Spooky House Family Mornings
Tuesday 28 – Thursday 30 October, 10.30am – 12noon | The Commandery
Where better to be in the October half-term holiday than one of Worcester’s oldest buildings?!
In these fun family mornings, children can decorate their own spooky doorway to take home. Who lives behind it and what would their door be like? From witches’ cottages to Dracula’s den, we can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with.
Delve into the messy play tables, create a bubbling cauldron picture and make a spooky puppet too!
Then, explore the rest of The Commandery with the Spooky House trail which will take you through Medieval, Tudor, Georgian and Victorian eras, and more.
Every session includes a spooky story, drink, and a biscuit. Aimed at children from pre-school ages to 11 years.
Admission info
The family morning is £5 per child. General admission also applies and can be paid for on arrival or booked online.
You can get free admission to The Commandery if you have a season or Worcester Residents’ pass (£5 for crafts still applies) – find out more and plan your visit.
Potion Bags of Fun
Saturday 25 October – Sunday 2 November (closed Mondays) | Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum
This October half-term holiday is all about potions at the Art Gallery and Museum!
Pick up an activity bag and get creative in the Activity Space. From creating your potion ingredient garden, magical power spinner wheel, and a fantastic potion book for your own recipes, there’s plenty to get stuck into.
Each activity bag has multiple themed activities inside along with colouring and puzzle sheets. The Art Gallery and Museum is fully equipped for young creatives to get going on their making.
£2.50; purchase from the shop. Free entry to Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum. Plan your visit.
You might also enjoy…
Potion Panic! Family trail on all week
Potion Making – family sessions on Saturday 25 October
Body Snatching and Grave Robbing in Worcestershire
Saturday 15 November, 4 – 5pm | The Commandery
Hear from medical historian Kevin Goodman in a fascinating talk at The Commandery this autumn.
The body snatchers and grave robbers: their trade was to keep the ever-demanding medical schools supplied with the bodies of the recently deceased. But they weren’t confined to Edinburgh and London. They ranged across the West Midlands including Worcestershire. Discover the secrets behind their trade, the doctors who supported them, and their identities.
About Kevin Goodman
Kevin Goodman is an author and medical historian who has appeared in documentaries for the Smithsonian Channel (Mystic Britain), Channel 5 (The Great Plague and The Black Death) and History Hit, and specialises in the history of health and disease in the West Midlands.
£8. Book your spot.
Pikelets: Tots Through Time (early years sessions)
Wednesdays, 10.15 – 11.45am | The Commandery
Pikelets: Tots Through Time is The Commandery’s first early years programme designed to encourage little ones to explore, play and learn.
Each week, the session will take place in a new area of the museum and gardens, with the activities tailored to the space. Be a shape detective in the Great Hall, join in a tea party in the Georgian rooms, take part in sensory scavenger hunts in the beautiful walled gardens and much more. 🌻
Pikelets: Tots Through Time has been carefully designed for crawlers to pre-school children, with fun activities each week to help develop fine motor skills, counting, play-based learning and creative thinking – all within The Commandery’s unique museum setting.
Sessions end with drink, biscuit and a story.
Facilities include a baby change, lift access, and onsite café Little Al’s at The Commandery, all in a convenient city centre location (WR1 2HU) with parking nearby.
£5 per child (£2.50 per additional sibling).
If you wish to visit the museum after the session, you can enjoy a 50% discount on day admission (£4.50 for adult day ticket instead of £9).
Christmas Makers’ Fair 2025
Friday 5 and Saturday 6 December, 10am – 6pm | Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum
It’s the weekend of Worcester’s Victorian Christmas Fayre! 🎄
Step inside the cosy Art Gallery and Museum as you leave the chilly outdoors behind. Enjoy browsing a range of stalls dotted around museum, a beautiful Victorian building in itself.
Check out a whole variety of unique and exquisite gift opportunities for your loved ones – or yourself – in the lead-up to Christmas. Explore the work of local designer-makers and crafts people, each hand-picked for their quality products.
Browse the fabulous Museum Shop which has an excellent range of cards and gifts, and enjoy cosy coffee or lunch in Little Al’s Kitchen at the Balcony Café.
Free entry. Plan your visit to Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum.
While you’re here, check out exhibitions Designing Terry Pratchett’s Discworld: 30 Years of Paul Kidby’s Illustration (tickets required) and Jilly Oxlade-Arnott – A Celebration of Worcester (free entry, sales support the artist and Art Gallery and Museum).
Would you like a stall? We’d love to hear from you! Get in touch with event organiser Tracey Ayre at tracey.ayre@worcester.gov.uk.
After-dark Tours at The Commandery 2025
After-dark Tours at The Commandery 2025
Various dates and times in October | The Commandery
After-dark tours are back at The Commandery for 2025!
Explore one of the oldest buildings in Worcester by torchlight this October…
The Commandery is once again opening its gates on autumn nights for you to discover its ghostly secrets.
Hear about strange sightings and mysterious rumours as you uncover the history of the building in a guided tour with a Halloween twist.
Keep your eyes peeled and make up your own mind about the paranormal activities said to have taken place over the years – if you’re brave enough!
| DATES | TOUR TIMES | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday 14 October | 6.30pm | 8pm | |
| Thursday 16 October | 6.30pm | 8pm | |
| Tuesday 21 October | 6.30pm | 8pm | |
| Thursday 23 October | 6.30pm | 8pm | |
| Tuesday 28 October | 6.30pm | 8pm | |
| Thursday 30 October | 6.30pm | 8pm | |
| Friday 31 October | 6.30pm | 8pm | 9.30pm |
Tours take approximately 1 hour and are for ages 14+.
£15.50 per person; please book via the link below.
Top tips
You may wish to check out the nightlife on the historic Friar Street in Worcester, a short way from The Commandery, before or after your tour. The restaurants and bars in beautiful timber buildings will set the tone perfectly.
Please arrive 10 minutes before your tour – bring along a torch if you have one!
Access requirements
Please get in touch if you have any access requirements by calling 01905 361821 or emailing commandery@museumsworcestershire.org.uk.
When it is necessary for a visitor to be accompanied by a carer we will give free admission to the carer – this can be booked on Art Tickets.
Bite-size Talk | Illustrating Discworld
Tuesday 11 November 2025, 2 – 2.30pm | Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum
Paul Kidby is best known for his art based on Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series of fantasy novels and is celebrated in the exhibition Designing Terry Pratchett’s Discworld: 30 Years of Paul Kidby’s Illustrations.
This talk by our museum curator will take a look behind the scenes of the exhibition, and also delves into Worcester City’s own art collection to show examples of work by other illustrators such as Randolph Caldecott to explore the importance of this wonderful artform.
£4.50 for the talk; book via the link below. If you’d like to visit the exhibition too, advance booking is available online. There are a variety of admission options to choose from. The rest of the Art Gallery and Museum is free to visit as usual. Online booking isn’t available on the day of your visit, but you are welcome to pay in the shop when you arrive.
Check out the full programme of Bite-size Talks 2025.
Christmas wreath making at The Commandery (ages 16+)
Christmas wreath making at The Commandery (ages 16+)
Saturday 29 November, 10.30am – 12.30pm | The Commandery
Settle in for a cosy morning at Worcester’s Commandery as you create a rustic wreath to decorate your door this December. ❄️
In the beautiful wooden-beamed room upstairs at The Commandery, you’ll use natural materials from the surrounding gardens to create your wreath – either following an example or creating your own design.
Sip a tea, enjoy a coffee, and munch mince pies as you craft your wreath.
£25. All resources supplied. Ages 16+ years.
I thoroughly enjoyed making my Christmas wreath. It was very relaxing and therapeutic. Everyone was able to “put their own spin” on their decoration, so was really inclusive. It was a present from my son and I think we will make it our Christmas tradition. Wreath-making attendee, 2024.
Book your spot. If you’d like to look around The Commandery, you can get half-price general admission from the shop on the day of the workshop.
You might also enjoy Autumn Wreath Making on Saturday 4 October 2025!