussions are exciting and enlightening because we come from different backgrounds, political views, and life experiences.” 

Members pay a £40 fee per term, which covers the weekly rent of the narthex at the local URC Church and allows for a surplus. This surplus is donated annually to Gresham College. Each member takes turns providing tea, coffee and biscuits for the mid-session break. 

The programme has proven so popular that the group is expanding to include six additional lectures, bringing the total to 30 per year. 

Celia shared: “It was so lovely to meet the Gresham Group. It’s a wonderful opportunity for members to come together socially and engage in thoughtful discussion after watching a lecture. It’s great to see Gresham College lectures reaching diverse audiences—not just online or in person, but also through community groups like this one.” 

Oxted itself has strong historical ties to Gresham College’s founder, Sir Thomas Gresham. Several buildings and streets still bear the family name and nearby Titsey Place was once the Gresham family residence.