Tales from the Coroner’s Casebook - A Talk by Quintin Watt
Talks & Lectures

Tales from the Coroner’s Casebook - A Talk by Quintin Watt

When

Thursday, 12 November 2026, 19:00 – 20:00

Erasmus Darwin House

10 Beacon Street, Lichfield, WS13 7AD

Time

19:00 – 20:00

Price guide

Not listed — worth a quick ask

Get the full details

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 our region 200 years ago? Join Coroner Henry Smith’s Inquest Jury and re-consider some of the cases he dealt with during the first part of his long career.

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Lunar Lecture - ‘Anna Seward and the invention of pollution in the eighteenth-century West Midlands’
Talks & Lectures

Lunar Lecture - ‘Anna Seward and the invention of pollution in the eighteenth-century West Midlands’

The poet, Anna Seward (1742-1809), lived in Lichfield, had a close friendship with Erasmus Darwin, and knew other members of the Lunar Society. She travelled widely across the West Midlands, and one result was the poem, ‘Colebrookdale’, written in fact in two versions, which provides an insight into environmental and atmospheric pollution at a time when industrial activity was generally perceived by Seward’s acquaintances as something which brought benefits to all. Seward’s poetry though focused on the industrial town of Coalbrookdale in the Severn Valley, ranges across the urban geography of the West Midlands and uses the word pollution in the environmental sense that we apply it today. Her vision provides an early expression of anti-industrial sentiment, which became widespread later in the nineteenth century in the writings of John Ruskin and others. This talk analyses Sewards observations and places them in the context of her time. Dr Malcolm Dick OBE, FRHistS is a trustee of Erasmus Darwin House and Honorary Associate Professor in History at the University of Birmingham. He was formerly Director of the Centre for West Midlands History at the University and has written about the individual Lunar Men and the history of Birmingham and the Black Country. He has contributed to two websites on West Midlands history: Revolutionary Players https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/ and History West Midlands https://historywm.com/

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The Friends of Erasmus Darwin House invite you to a guided tour of the garden and the new art work on show
Community
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The Friends of Erasmus Darwin House invite you to a guided tour of the garden and the new art work on show

The Friends of Erasmus Darwin House Invite you to a guided tour of the garden and the new art work on show. The event will be held in the award winning herb garden and will include refreshments. Cost – we would suggest a donation of £10, but any donation is welcome_ The tour will include a focus on the medicinal properties of the plants in this physic garden and the new artwork in the House which reflects the plants in the garden. You will see Dr Darwin’s Medicine Chest which is recognized by Plant Heritage, a national organization. In addition are the separate Mrs Darwin’s Culinary Garden, The Dyer’s Garden, The Apothecary’s Garden and the Scented Garden at the back of the House. In the front of the House is a developing traditional border. To book a place please use the link below application to attend herb garden event

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Event details on Near Here are aggregated from third-party sources and may change. Always verify times, location, availability, and any price directly with the organiser before travelling. See Terms.