Erasmus Darwin House

Upcoming events at Erasmus Darwin House

Erasmus Darwin House is a visitor attraction in Sandfields. Near Here currently lists 14 upcoming events, including Monthly Cellar Tour, Free Children's Craft Activities and Queen Jind Kaur of Punjab and Six Princesses.

Community

Around £5

Monthly Cellar Tour

Learn more about part of the house that is not normally open to the public on this fascinating cellar tour. Please note there are steps into the cellar and the floor is uneven. Adults £5. Children 12 years and over £2.

Sat 15 Aug12:30Erasmus Darwin House

via Erasmus Darwin House

Arts & CultureChildren & Family

Around £5

Free Children's Craft Activities

Looking for a fun, hands-on activity for your little artist? Bring them along to our creative craft session where they will make their very own garden themed crafts to take home. While visiting the museum take advantage of the Dr Erasmouse trail. Find the clues and win a knitted mouse! All children free. Adults £5

Tue 18 Aug12:00Erasmus Darwin House

via Erasmus Darwin House

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Community

Queen Jind Kaur of Punjab and Six Princesses

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 why, at the height of British Empire, did Charles Dickens record in 1863 that, according to Lord Dalhousie, she was “the only person our government near feared”? Join heritage detective Sundeep Braich at Erasmus Darwin House to find out.

Thu 3 Sept20:00Erasmus Darwin House

via Erasmus Darwin House

History & HeritageWorkshops & Classes

10 week history course - THE SUPERNATURAL MIDDLE AGES by Charlotte Ball

If you are intrigued by the stranger side of medieval history, this ten-week lecture course might be for you! The Middle Ages were a dark age, filled with superstition and wild beliefs in supernatural things…weren’t they? In this exploratory and fun course, we can expect to meet readers of omens and practitioners of magic; saints and heretics; miracles and monsters. But we will also dive into what people at the time actually believed about the nature of their world, and whether or not the distinction we draw between “natural” and “supernatural” even applies to the Middle Ages at all. Each week will start with a lecture on a different topic. Then, during and after a tea break, questions, discussions and wild tangents are all encouraged! Aimed at all levels of knowledge – there is something for everyone. The course is written and delivered by historian and public speaker Dr Charlotte Ball, who has her PhD in Early Medieval art and iconography from the University of Leicester. To book a place please contact us by email or telephone 01543411227/01543 306260 The supernatural Middle Ages date Week 1 07-Sep-26 Week 2 14-Sep-26 Week 3 21-Sep-26 Week 4 28-Sep-26 Week 5 05-Oct-26 Week 6 12-Oct-26 Week 7 19-Oct-26 Week 8 02-Nov-26 Week 9 09-Nov-26 Week 10 16-Nov-26

Mon 7 Sept10:30Erasmus Darwin House

via Erasmus Darwin House

History & HeritageTalks & Lectures

Chimney Sweeps’ climbing boys in Staffordshire

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.

Thu 17 Sept20:00Erasmus Darwin House, Erasmus Darwin House Beacon St , Lichfield, Staffordshire, WS13 7AD, United Kingdom

via Erasmus Darwin House, Erasmus Darwin House Beacon St , Lichfield, Staffordshire, WS13 7AD, United Kingdom

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Community

Chimney Sweeps’ climbing boys in Staffordshire

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.

Thu 17 Sept20:00Erasmus Darwin House

via Erasmus Darwin House

Talks & Lectures

Lunar Lecture - William Strutt FRS: A tradesman of some eminence by Dr Ian Jackson

As William Strutt left no journals or diary, we need to look at contemporary, third party, accounts of his work and legacies, to understand why he was so respected by his peers, including his appointment as a Fellow of the Royal Society. This talk traces his life, both personal and work, with the progression of his more famous improvements, such as fire-proof mills and the stove heating system, and other less well-known activities. Whilst William Strutt was recognised widely during his lifetime, he is not on the list of great British Engineers today, and this research hopes to change that. Dr Ian Jackson (Left)

Thu 1 Oct20:00Erasmus Darwin House

via Erasmus Darwin House

Community

Devils and demons and ghouls

A deliciously dark set of traditional tales from around the world. From the hideous flesh-eating Wendigo of Native American folklore to the sinister and seductive slit mouthed woman of Japan, join us, if you dare, for an evening of dark deeds… Professional storyteller Maria Credali returns with a pocket full of brand new (and at the same time, very old) tales to terrify and tickle you. Some of these stories are legends, some are folklore, but some are true… Fabulously entertaining stories that will send a shiver down your spine! “An awesome evening – beguiling! Transported to other worlds and places while listening to Maria’s stories and riddles – one of the best storytellers around,”

Fri 30 Oct07:00Erasmus Darwin House

via Erasmus Darwin House

Talks & Lectures

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

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.

Thu 12 Nov19:00Erasmus Darwin House

via Erasmus Darwin House

Arts & Culture

Thomas Beddoes: Poetry, Medicine, Disease and Drugs in the Early Nineteenth Century: a Symposium

A series of lectures including refreshments and buffet lunch “O! Excellent Air Bag”: Thomas Beddoes and the Pneumatic Institution by Mike Jay This paper tells the story of Erasmus Darwin’s protégé Thomas Beddoes and his experiments with medical gases at the Pneumatic Institution in Bristol, in which he collaborated with a remarkable circle of scientists and poets that included Humphry Davy, James Watt, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey. Mike Jay is an author and historian who has written widely on the history of science, medicine and culture, and contributes regularly to the London Review of Books, among other publications. His books include Free Radicals: How a Group of Romantic Experimenters Gave Birth to Psychedelic Science. Beddoes and the Romantic Poets’ by Tim Fulford As well as being a pioneering medical researcher and geologist, Beddoes was a poet. My paper looks at his interactions with Erasmus Darwin, Coleridge, Southey and Wordsworth – at the radical poetic experiment he made when he encountered Darwin’s Botanic Garden and at the parody he published of Wordsworth’s simplistic Lyrical Ballads – which gave great offence. Beddoes also treated the poets’ ailments – physical and mental – and used his contacts to get them work for the newspapers.

Wed 18 Nov09:30Erasmus Darwin House

via Erasmus Darwin House

Community

Christmas Past with Sheelagh James

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.

Thu 3 Dec19:00Erasmus Darwin House

via Erasmus Darwin House

Community

The WW2 Spy Princess

In 2014, Noor Inayat Khan (1914 – 1944) was featured on a Royal Mail stamp. But who was this WW2 British-Indian secret agent and princess? Returning to the theme of princesses, join Sundeep Braich for an exploration of the life, courage, and sacrifice of The WW2 Spy Princess.

Thu 7 Jan19:00Erasmus Darwin House

via Erasmus Darwin House

Community

Sweet Memories

A jaunt down to the sweetie shop to recall some of our favourite sugary treats…some classic adverts to jog your memory too! A nostalgic talk by Kath Reynolds

Thu 25 Mar19:00Erasmus Darwin House

via Erasmus Darwin House

Religion & Spirituality

Dr William Palmer of Rugeley – Saintly Billy or Mass Murderer

A talk by Steve Booth. Dr William Palmer, better known as the Rugeley Poisoner. was convicted in 1856 for murder. Born in Rugeley executed at Stafford Prison. Gambling, Strychnine, and Victorian Killer all contributed to his downfall. Who was William Palmer and what lead to his heinous crimes?

Thu 22 Apr20:00Erasmus Darwin House

via Erasmus Darwin House

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