'For all our people': the establishment of a public library service in Victorian Birmingham. Steve Hewett is a retired university librarian with an interest in local and regional history. He is in his final year of doctoral research for a PhD, investigating the development of civic culture in Birmingham during the late eighteenth- and nineteenth...

The talk will outline the history of a remarkable, family-owned company which this year celebrates its 240th birthday. Producers of fine gauge, luxury yarns and knitwear from the late 18th century, John Smedley garments have a reputation for style, quality and longevity: attributes well-attuned to today's emphasis on sustainability. Based at Lea Mills, near Matlock since 1784...

Boys will be Girls will be Boys- the theatre pre and post Restoration by Janet Tennant   By the 17th century a professional theatre was established in England. After the execution of Charles I and the Civil Wars, Charles II, the Merry Monarch, a keen theatre goer, succeeded to the throne in 1660. The talk...

Unfortunately this lecture has been postponed  and ticket holders should receive a full refund shortly. We hope to able to announce a new date in 2025.   The history of the garden in the eighteenth century is more than one of acres of grass, Palladian houses and glassy stretches of water. This talk jumps the...

Erasmus Darwin was at the centre of various networks which were central to cultural development in the West Midlands. Malcolm focuses on several of these connections to assess, for example, his contribution to the activities of the Lunar Society and provision of personal and intellectual support to individuals including Matthew Boulton, James Keir, Anna Seward,...