Upcoming Events
March 2026
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson: The First Woman Doctor.
International Women’s Day Talk 2026 Elizabeth Garrett Anderson: The First Woman Doctor Join us at Erasmus Darwin House to celebrate the remarkable life and legacy of Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (1836–1917) — the first woman to qualify as a doctor in Britain, and a pioneer who transformed the future of women in medicine. “When I felt rather overcome with my father’s opposition, I said as firmly as I could, that I must have this or something else — that I could not live without some…
Find out more »Free Children’s Science Day
To celebrate British Science Week we will be holding a free science day for children at Erasmus Darwin House with a selection of "real" science activities available to try. The activities will be suitable for children aged between 7-11 years. Construct a double helix with sweets & try making DNA; try building a wind turbine; what's the best design for a paper aeroplane?; become a detective and found out who wrote the note using science; build a…
Find out more »Radical Lichfield
A talk by Alun Jones. Lichfield. What comes to mind? The Ladies of the Vale, Georgian elegance, Dr. Johnson and a "loyal and ancient city". We think of tradition, history and an innate quiet conservatism but beneath the polished façade of this Cathedral City lies a deep, enduring and sometime bloody streak of radicalism. Uncover the rebels, the thinkers and their pursuit of change.
Find out more »April 2026
Hammer and Havoc – Storytelling with Maria Credali
Join us for an evening of Norse legends, as the Vikings would have heard them – from a traditional Skald, an oral storyteller. Hear of mighty Thor, wielder of Mjölnir, as thunder shakes the heavens. Marvel at the cunning tricks of Loki, the silver-tongued shapeshifter whose mischief forever alters the fate of gods and giants alike. From epic battles to whispered prophecies of Ragnarök, these timeless tales brim with adventure, humour, and mythic wonder. Traditional storyteller Maria Credali brings you…
Find out more »Lunar Lecture – Romanticism, Place, Identity and the Picturesque: Erasmus Darwin’s Poetical Oaks by Professor Paul Elliott
Erasmus Darwin and his literary and philosophical friends were inspired by trees which Darwin believed were essential for economic utility, horticultural improvement, productive estate management and ecological vitality. In his Lichfield botanical garden and other gardens, Darwin strove to unite as his friend and biographer Anna Seward claimed, practical botany with picturesque prospects by creating and experiencing planted and poetic vegetable realms. Ancient oaks demonstrated how trees flourished best, underscoring their cultural status as ‘monarchs of the forest’ in nature's economy,…
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