Lecturers
Cherry Burroughs
Cherry Burroughs debut novel ‘The Farmer and the Fury’ takes the reader on a journey through 1950’s post war Britain, with evocative depictions of rural life and a cast of beautifully drawn characters.
Margaret Mills BA, MA
Margaret has taught History and English Literature in Further, Higher and Adult Education for many years, including teaching for the Workers' Education Association. She has a BA (Hons) Degree in Humanities with History and an MA in Education. Her articles have been published by the Brontë and Jane Austin Societies. She gives history and literature-based talks to many organisations and participates in book reviews and "Essex Tales" slots for Phoenix Community Radio. Her teaching includes change and development of Essex country houses, the lives and times of famous 19th century historical and literary figures, 18th/19th century history in art and 19th century novels.
Dr Maria Razumovskaya PhD, FHEA, MMus, BMus
Described as a ‘virtuoso story-teller of the piano’ (Le Courrier), Dr Maria Razumovskaya performs internationally including live radio broadcasts for BBC Radio 3, and has released critically acclaimed recordings. Recent writings include a monograph on the legendary Russian pianist-pedagogue Heinrich Neuhaus (Boydell & Brewer), book chapters and articles for academic journals as well as the wider press, including BBC Music Magazine. She is a Steinway Artist, professor at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, and a lecturer at the City Literary Institute in London.
Denis Sheppard BA (Hons)
After retiring from the Police in 2004 as a Chief Superintendent, Denis retrained as a Secondary School Teacher of History. Having taught full time in Secondary Schools, he moved into Adult Education, teaching GCSE and A Level. In recent years, he has focused on developing and delivering short courses on a range of historical topics, supported by the use of multimedia, which he delivers to various groups across Essex. Denis is interested in history of all periods, from international, national and local perspectives, focusing particularly on how the past impacts on how we think and live today. His aim is to inform, entertain and to encourage lively debate.
Anne Stott PhD, BA
Anne Stott has a BA and a PhD in History from University College London. She has taught for the Open University, Birkbeck, University of London, and the Workers’ Educational Association. She is especially interested in the late Georgian period, and has published biographies of William Wilberforce and the Evangelical philanthropist, Hannah More. Her most recent book is on the life of the Prince Regent's daughter, Princess Charlotte. She has also published in academic journals and has broadcast with Melvyn Bragg and Moira Stewart. She lives in Cambridge with her husband, and has two grown-up daughters and three grandchildren.'
Tony Tuckwell MA, MBA, Dip Ed
Tony Tuckwell read history at Oxford University and after teaching in Portsmouth and Manchester became Head of King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford 1984-99. After Headship he worked as a consultant helping governors appoint head-teachers and working on head-teacher development in London, the south-east and East Anglia. In retirement he has written widely on local history (see his publications below). He was a trustee of the Chelmsford Cathedral Festival of Music and Arts (1999-2008) and served on the Essex Rural Commission (2008-9). He has been a governor of two schools. In his retirement he has walked the complete coastal and riverine boundaries of the county of Essex, the Essex Way, the Thames Path from estuary to source, the North Downs Way, the Capital Ring and London Loop and the Stour and Orwell Way.
That honourable and gentlemanlike house; the history of King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford 1551-2001 Free Range Publications: first edition 2001, second edition 2008
New Hall and its school; a true school of virtuous demeanour Free Range Publications, 2006
Coming of Age; the life and times of Chelmsford Cathedral 1914-2014 Xlibris 2013
Messing: the story of a village school New Hall Publications 2014
Life is for Living, the story of Acorn Village, Mistley Matthew James Publishing 2016
Kirsten Yeates
Kirsten was born in Denmark, and much of her work is inspired by Danish art, textiles, interpretations of Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales and the mix of cultures along the silk routes from China to Northern Europe.
Another long-time inspiration has been Ellen Willmott (1858-1934) and her famous garden at Warley Place near Brentwood. Miss Willmott was a famous plant breeder who had many species of plants named after her.
Other work draws on the devastating impact of Chairman Mao’s Cultural Revolution, WWII wartime austerity, 1940s and 50s Stitchcraft magazines, the impact of the COVID pandemic and the urgent need to conserve the earth’s resources.
She mainly uses reclaimed materials, cotton, silk, viscose, paper and fragments of vintage embroidery. She dyes, prints and embellishes with machine and hand stitching.