THE THOMAS HOBBES FESTIVAL 2026
Friday 27th to Sunday 29th March 2026
What a weekend! The following are some of the highlights:
PHOTO CREDIT Bingshu Zhao
PHILOSOPHY CONFERENCE
This was an amazing conference with international academic speakers and which was available free of charge for everyone to listen to, a unique experience in Malmesbury. The conference was organised by Dr. Vittorio Bufacchi from University College, Cork on behalf of the Society.
Dr. Bufacchi: “The conference was a reminder of why philosophy matters, why philosophy is relevant, and why the work of Thomas Hobbes in particular has never been more important."
PHOTO CREDIT Bingshu Zhao
TALKS & DISPLAY
Two talks were held, the first explained how Thomas's life and local 'politics' at that time in Malmesbury may have influenced in his thinking. This was given by local historian and author, Tony McAleavy and held in the Old Bell Hotel Malmesbury. The second talk was an analysis of the archaeological dig on the site of his family home in the garden of the URC, where Thomas was born in 1588. This was given by Liam Wilson, archaeologist and was accompanied by a display of the finds overseen by Ed MCSloy, a finds expert. both of Cotswold Archaeology.
WALKS Explore Malmesbury’s Campbell Ritchie arranged two guided walks around Thomas’s part of Malmesbury known as Westport and visitors were able to see some of the buildings which he would have seen. Also a new Thomas Hobbes Trail has been launched on the Explore Malmesbury website in time for this year's festival.
PHOTO CREDIT Bingshu Zhao
FESTIVAL DINNER & PERFORMANCE
A dinner on Saturday Night was for our visiting academics and local people. It was attended by the Mayor of Malmesbury, Cllr. Stephen James. The food was delicious and the company was great! To round off the evening, we enjoyed an after dinner performance by John O'Brien as 'John Aubrey' visiting from 400 years ago to tell us about his friend Thomas Hobbes. This was also with Tony McAleavy and was the highlight of the evening.
Huge thanks to Dr. Vittorio Bufacchi for organising the Conference, the speakers, Tony McAleavy and John O’ Brien for their participation, Campbell Ritchie of Explore Malmesbury and Athelstan Museum for their support, The Old Bell Hotel and the URC, (Sara Crabb), for their help and kind donation of venues. Also, many thanks to the many volunteers and the THoMs Committee.
Kim Power (Ch) on behalf of THoMS
