Miriam Rothschild became one of Britain’s leading naturalists and a world authority not only on fleas and butterflies, but also research into parasites and their hosts. Without any formal academic status, Dame Miriam became an expert in so many fields that, in her lifetime, she was awarded eight honorary doctorates and a fellowship of the...
Please note: this event is live at Queen Square Hamish Kale, a graduate of the University of Falmouth, has been documenting the natural world for the last eight years. Join him on a journey of adventure as he outlines the techniques, skills and pluck required to join this specialised band of photographers. Image credit: Hamish...
This event is at Queen Square only (not online). Uncovering the lives and stories of Bath’s Jewish community. Christina Hilsenrath’s research into the history of the Jewish Burial Ground in Combe Down discovers a community (1800-1941) active in the professions and commerce of the City of Bath, but also uncovers tragic stories of early deaths,...
This event is at Queen Square only An introduction to the work of the AFL (Actresses’ Franchise League) and its contribution to the Campaign for Women’s Rights in the early years of the 20th century; many notable actresses turned to writing and producing with extraordinary success, though against considerable opposition from the established actor-managers. These...
Faith & Gender: Eve the Temptress to Subversive Angel - The Flowering of Feminism The changing face of Victorian woman (and man) in an age of scientific discovery and religious uncertainty. Marie-Louise Luxemburg, writer and BRLSI History & Culture convenor
In this talk, Robert Morrison explores the vital ways in which women shaped the social, cultural, and intellectual world of the British Regency (1811-1820). The Regency is often associated with the military triumphs of the Duke of Wellington, the poetry of Lord Byron, the paintings of J. W. M. Turner, and the scientific innovations of...
After a welcome by The Right Worshipful The Mayor of Bath (Councillor June Player), the Chairs of the Bath Twinning and Friendship Associations will each make a short presentation, setting out the origins of the partnership and a little about the history and attractions of their twin town. They will detail recent activities of their...
The speaker says: This is the story of a story: my grandfather's story started in Austrian Ukraine in 1895, then soldiering at the Russian front in WW1, while my grandmother fled west to Germany. Their German-born daughter was expelled in 1938 with her parents, back to Ukraine. She escaped to England. But her family remained...
When anyone hears the word ‘resistance’ they inevitably think of ‘armed resistance’ and the romantic notion of brave, ill-equipped partisans fighting against the German army; of SOE agents parachuting into occupied countries to lead the resistance fighters, and of doomed uprisings. The talk will look at unarmed as well as armed resistance in the whole of...
The history of the Netherlands is closely tied to its fight against rising sea levels. Since early times, the people of the Low Countries discovered ingenious ways to hold back the sea. Parcels of land (polders) were slowly reclaimed as advances in wind technology (windmills) were put to use. This changing environment led to great...
He may not be a household name but John Pinch The Elder still exerts a massive influence on the cityscape of Bath. His extensive architectural work on the Bathwick estate, including St Mary's Church and Sydney Place, is exquisite. However, he was also involved in the building of many notable terraces and country houses in...
This talk is live at Queen Square (not online). Britain’s leading authority on political cartoons will outline the history and evolution of political cartons, illustrated with examples of some of the greatest cartoons to appear in the British press – many of which deeply offended the likes of Kaiser Wilhelm II, Adolf Hitler, Winston Churchill,...
1066 is a very familiar date, conjuring up William the Conqueror and his Normans defeating the English king and his foot soldiers. The story plays out on the Bayeux Tapestry, whose illustrations are regularly used in newspaper cartoons without explanatory comment. In England the country was brought under French-speaking conquerors, with Bath becoming a major...
Bath German Society will be meeting on Thursday 14th July for our annual book discussion, which will be led by Judith Spencer. This year the book is “Daheim” by Judith Hermann, a well-established and highly regarded German author. The book has been a Spiegel bestseller, as well as being nominated for the Preis der Leipziger...
In this period, physicians, including the Bath practitioner George Cheyne, experimented on their own bodies in the name of medical progress and self-improvement: they manipulated their diets, tried new drugs on themselves, and wrote about their experiences. This talk will show how, though they often involved considerable risk, these experiments could gain a physician authority...
William Beckford (1760 - 1844) is not only remembered as the builder of the remarkable, now lost, Fonthill Abbey and Beckford’s Tower, Bath, but also for his influential art collection. Throughout his lifetime he created one of the greatest collections of European and East Asian Art, funded through his wealth from the transatlantic slave...
For the two years between 1804 -1806, the boy actor, Master Betty, was arguably the most famous non-royal person in Britain. He achieved extraordinary success, playing roles including Romeo, Hamlet, Richard III and Macbeth in theatres across the country. John Philip Kemble and Sarah Siddons, the leading actors of the day, retired for eighteen months...
Late eighteenth-century Bath was a hotbed of more than fashion. Beau Nash set the rules, and the Linleys brought music, glamour and drama. Handsome Thomas Linley, harpsichordist, singer and voice coach, raised nine musical children at homes in Abbey Green, then Old Orchard Street and finally Royal Crescent. Five were prodigies, painted by Gainsborough. The eldest...
2022 Victor Suchar Christmas LectureMuseums are more than just collections of objects; they also reflect and help to shape how we see our culture and place in the contemporary world.Dr Tristram Hunt is the Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, arguably the world’s leading museum of art, design and performance. The V&A’s...
Since the first settlements by the River Avon and until the last devastating floods in 1960 and 1968, it was accepted that the city of Bath and its nearby area would be inundated every few years. The 1968 one came in summer. Others came in winter. What caused these different floods and why is Bath...
Jeremy Key-Pugh will trace the history of the famous Passion Play performed at Oberammergau in the Bavarian Alps, describing its evolution over almost 400 years, and will show how it is still developing. He will discuss (in English) the text and the production, and will illustrate his talk with pictures and a little music.
Where do language & war intersect? Join BRLSI for our upcoming livestream from Ukraine exploring the roots of the Ukrainian language, and how best to protect at a time when it is at its most vulnerable. With all proceeds going to a Ukrainian charity, this is a talk we know you will want to support!...
This talk reveals the history and origins of Sanskrit, the ‘Mother of Indo-European Languages’ and explores the importance of Sanskrit down the ages to the present day – of its sounds, syntax, and not least, its contribution to the Enlightenment and the birth of modern science, through translations into English in the early eighteenth century...
A screening of the film Hannah More, followed by a Q&A with the producer, Anthea Page and lead actor, Lily Maryon. PLEASE NOTE: 6.30pm start Who was Hannah More? A film screening at BRLSI tells the story of a Bristol-born philanthropist, poet, and playwright who became a leading figure in the Bluestocking circle, and who...
Victor Suchar Christmas Lecture 2023 Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (1843) is among the most celebrated works of Victorian fiction, with its compelling story of the grasping Ebenezer Scrooge and the three terrifying ghosts who transform his life. This talk will explore the lasting significance of A Christmas Carol in the context of other...
New research has discovered in Italy a group of miniatures of architect John Wood and his descendants; now owned by his fifth great grandson, Bernardo Blasi Foglietti. Three hundred years ago, John Wood set out to transform his home city of Bath. Queen Square was one of his gems. By the time of his death...
What was the Franklin Expedition, and what does it have to do with BRLSI? The Franklin Expedition was a failed British voyage of Arctic exploration led by Captain Sir John Franklin that departed in 1845 aboard two ships, destined to traverse the last unnavigated sections of the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic. The expedition...
The story of refugees in post-war Germany in 1945. A brief, introductory presentation in German will be followed by a discussion based on the diary entries and letters of a family fleeing the occupation of Silesia by the Soviet Army in early 1945. Learn more about a little-known aspect of Germany’s post-war experience. The aim...
This talk is the first in our series about Extraordinary Women; three evening talks and a full day symposium - see a list of all the talks here before you buy your tickets. You can save money by booking to attend the whole series, please see options below. As usual you can book tickets to...
This is the second evening talk in our Extraordinary Women series (three evening talks plus an all-day symposium). To buy discounted tickets for the whole series (or the three evening talks without the symposium), please see our News item here. Ada Lovelace: The Making of a Computer Scientist Sometimes referred to as the world’s first...
BRLSI is celebrating two hundred years of being at the centre of the cultural life of Bath, but its collections were put into storage in World War II, then the building came under the control of the council. Who were the brave souls bringing the institution back into being? Michael King, secretary of the Friends...
This free walk is one of the events to mark the Bicentenary of Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution and the 90th Anniversary of The Mayor of Bath's Honorary Guides. UPDATE 26.2.24: this walk is now fully booked for both this date and 30 April, but you might be interested in two further local interest...
Early modern West African society placed great value on brass, one manifestation being the Benin Bronzes (actually brass) which adorned the Oba’s palace. Portuguese merchants exploited this love, trading brass produced in the Low Countries for ivory, gold and slaves. Bristol Merchant Venturers broke into this trade in the eighteenth century, creating a new local...
This free walk is one of the events to mark the Bicentenary of Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution and the 90th Anniversary of The Mayor of Bath's Honorary Guides. Learn why Admiral Lord Nelson, our country’s greatest ever naval hero, came to inland Bath. Nelson was to return to Bath on many occasions and...
This free walk is one of the events to mark the Bicentenary of Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution and the 90th Anniversary of The Mayor of Bath's Honorary Guides. In the early 1800s, important advances were made in and around Bath in the new science of geology, which enabled the industrialisation of Britain. This...
This free walk is one of the events to mark the Bicentenary of Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution and the 90th Anniversary of The Mayor of Bath's Honorary Guides. For more on Lockey, our book Bath In Camera 1849-1861 is illustrated with fascinating photographs of nineteenth century Bath - see here for details. In...
This free walk is one of the events to mark the Bicentenary of Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution and the 90th Anniversary of The Mayor of Bath's Honorary Guides. In the early 1800s, important advances were made in and around Bath in the new science of geology, which enabled the industrialisation of Britain. This...
This free walk is one of the events to mark the Bicentenary of Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution and the 90th Anniversary of The Mayor of Bath's Honorary Guides. Learn why Admiral Lord Nelson, our country’s greatest ever naval hero, came to inland Bath. Nelson was to return to Bath on many occasions and...