The Tew Benefice

THE NEW GREAT TEW CIRCLE | FRIDAY 25 APRIL 6.30pm

We are delighted to welcome Lucy Hughes-Hallett, author of The Scapegoat: The Brilliant, Brief Life of the Duke of Buckingham (2024), and Minoo Dinshaw, author of Friends in Youth: Choosing Sides in the English Civil War (2025), to address the New Great Tew Circle. Focusing on two friendships in Stuart England, of James I and his court favourite, the flamboyant George Villiers, and of two Middle Temple lawyers, Bulstrode Whitelocke and Edward Hyde, they will take us back to the first half of the 17th century, steering us through the politics and sexual intrigue of the court of James I and the period of Charles I’s personal rule, to Whitelocke’s and Hyde’s doomed attempts to resolve the polarisation that would lead to the Civil War. The two books taken together illuminate the deep roots of the civil wars in courtly and parliamentary politics early in the century, with results that would ultimately divide moderate and liberal minded friends. With special reference to local resonances – Hyde (later 1st Earl of Clarendon) was one of the most prominent members of the Great Tew Circle – the two authors will discuss topics including Buckingham’s impact and legacy, and the political tides that eventually tore three kingdoms, and many friends, apart.

Friday, April 25th 6.30 pm.

St Michael and All Angels Great Tew with a lively dinner in the church to follow. Talk & Drinks £15.00 Talk and Dinner £30.00.

Students go FREE.

To book please contact Kate Drake at [email protected] with [email protected] in copy.