‘I was not expecting that’ an illustrated sports talk with Neil Wagstaff featuring some of the most obscure, fascinating and frankly weird sports stories from the local area and further afield. This will have a historical element and will appeal to a very wide audience not just those of a sporting persuasion!  

Performed in dramatic historical dress with a variety of appropriate accoutrements by Gemma Thompson historian and dress-maker of Lichfield. Explore the changing silhouette of rococo era with demonstration of how ladies would have dressed at the time.  

Call in between 11am to 2pm for children to enjoy spring themed crafts. No booking required. Children Free Adults £5

An evening of traditional Greek tales told for adults. Step into a world where gods walk among mortals, fate cannot be escaped, and every choice echoes through eternity. This evening of traditional storytelling brings the myths of ancient Greece vividly to life—tales of love and vengeance, hubris and heroism, beauty and betrayal. Hear of powerful deities and flawed heroes, of mortals who dared to challenge the will of the gods. These are stories filled with passion, danger, and dark humour—where…

This illustrated talk by Lichfeldian Kent Parson, will share fascinating research into his ancestor, Dr Edward Kent Parson. Hear about a physician cum inventor and a man who lived an intriguing life linked to a Battle, an Arctic expedition, and a multi-million pound estate!  

Lichfield Cathedral houses a war memorial to the soldiers who defeated Punjab's Sikh Empire in the 1840s. But on the losing side of the Anglo-Sikh Wars stood a woman: Maharani (Queen) Jind Kaur - Queen Regent, separated from her only child, imprisoned, and exiled - leaving her ten-year-old son, Maharaja Duleep Singh, to surrender the Koh-i-Noor diamond to the Queen of England - and the Sikh Kingdom of Punjab with it. If Queen Jind Kaur of Punjab was defeated, then…

A talk by Steve Booth This talk looks at the nationwide problems caused by the use of climbing children to sweep chimneys and how well-intentioned individuals in Staffordshire worked hard to eliminate their use, ably led by Francis Wedgwood – grandson of the great Josiah and the family connection to the Darwin’s.

Tales from the Coroner’s Casebook – Life and Death in Georgian South Staffordshire and the Black Country.  Part One: 1801-1826. This illustrated presentation examines cases of sudden or unexplained deaths, presided over by Henry Smith Esq. - Coroner of the County of Stafford - between 1801 and 1842.  These include: domestic and industrial accidents, manslaughter, murders, suicides and ‘visitations of God.’  Who was this coroner, and what do his inquest reports tells us about life, as well as death, in…

Did Oliver Cromwell ban Christmas? Was Queen Victoria the first queen to have a Christmas tree in a royal residence? Which king first ate turkey at Christmas? And how have other cultures and empires left their mark on Christmas today? These and many more questions are answered in 'Christmas Past', a festive look at the development of Christmas throughout the ages.