Glossop Guild for enquiring minds
Our Tutors
Terry Brown, B.Sc., Ph.D.
Terry Brown became fascinated with the natural world when he was very young. He began his research career studying the effects of metal pollution on microbes and the tolerance that some plants display to high concentrations of toxic metals. He then became excited by DNA and worked on genes in fungi for a few years. In the late 1980s, Terry became interested in ancient DNA and was one of the first people to study DNA in bones and preserved plant remains. This work has required close collaboration with archaeologists, both in Manchester and elsewhere, and has led to his current interests in the origins of agriculture, genetic profiling of archaeological skeletons and the evolution of disease. Terry was Professor of Biomolecular Archaeology at UMIST and the University of Manchester from 2000 until his retirement in 2019. He has written a number of undergraduate textbooks, including Gene Cloning and DNA Analysis: An Introduction (8th edition, Wiley-Blackwell, 2020) and Genomes (4th edition, Garland Science, 2017). Terry has presented courses on ‘DNA in Forensic Science and Archaeology’ and ‘DNA and modern Medicine’ and ‘The Path to the Genetic Code’.
R.S. Callow, B.Sc., Ph.D.
Robert Callow was a lecturer at Manchester University for almost thirty years (1974-2003) and a tutor with the Open University for nine (1992-2000). He appeared on the Channel 4 series “Six experiments that changed the world”. His research publications have been mainly concerned with chromosomal evolution in plants but he has taught plant ecology on numerous field-courses, both in the Mediterranean and in Britain. He has also led botanical holidays for the tour-company Cox and Kings. He is author, with Dr L.M. Cook, of Genetic and Evolutionary Diversity (Stanley-Thornes, 1999). Bob is a founder member of Glossop Guild and served on the committee for many years. He has also presented numerous courses for us on subjects associated with Botany.
Jeremy Dale, B.Sc., Ph.D.
Jeremy Dale is Emeritus Professor of Microbiology at the University of Surrey. He is author of the very successful Molecular Genetics of Bacteria. He has a special interest in the properties and control of the bacterium which causes bovine tuberculosis. Jeremy is an active supporter of Glossop Guild. He has already presented an informative and enlightening lecture entitled ‘Good and Bad Bugs’ and is back by popular demand.
Creina Mansfield, M.A., Ph.D.
Creina Mansfield teaches English literature. Her special interest is in the history of the modern novel and the construction of narrative, particularly in the works of Graham Greene.. She has presented a ten week course 'Aspects of the Novel' for the Wilmslow Guild. Creina has presented a five-week course on Graham Greene's War and a ten-week course entitled 'The First World War - Three Testaments of Youth'. She collaborates with Dr Alan Sennett in presenting Day-Schools on English Films, at which she contributes information on scripts, script-writers and the motivation behind the film.
Birgitta Hoffman, M.A., Ph.D.
Dr Birgitta Hoffmann is an Honorary Research Fellow at Liverpool University and Co-Director of the Roman Gask Project. She teaches or has taught Archaeology, Ancient History and Latin at UCD Dublin, Manchester, Queen’s College Canada and Virginia Military Institute Virginia. She also lectures for a number of adult educational organisations in addition to freelance research and writing. She studied Roman Archaeology, Early Medieval Archaeology and Ancient History at Freiburg University in Germany. She has an M.A. in Roman Archaeology from Durham University and a Ph.D. in Roman Archaeology from Freiburg University. Birgitta Hoffmann is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and has published widely, especially on trade and long-distance contact across borders, military archaeology of the Roman and early modern periods, as well as Roman history and archaeology. She is Chairperson of the Wilmslow Community Archaeology Group. Birgitta presented five-week courses entitled 'The Roman Conquests of Britain' in Autumn 2010 and 'The Vikings at Home and Abroad' in Autumn 2011. Birgitta has also run twe highly successful day-schools, one on Roman Cookery and another on Medieval Cookery. In 2015 she lectured on "The Rise and Rise of Venice".
Peter Webb, B.Sc., Ph.D.
Pete Webb collected his first fossils in his back garden at the age of 4. He read geology at London University, graduating in 1967. The next four years were spent studying the volcanism of the African Rift Valley for his Ph.D. After a spell in academia, Peter joined the oil industry in 1974, working as a well-site geologist in the North Sea. Since then, he has worked in several continents, particularly in the southern hemisphere. He now works as a part-time consultant, mostly overseas managing explorations and providing training. Back home, he delivers public lectures, particularly on fracking for oil and shale gas. Peter collected his first fossils in his back garden at the age of 4.
Mark Henderson, BA, B.Sc., MB, ChB, PhD.
Born in the Peak District in 1946, I attended Edinburgh Medical School in the 1960s. After some time in practice I moved into research, obtaining a PhD in the process, and afterwards took up a university post. I gained a Readership, then took early retirement in the 1990s. A widower, my family grown up and left home, I moved to Glossop in 2002 to look after my ageing parents. I set up a one-man editing business that I could run from home while executing my caring responsibilities; I’ve mainly specialised in medical and scientific manuscripts, but I’ve edited some fiction work as well. At the same time (2002) I began to try my hand at fiction writing and also started to collect and research local folktales. A volume of my short stories was published in 2008 and a novel in 2009; then a children’s story, a spoof fairy-tale, was e-published in Texas. In 2010, Amberley Publishing brought out my study of the well-known Peak District legend & Murders in the Winnats Pass and a year later they published my collection of 62 Peak District folktales.
Brian Peters, B.A., Ph.D.
Brian is a performer and researcher of English folk music. A singer and multi-instrumentalist, he has appeared at folk festivals and concerts in the UK, USA, Australia and Canada. As a teacher and lecturer he is known for his expertise on traditional ballads and taught classes at many North American summer schools, as well as publishing original research into the history of folk songs and the collectors who preserved them, culminating in a presentation at the Library of Congress, Washington DC in 2015. Brian writes for 'The Folk Music Journal', 'Living Tradition' and others.
Martin Porter, B.Sc.
Martin Porter has been an environmental activist for most of the last 20 years and has shared a police cell with Greenpeace Director Peter Melchett and been Swampy's spin doctor. He has campaigned against the building of the Newbury bypass and the second runway at Manchester Airport and was part of the successful Greenpeace campaign to stop the growing of GM crops. More recently he has been campaigning against fracking and organised the Manchester People's Climate March. He has a degree in astrophysics and is a social worker by profession.
Les Berry, BA, MA
For many years before taking retirement I was a Senior Lecturer in the Department of English at the Manchester Metropolitan University, teaching across all of the department's degrees and supervising dissertations. My particular interests lay in the areas of Victorian literature and twentieth century American literature and culture.
In parallel with my professional career I have always pursued a keen interest in music, singing in choral societies and performing with both small jazz groups and big bands. Hence my particular fascination with the composers and works of the Great American Songbook.
Frank Vigon
Frank Vigon and his wife Sarnie were joint head teachers of Menorah Cheder, a highly popular inner city Media Arts High School for 12 years. He is currently an education consultant lecturing on education and examinations to teachers and sixth form students.
He lectures on a variety of topics to adult audiences including Politics, History, Education, Art History and Judaism. He was responsible for coordinating and managing the campaign to restore the grave of the Jewish Pre-Raphaelite painter Simon Solomon. He is also a copyist of well-known works of art in particular: Picasso, Matisse, Egon, Scheiler and Miro and a director and performer of plays performed by MADs .
Professor Simon Bulmer MA, PhD
Simon Bulmer is Emeritus Professor of Politics at the University of Sheffield and Visiting Professor at LUISS Guido Carli University in Rome. He took an undergraduate degree in European Studies at Loughborough University (1972-75), a Masters in European Politics at Hull (1975-6), and then took his PhD at the London School of Economics on European Policymaking in the Federal Republic of Germany. He has lectured at Heriot-Watt University (1979-83), UMIST (1983-9) and then joined the Department of Government at the University of Manchester, where he was professor 1995-2007 and Head of Department 2001-4. He moved to Sheffield University in 2007 and was professor there until July 2020. His principal academic interests are the European Union, its relationship with Germany and the UK; German politics; and Brexit. Since retiring he continues to do some writing and teaching. However, he is enjoying having more time for cycling, travelling, a range of musical interests (including jazz and blues), as well as attending Glossop Guild as a ‘consumer’ of its courses.
Kevin Harrison
Kevin Harrison holds degrees from Leicester, Aberystwyth and the Open Unversity. He has taught history and politics, in one form or another in Further and Higher Education for almost thirty-five years. Of history, Kevin agrees with Cicero: “to be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to forever remain a child”. Of politics, he believes the old adage, “You might not be interested in politics, but you can be sure that politics is interested in you.”
Steve Millward
Steve has been teaching music history courses since 1986. He is the author of four books, including the acclaimed Music and Politics trilogy spanning 1964-1974. He has contributed to a range of journals and in the early 2000s was the jazz correspondent of the Manchester Evening News. His broadcasting experience includes presenting Radio Manchester's weekly jazz programme and a two year spell as BBC Radio 5's 'pop pundit'.
Tim Cockitt, MA
Tim is a graduate of Oxford University. He is particularly interested in military history, and has visited numerous battlefields around Europe and the UK. Having gained early retirement from a career in computing in 2016, he has been able to devote more time to his historical interests. Tim is the chair of the Manchester Military History Society. See: http://www.mcrmilhist.org.uk/.
Simon Webb
Simon Webb joined Rolls-Royce in 2001 after graduating from Sheffield University with a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. He has worked in various roles with aerospace within Rolls-Royce as an engineer, including working 3 years in Berlin working on smaller engines for corporate jets. He is currently Chief of Technology & Digital, looking after new fan and compressor designs for civil aerospace.
Barry Wood
Barry’s current literary interests are in modern poetry, including poetic translation, the short story and poetry and film. Since retirement, I have taught a variety of courses as part of the Mancent programme and after the award of an honorary fellowship, have kept up an association with the English & Creative Writing department of Manchester Metropolitan University. In moments of leisure, I enjoy my garden which benefits – as one of my daughters puts it – from “benign neglect”.
Roger Hargreaves MA MSc
Roger is chair of GLAS and a director of the Heritage Trust. His academic background is geography and his primary research interest is ancient transport routes. He has lived in Hadfield for 45 years. He has recently authored three series on Facebook for the Trust – Glossop’s Lost Mills; The Duke’s Legacy; & Melandra – Glossop’s Forgotten Port
Frances Pritchard
Frances Pritchard worked in the archaeology department of the Museum of London for sixteen years followed by twenty-three years as Curator (Textiles) at the Whitworth Art Gallery, The University of Manchester, where she is now an Honorary Research Fellow. Among the exhibitions that she curated were Fortuny Fabrics, Central Asian Embroideries, Reflecting Japan, Revolutionary Textiles 1910-1939 and Clothing Culture: Dress in Egypt in the First Millennium AD. She has also published extensively on excavated textiles from London, Dublin and Egypt.
Frank Pleszak
Formerly a WHO pest control expert and IT consultant, Frank Pleszak is a beekeeper, author and blogger, specializing in Polish history, aviation, and the local history around his home in the foothills of the Peak District. He is a regular contributor to many local history societies, has published several books and has had magazine articles published online and in magazines, as diverse as The Great War magazine and Derbyshire Life.
Rosemary Broadbent MA (Oxon), ARCO, ARCM
Rosemary read Music at Oxford University, where she also studied the organ with David Lumsden. She was Head of Music in a girls’ independent school for over twenty years. Since 2001 she has been an Academic Tutor for the Junior RNCM, teaching analysis, composition and aural training. She has worked as a composer and choral director, and is a Practical Examiner for ABRSM. She gives regular music talks to a number of local groups.
Georgina Gregory
Georgina Gregory teaches media, film and popular culture. Her research interests are wide ranging and include popular music and identity, gender and theories of popular culture. She has taught at a number of universities including Liverpool, Salford, Staffordshire and University of Central Lancashire. Recent publications include Send in the Clones: a Cultural Study of the Tribute Band (2012) Boy Bands and the Performance of Pop Masculinity (2019) and Exploring the Spiritual in Popular Music (2021).
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Tim Mottershead
Tim has lectured in music at a number of Colleges in the North West and now continues to each piano and is also a tutor in Indian Music in Manchester. He has a long list of publications, including contributions to the modern music magazine Tempo.
He has been involved in every conceivable musical genre from Iraqi Oud music to Gamelan. A composer of more than 150 works and accompanist to the Let’s Sing Choirs in Glossop and Greater Manchester, Tim has also undertaken numerous musical workshops, including the 50th anniversaries of various Beatles albums. His engagements have included the Bridgewater Hall, The Lowry, Bolsover Castle and the Imperial War Museum.
Michael Tunnicliffe
Michael studied at Birmingham and Cambridge Universities. He is a freelance tutor in the North West and has taught for a variety of providers, including Liverpool and Oxford Universities. His teaching is in the area of religious studies and history in general, but with a particular interest in the Middle East.
Dave Toft
Dave Toft was born in Lower Broughton, Salford in the 1950s. He first walked on Kinder Scout with his youth club at 12 years old and has continued to do so at least once a year, despite heading south to university and living in the East End of London for many years.
He has lived in Hayfield since 1996 and is Chair of the Hayfield Kinder Trespass Group. He has written several articles about access and the Kinder Trespass and has worked with Leicester University’s Geography dept. and Loughborough University School of Architecture, on issues regarding land use and access. Dave has also taken part in several symposiums on threats to open space access – urban and rural, and the most effective ways to campaign against those threats. In addition, he has also published political poems and a political novel, Still Point (published as D.E. Toft)
Andrew Russell
Andrew Russell is Professor of Politics at the University of Liverpool. He has previously been Head of the Politics Departments at Liverpool and at the University of Manchester. He writes extensively about British politics and the politically marginalised. His last two books are on the Liberal Democrats From Hope to Despair to Where? published in November 2023 and The Politics of Unbelonging, a study of European Roma set to be published in 2024.
He is an established media commentator on all aspects of UK politics but has been particularly well known for election analysis on TV and Radio. In 2005 he served on the Electoral Commission’s inquiry into the age of majority which reduced the age at which candidates could stand in elections but kept the minimum voting age at 18 for UK elections.
The Reverend Patrick Thom MA
Patrick read Modern and Medieval Languages (French and German) at Pembroke College Cambridge. He spent his professional life in teaching, the last 32 years at The Manchester Grammar School, where he was variously Head of French, Head of Modern Languages and Head of Sixth Form. Since his retirement, he has constructed an online course called "How to read French Poems" for the FutureLearn platform and then trained for ordination in the Church of England, being ordained deacon in July 2023.
Patrick’s interests include French and German literature, a broad sweep of history, the history of architecture and English fantasy writing.
Kate Raine
Kate is a qualified archivist, who has worked in local record offices and specialist archives. She is also a Director of Glossop Heritage Trust. Kate is passionate about discovering and sharing stories about the past and she has researched many aspects of Glossop’s rich history. She is currently researching the life of Edmund Potter, owner of Dinting Vale Print Works.
John Richardson
John Richardson served 30 years in the Police beginning in Cheshire in the mid-1960s until 1974 when he transferred to Greater Manchester Police. He retired in 1995. Towards the end of his career, John took a personal interest in the victims of serious crime (survivors) and entered the therapy world. In 2008 he completed an MSc on trauma related issues. Following that, John ran a part time Stress Management business from home which led him to become a volunteer with ‘Police Care’, a Charity which supports Police Officers who are retiring or are retired to help them with psychological and/or physical problems. John also does peer support work, assisting injured officers to cope with their retirement journey.
Bill Mitchinson, MA PhD
With a particular interest in the development and work of the Territorial Force, Bill has written and lectured extensively on the Great War for over 40 years. Defending Albion (2005), the first of the trilogy on the TF and the Volunteer Corps, was joint runner up for the 2005 Templer Prize. The other two books in the series, England’s Last Hope (2008) and The Territorial Force at War 1914-1916 (2012) were similarly widely well-received. Among his other publications, Of No Earthly Use, The Battles for the Wastelands and the forthcoming From the Hindenburg to the Hermann offer assessments of the developing professionalism and efficiency of the BEF.
As a member of the academic staff of King’s College, London, he taught for nearly two decades at the Joint Services Command and Staff College, Shrivenham. He continues to lead staff rides comprised of senior British and international officers to the European battlefields of the First and Second World Wars.
Would you like to lecture at Glossop Guild?
If you have experience as a lecturer or are an expert in a specialist subject and think you could help the Guild please get in touch with us.