The Ford Lectures are a series of public lectures at the University of Oxford given annually in English or British history by a distinguished historian. Known commonly as "The Ford Lectures," they are properly entitled "The James Ford Lectures in British History" and they are given by a scholar elected to be "Ford Lecturer in British History" at Oxford for a period of one year. The series, given in Michaelmas or Hilary term terms consists of at least six lectures, which are usually published as a book.
The lectures are named in honur of their benefactor, James Ford (born at Canterbury, Kent 31 October 1779 – died at Navestock, Essex, on 31 January 1851), who had been educated at King's School, Canterbury and matriculated at Trinity College, Oxford in 1797. After graduating in 1801, he went on to his Master of Arts and Bachelor of Divinity degrees. He was a Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford from 1807 to 1830. His antiquarian collections have been dispersed, but survive in the holdings of the Bodleian Library, The Library of Trinity College, Oxford, The British Library, and the Cambridge University Library.
In his will, Ford left a number of bequests, some of which were held in trust for the support of his surviving siblings. After they had all died, Oxford University received his bequest of £2,000 to fund a professorship of English history, which was to be established when the principal had grown to support payment of £100 per year. When this goal was reached in 1894, the sum was not enough to support a professor at the current stipend. After considerable discussion within the University, the funds were assigned to fund an annual lectureship in English history by a lecturer who was to be chosen annually by a board of electors. The first Ford's Lecturer in English History was S. R. Gardiner, elected for the academic year beginning in 1896. In 1994, the University of Oxford formally changed the official title of the series from "Ford's Lectures in English History" to "Ford's Lectures in British History".
As the lectures may be given in either the Michaelmas or Hilary terms (or partly in both), confusion can arise on publication because either calendar year may be stated. The following list gives the academic year.
The following have been Ford Lecturers.
1896–97 S. R. Gardiner, Cromwell's Place in History1897–98 Frederic William Maitland, Township and borough1898–99 Adolphus William Ward, Great Britain and Hanover: some aspects of the personal union1899-00 James Hamilton Wylie, The Council of Constance to the death of John Hus1900–01 Charles Firth, Cromwell's army: a history of the English soldier during the Civil Wars, the Commonwealth and the Protectorate1901–02 Charles Plummer, The life and times of Alfred the Great1902–03 Julian Corbett, England in the Mediterranean1903–04 Leslie Stephen, English literature and society in the 18th century1904–051905–06 Arthur L. Smith, The Church and State in the Middle Ages1906–07 Francis Haverfield, The Roman Occupation of Britain1907–081908–09 Arthur Johnson, The Disappearance of the Small Landowner1909–10 George Edmundson, Anglo-Dutch rivalry during the first half of the 17th century1910–11 John William Fortescue, British Statesmen of the Great War, 1793–18141911–12 Reginald L. Poole, The Exchequer in the Twelfth Century1912–13 T.F. Tout, The place of the reign of Edward II in English history1913–14 Peter Hume Brown, The legislative union of England and Scotland1914–151915–161916–17 A. G. Little, Studies in English Franciscan History1917–181918–191919–201920–211921–22 Sir Richard Lodge, Great Britain and Prussia in the 18th century1922–23 J. Armitage Robinson, The times of Saint Dunstan1923–24 C. L. Kingsford, Prejudice and promise in 15th century England1924–251925–26 H. W. Carless Davis, The age of Grey and Peel1926–27 F. M. Powicke, Stephen Langton1927–281928–29 F. M. Stenton, The First Century of English Feudalism, 1066–11661929–30 Alfred Francis Pribram, England and the International Policy of the European Great Powers, 1871–19141930–31 Keith Feiling1931–321932–33 A. Hamilton Thompson, The English clergy and their organisation in the later Middle Ages1933–34 Lewis Namier, King, Cabinet, and Parliament in the Early Years of George III1934–351935–361936–371937–381938–39 Eileen Power, The Wool Trade in English Medieval History1939–40 James A. Williamson, The Ocean in English History1940–411941–42 V. H. Galbraith, Studies in the public records1942–43 Wilhelm Levison, England and the Continent in the Eighth Century1943–44 Admiral Sir Herbert Richmond, Statesmen and Sea Power1944–45 Austin Lane Poole, Obligations of Society in the XII and XIII Centuries1945–46 David Mathew, The Social Structure in Caroline England1946–47 T. F. T. Plucknett, Legislation of Edward I1947–48 Sir Charles Webster1948–49 David Knowles, The episcopal colleagues of Archbishop Thomas Becket1949–50 Ian Richmond1950–51 G. N. Clark, King James I and Dutch "Imperialism" in Asia1951–52 Richard Pares, King George III and the politicians1952–53 K. B. McFarlane, The Nobility of Later Medieval England1953–541954–55 C. R. Cheney, From Becket to Langton: English church government 1170–12131955–56 A. J. P. Taylor, The Trouble Makers: Dissent over Foreign Policy, 1792–19391956–57 Philip Grierson1957–581958–59 Norman Sykes, From Sheldon to Secker: aspects of English church history, 1660–17681959–60 G. Kitson Clark, The making of Victorian England1960–61 Sir Goronwy Edwards, The second century of the English Parliament1961–62 Christopher Hill, Intellectual Origins of the English Revolution1962–63 D. C. Douglas, William the Conqueror: the Norman impact upon England1963–64 Norman Gash, Reaction and reconstruction in English politics, 1832–18521964–65 E. M. Carus Wilson, The rise of the English woollen industry1965–66 J.H. Plumb The growth of political stability in England: 1675–17251966–67 Beryl Smalley, Intellectuals and Politics in the twelfth century1967–68 Robert Blake, The Conservative Party from Peel to Churchill1968–69 Charles Wilson, Queen Elizabeth and the Revolt of the Netherlands1969–70 J. M. Wallace-Hadrill, Early Germanic kingship in England and on the continent1970–71 Michael Howard, The continental commitment: the dilemma of British defence policy in the era of the two world wars1971–72 G. R. Elton, Policy and Police: the enforcement of the Reformation in the age of Thomas Cromwell1972–73 Rodney Hilton, The English peasantry in the later Middle Ages1973–74 John Gallagher, The Decline, Revival and Fall of the British Empire1974–75 Joan Thirsk, Economic Policy, Economic Projects and Political Economy, 1540–17001975–76 J. P. Kenyon, Revolution principles: the politics of party, 1689–17201976–77 G. W. S. Barrow, The Anglo-Norman era in Scottish history1977–78 F. S. L. Lyons, Culture and Anarchy in Ireland, 1890–19391978–79 Patrick Collinson, The religion of Protestants: the church in English society, 1559–16251979–80 Donald A. Bullough, Alcuin: Achievement and Reputation1980–81 Owen Chadwick, Britain and the Vatican during the Second World War1981–82 J. J. Scarisbrick, Religious Attitudes in Reformation England1982–83 J. O. Prestwich, The Place of War in English History 1066–12141983–84 Ian R. Christie, Stress and stability in late 18th-century Britain: reflections on the British avoidance of revolution1984–85 John Habakkuk, Marriage, debt, and the estates system: English landownership 1650–19501985–86 S. F. C. Milsom, Law and Society in the 12th and 13th centuries1986–87 Keith Robbins, Nineteenth-century Britain: England, Scotland and Wales: the making of a nation1987–88 Conrad Russell, The Causes of the English Civil War1988–89 Barbara Harvey, Living and dying in England 1140–1540, the monastic experience1989–90 Paul Langford, Public Life and Propertied Englishmen, 1689–17981990–91 Lord Briggs, Culture and Communication in Victorian England1991–92 David Underdown, A Freeborn People: politics and the nation in seventeenth-century England1992–93 P. H. Sawyer, Wealth in Anglo-Saxon England1993–94 F. M. L. Thompson, Gentrification and the Enterprise Culture: Britain 1780–19801994–95 Paul Slack, From Reformation to improvement: public welfare in early modern England1995–96 James Campbell, Origins of the English state1996–97 Jose Harris, A land of lost content? Visions of civic virtue from Ruskin to Rawls1997–98 R. R. Davies, The first English empire: power and identities in the British Isles, 1093–13431998–99 T. C. Smout, Use and delight: environmental history in Northern England since 16001999-00 Keith Thomas, The ends of life: roads to fulfilment in early modern England2000–01 Christopher Dyer, An Age of Transition? Economy and Society in England in the Later Middle Ages2001–02 Peter Clarke Britain's image in the world in the twentieth century2002–03 Quentin Skinner, Freedom, Representation, and Revolution, 1603–512003–04 John Maddicott, The Origins of the English Parliament2004–05 Marianne Elliott, Religion and Ireland2005–06 John Morrill, Living with Revolution2006–07 Robert Bartlett, The Learned Culture of Angevin England2007–08 Ross McKibbin, Parties People and the State: Politics in England c.1914–19512008–09 John Brewer, The Politics of Feeling in the Age of Revolutions, 1760-18302009–10 David Bates, The Normans and Empire2010–11 Peter Lake, Bad Queen Bess? Libelous Politics and Secret Histories in an Age of Confessional Conflict2011–12 Roy Foster, Making a Revolution in Ireland, c.1890–19162012–13 John Blair, Building the Anglo-Saxon Landscape2013–14 Susan Pedersen, Internationalism and Empire: British Dilemmas, 1919–19392014-15 Steven Gunn, The English people at war in the age of Henry VIII2015–16 Christine Carpenter, The Problem of the Fourteenth Century: Politics, State and Society in England 1307-13992016–17 Stefan Collini, History in English Criticism 1919-19612017-18 Alexandra Walsham
