FROM HUNTERS TO FARMERS – THE STORY OF STONE AGE LEICESTERSHIRE AND RUTLAND
Thursday 9th July: 7.30pm (doors open at 7pm)
Lutterworth Museum, Market St, Lutterworth LE17 4EH
Leicestershire and Rutland have a fascinating and nationally significant prehistoric past dating back some 500,000 years. Join archaeologist Mathew Morris from University of Leicester Archaeological Services and hear the story of the first people to live in Britain, from early hominids and extinct animals to ice age hunters, early artwork and the first farmers.
Tickets: £5 payable at the door, or pop into the Museum beforehand. Proceeds to Lutterworth Museum
WALKING THROUGH TIME (NEW FOR 2026)
Saturday 11th July: 11am
Harborough Museum, Adam and Eve Street, Market Harborough LE16 7LT
Join archaeologist, Peter Liddle, to hear all about 50 years of fieldwork in Leicestershire and how this has helped to transform our understanding of the county’s past. The talk is linked to the current museum exhibition at Harborough Museum (see Displays and Exhibitions)
DIGGING FOR LEICESTERSHIRE – COMMUNITY ARCHAEOLOGY WITH THE OADBY & WIGSTON FIELDWORKERS (NEW FOR 2026)
Saturday 11th July: 11.30am
Oadby Library, 10 The Parade, Oadby, Leicester LE2 5BF
Join Bob Gale of the Oadby and Wigston Fieldworkers to hear about their work investigating archaeological sites across South Leicestershire.
FREE, booking required. Email oadbylibrary@leics.gov.uk, call 01163058763 or drop in to book a place
THE HABERDASHERS COMPANY AND ITS LINKS TO THE PARISH OF ALL SAINTS, WIGSTON MAGNA: AN ILLUSTRATED TALK (NEW FOR 2026)
Monday 13th July: 2pm
Little Hill Primary School, Launceston Road, Wigston LE18 2GZ (onsite parking)
Join David Bartle, a Liveryman and recently retired archivist of the Haberdashers Company, which dates back to 1371, to hear about its links to Wigston parish church.
Tickets: £5 per person, accompanied under 16s FREE. Booking advisable via cftowell@aol.com or 07813 782899
Proceeds to the Leicestershire and Oadby & Wigston Fieldworkers, All Saints Church and Greater Wigston Historical Society
50 YEARS OF FIELDWALKING IN LEICESTERSHIRE (NEW FOR 2026)
Tuesday 14th July: 2pm
Leicester Guildhall, Guildhall Lane, Leicester LE1 5FQ
Join archaeologist Peter Liddle to mark 50 years of archaeological survey by the Leicestershire Fieldworkers and how this has helped to transform our understanding of local archaeology.
Tickets: £6. Booking essential via https://www.leicestermuseums.org/event-details/?id=0b42f790-b7f5-410a-a2ce-64b7da469be4 or call 0116 454 4554
MURDER AND MAYHEM IN MEDIEVAL LEICESTER
Thursday 16th July: 7.30pm
Charnwood Museum, Granby St, Loughborough LE11 3DU
Join archaeologist Mathew Morris for some gruesome tales from medieval Leicester, including the bell ringer murdered by the vicar on Christmas Eve, the Franciscan friars hung drawn and quartered for treason, and the criminal deeds of the Bushby brothers. Find out how archaeology and historic sources, like the town’s medieval coroner’s rolls, provide complimentary evidence which enriches the story of Leicester.
Tickets: Members £3 Non-members £5
Booking Essential – Please visit the museum and talk to a member of staff or call 01509 233754. Payment can be taken over the phone.
JOHN DOWLAND: CELEBRATING 400 YEARS OF MUSIC (NEW FOR 2026)
Friday 17th July: 7pm – 9pm
The 1620s House and Garden, Manor Road, Donington le Heath, Coalville, Leicestershire LE67 2FW
Join Ayres and Graces for an evening of music celebrating the works of one of England’s most influential composers and lutenists.
Tickets: £8 per person. To find out more and to book, please visit https://1620shouse.org.uk/whats-on/
WALKING THROUGH TIME (NEW FOR 2026)
Saturday 18th July: 2.30pm
Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre, Sutton Cheney CV13 0AD
This year is the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Leicestershire Fieldworkers, a pioneer community archaeology group that has helped to transform our knowledge of Leicestershire’s archaeology through fieldwalking, geophysics, test pitting and excavation. A talk by archaeologist Peter Liddle
Tickets: £6 per person. To find out more and to book, please visit https://www.bosworthbattlefield.org.uk/whats-on/
TUDOR AND STUART BIG HOUSES IN LEICESTERSHIRE (NEW FOR 2026)
Sunday 19th July: 6.30pm
1620s House, Donington le Heath, LE67 2FW
Join archaeologist Peter Liddle to hear about the 16th and 17th century great houses in Leicestershire through contemporary images and archaeological survey and excavation
Tickets: £6. Booking Essential at https://1620shouse.org.uk/whats-on/
RECOVERING THE ERASED STORY OF OADBY’S YARDS AND THE IMPOVERISHED FAMILIES WHO LIVED THERE: AN ILLUSTRATED TALK (NEW FOR 2026)
Monday 20th July: 2pm
Oadby British Legion, 4a Wigston Road, LE2 5QA (left side entrance)
Join Oadby historian and author Bill Davice to find out about a little known aspect of Oadby’s history.
Tickets: £5 per person, accompanied under 16s FREE. Booking advisable via owfieldworkers@gmail.com but pay at door
Proceeds to the Leicestershire and Oadby & Wigston Fieldworkers.
THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF LEICESTER MARKET PLACE (NEW FOR 2026)
Tuesday 21st July: 2pm
Leicester Guildhall, Guildhall Lane, Leicester LE1 5FQ
Join archaeologist Joseph Peters to hear about recent excavations in Leicester’s historic market place and how this has added to our knowledge of Roman Leicester as well as revealing early market place structures, including The Gainsborough Chamber and The Drapery.
Tickets: £6. Booking essential via https://www.leicestermuseums.org/event-details/?id=9f9b3abb-b086-410d-bda0-f84b8f089692 or call 0116 454 4554
KATHLEEN KENYON AND THE JEWRY WALL ROMAN BATHS
Tuesday 21st July: 7.30pm
St Martin’s Church Centre, Desford LE9 9GR
The Jewry Wall is a remarkable, 1,800-year-old survival of Roman Leicester. Today, thanks to the 1930s excavations by Kathleen Kenyon, we know it was part of the Roman city’s public baths. This has not always been the case, however, with hundreds of years of heated debate about its purpose, from Roman temple to town hall, or even one of the town’s gates. Join archaeologist Mathew Morris to discover the remarkable story of Britain’s largest surviving piece of Roman civic masonry and the pioneering archaeologist who excavated it.
Tickets: £5, payable on the door. No booking required. Enquiries to: info.desfordhistory@gmail.com
FERAL AND DOCILE: ANIMALS AND LANDSCAPES IN PRE-MEDIEVAL LEICESTERSHIRE (NEW FOR 2026)
Wednesday 22nd July: 7.30pm
Harborough Methodist Church Hall, Northampton Road, Market Harborough LE16 9HE
Jen Browning of University of Leicester Archaeological Services will speak about how archaeologists can find out about ancient flora and fauna.
FREE, no booking required.
METAL DETECTING AND ARCHAEOLOGY: ROMAN RIDDLES AND SAXON SECRETS (NEW FOR 2026)
Thursday 23rd July: 7.30pm (doors open at 7pm)
Melton Carnegie Museum, Thorpe End, Melton Mowbray LE13 1RB
Dr Phil Harding (not the one from Time Team) will talk about how his carefully recorded metal detecting has contributed to our understanding of the archaeology of the Wreake Valley. Phil Harding has been metal-detecting in Leicestershire for over 30 years, working both independently and in close collaboration with archaeological projects. As a Self-Recorder for the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS), he has contributed more than 3,000 records to the national database.
Tickets: £4. Booking Essential via 0116 305 3860 or email melton.museum@leics.gov.uk
COLLYWESTON’S LOST TUDOR PALACE (NEW FOR 2026)
Saturday 25th July: 7pm
St Michael and All Angels Church, Hallaton LE16 8TY
The pretty village of Collyweston is nowadays better known for its roofing slate, but in earlier centuries its importance as a royal manor made it one off the principal centres of the country. Its magnificent medieval manor house was the main residence of Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII, whose ambitions for her son made her for a time the most powerful woman in England. Chris Close will tell the story of its rediscovery and excavation in 2023.
Tickets: £7.50 with a cash bar available. Tickets available on the door or to guarantee a place please pre-book via https://hallaton-museum.co.uk/ or contact Phil Gilbert via 07889 775270 or HallatonChurchRestorationTrust@gmail.com
SETTING THE SCENE (NEW FOR 2026)
Wednesday 29th July: 2pm
Leicester Cathedral, Peacock Lane, Leicester LE1 5PZ
February 2027 marks the 100-year anniversary of Leicester Cathedral.
But what was Leicester like at that time? In this hour-long talk we look back at the newly created city of Leicester and all that defined it in those “Roaring Twenties”. Do come and join us as we take a look down memory lane. Refreshments included.
Tickets bookable at Eventbrite: £9 with a concessionary rate of £7.
RICHARD III: VICTIM OR VILLAIN (NEW FOR 2026)
Sunday 2nd August: 2:30pm
Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre, Sutton Cheney CV13 0AD
Dr Georgiana Lorimer explores the contrast between Richard’s portrayal as a villain by Shakespeare and her recent study of the pivotal moments in his reign based on historical records.
She brings to life the man and his times. These pivotal events: coronation, the death of his wife, and of his son, the Titulus regius which declared his nephews to be illegitimate, the betrayal by his friend Buckingham and the final battle at Bosworth, have been brought to life in poetry.
Tickets: £6 per person. Pre-booking essential. To find out more and to book, please visit https://www.bosworthbattlefield.org.uk/events/richard-iii-villain-or-victim-talk/