Our Lecturers
ACE's tours are led by specialists in the fields of archaeology, history, art, architecture, wildlife and music. Chosen for their individual expertise and their ability to communicate, our experts follow the traditional ACE house style, where, as well as giving lectures and talks, they lead the tour from start to finish.
Colin Bailey
Colin Bailey, PhD, FSA, FSAScot, is an art historian and linguist. He was head librarian at the Barber Institute at Birmingham University, keeper of British art at Liverpool’s Walker Art Gallery and head of Humanities at Edinburgh College of Art.
Mark Baldwin
Mark Baldwin, MA (Cantab), MSc, PhD, is a graduate of Cambridge University and Imperial College, London. Mark is one of Britain’s most experienced speakers on WWII intelligence with a particular expertise in code-breaking and the Enigma machine. He has twice given lecture tours in Poland and Germany, as well as throughout the British Isles.
David Bostwick
David Bostwick, MA, PhD, is a lecturer and consultant on historic buildings and their interpretation to The National Trust, English Heritage and Historic Scotland. David teaches at the Universities of Sheffield and York and tutors periodically at the University of Hartford, USA. Former keeper of social history at the Sheffield City Museum, David established the Bishops' House Museum in Sheffield, which contains a selection of fine regional furniture from the 17th century.
Mark Corney
Mark Corney, BA, FSA, is a specialist in Roman history and presenter on Channel Four’s Time Team. Mark is an honorary research fellow at Bristol University and is a former investigator with the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England.
Mary Dicken
Mary Dicken, MA (Oxon), DipEd, is former head of history at a leading Cambridge independent school and a specialist in the Tudor period. Mary lectures extensively for the WEA and U3A and is a principal examiner for A level history. She has also appeared on television as a contestant on Mastermind.
Peter Higginson
Peter Higginson, PhD, is an expert in art history and senior lecturer at Christie’s, London. Peter gained his doctorate on Caravaggio and his publications include Poverty and Papal Piety in Rome and The Pilgrims’ Experience of Old and New in Early Modern Rome.
Robert Hulse
Robert Hulse, MA (Oxon), is co-author of The Brunels' Tunnel, with a foreword by Michael Palin, and director of London’s Brunel Museum, housed in Brunel's original Thames Tunnel engine house. The museum was recently awarded the Freedom of the Ancient Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey, thus bestowing on Robert twin rare privileges: he is now permitted access to any of the river-steps of the Thames… and may drive sheep across London Bridge.
Denis Moriarty
Denis Moriarty, MA (Oxon), is a lecturer and former television producer with the BBC, where he specialised in producing documentaries on art, architecture and cultural history. Denis has been a regular visitor to Scotland since he first performed at the Edinburgh Fringe alongside Dudley Moore and Ken Loach. Denis also knows the Isle of Wight intimately, having led numerous courses there for ACE Cultural Tours.
Michael Nicholson
Michael Nicholson, OBE, was a war reporter and senior foreign correspondent at ITN, where his assignments included Northern Ireland, the Falklands War and the first Gulf War. Michael’s face is instantly recognisable following his 12 years as presenter on ITN’s news bulletins.
Malcolm Oxley
Malcolm Oxley, MA (Oxon), is a talented art historian, a subject to which he brings a historian's wider perspective. Oxford-trained, Malcolm is a man of catholic tastes, equally at home exploring the ecclesiastical architecture of his native Yorkshire as he is touring the art galleries of Europe. Malcolm was for many years deputy head of St Edward's School, Oxford.
Julian Richards
Julian Richards, BA, FSA, MIFA, is an archaeologist and broadcaster, best known for his appearances on BBC television's Meet the Ancestors and Radio 4’s Mapping the Town. Julian previously worked for English Heritage and spent a decade running the Stonehenge Environs Project, a detailed study of Stonehenge and its surrounding landscape.
Roland Randall
Roland Randall, MA, MSc, PhD (Cantab), is a botanist and fellow of Girton College, Cambridge. Roland acts as an ecological consultant for the National Trust, English Nature and Scottish Natural Heritage. He is also a committee member for the European Union for Coastal Conservation. Roland has led tours for ACE to Madeira, Crete, Mallorca, the Scilly Isles, Barbados, the Algarve and numerous islands off the coast of Scotland.
Andrew Sclater
Andrew Sclater, BSc, PhD (Cantab), is a consultant in historic parks and gardens. Co-founder of the National Botanic Garden of Wales, Andrew previously taught the history of landscape and garden aesthetics at the Architectural Association, London, and at the University of Wales.
Andrew Wilson
Andrew Wilson, BA, BD, FSAS, is a specialist in archaeology and ancient history. Andrew studied archaeology then theology before working overseas as an archaeologist, specialising in Roman frontier systems and Byzantine mosaics. Andrew is a member of the Hadrianic Society and a fellow of the Society for Libyan Studies. He also belongs to the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and the Classical Association of Scotland. Andrew has led many tours and cruises for ACE in the Graeco-Roman world, with a particular emphasis on the archaeology of his native Scotland.