Spotlight Talk | Landmarks with David Birtwhistle
Saturday 14 March 2026, 11am – 12noon | Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum
Artist David Birtwhistle takes us through his working processes in this Spotlight Talk.
Hear about his production methods and choice of materials, as well as how the exhibition David Birtwhistle: A Retrospective came together at the Art Gallery and Museum.
This will be an insight into his artistic practice, and you’ll have the chance to ask David about his working methods and choice of subjects.
The talk will end with a walk-through of his free-to-visit exhibition currently on show at the Art Gallery and Museum.
£10 for the talk.
Spotlight Talk | John Singer Sargent: landscapes, low life and high society
Saturday 25 April 2026, 11am – 12noon | Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum
In this talk, given in the context of the exhibition of Worcester’s collection of Sargent’s drawings, art historian Justin Reay explores the artist’s approach to his subjects, his use of light and colour, his unusual composition, and his significance as a painter who engages us with the person or the scene depicted.
John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) was born to American parents in Italy, travelled extensively in Europe and the USA throughout his life, established a successful career as a portrait painter in Paris and London, and became a celebrated and influential artist. Although living for many years in London, based in James McNeil Whistler’s former studio in Chelsea, Sargent frequently stayed with friends in Worcestershire and Oxfordshire, walking the hills and meadows around Broadway, painting the upper Thames, the Avon and the Cotswold countryside as well as informal paintings of family and friends.
He is perhaps best known for his compelling, often sumptuous portraits of British and American high society figures and celebrities, showing the character as well as the likeness of his sitters, but his figurative work includes the genre of real life, depictions of ordinary people at work to whom he gives the same degree of dignity. His landscapes and architectural scenes, in oil and watercolour, are notable for their attention to detail, interesting composition and an increasingly free mark-making. His style developed from initial formality towards Impressionism, and finally to a more relaxed, painterly depiction, even for portraits, and his landscapes achieve, at their best, a languid romanticism.
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.
About Justin
Justin Reay FSA FRHistS
Retiring from a long career in business in 2001, Justin studied the History of Art and Architecture at the University of Oxford, for whom he became a senior academic manager at the Bodleian Library, advising research scholars, editing manuscripts and consulting on the university’s collections of maritime paintings. He is a published historian and a qualified teacher. He delivered courses in the university’s international residential programmes, and tutors the History of Art and Classical Studies for private students and colleges in Oxford.
Justin is an Accredited Lecturer for The Arts Society, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and of the Royal Historical Society, and a Member of the Walpole Society.
Your Worcester: Gallery Tour
Every other Saturday, 11am and 2pm | Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum
Enjoy a guided tour of permanent display, Your Worcester, an exciting exhibition new in 2025. Find out about the city, its astonishing history and changing traditions, and what this all means to the people who live here now.
Your Worcester features favourites from the museum collection together with new objects added to the collection by the community, all with a link to Worcester’s long and rich heritage.
Covering everything from the teeth of King John to Lea & Perrins, Worcester City Football Club, and the clothes of Windrush arrivals to the city, the exhibition is designed by the community, for the community.
This tour will take you on a journey through Your Worcester – bring along your questions and see what you’ll discover!
Talk dates, autumn 2025
- Saturday 6 September, 11am and 2pm (unfortunately, 20 September talks have been cancelled)
- Saturday 18 October, 11am and 2pm
- Saturdays 1, 15, 29 November, 11am and 2pm
- Saturday 13 December, 11am and 2pm
£4.50 for the talk (free entry to the Art Gallery and Museum). Book your tour.
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.
1483: The Year of Three Kings
Saturday 18 October, 4 – 5pm | The Commandery
Author and historian Nathen Amin returns to The Commandery this October.
1483 was a truly turbulent year in English history.
A year of three kings, one infamous coup d’etat, one failed invasion and the curious disappearance of two royal princes – perhaps murdered by their uncle, perhaps not.
Bloodshed and conspiracy darkened every corner of England, as civil war threatened once again to tear the kingdom apart.
Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.
In this gripping talk, historian Nathen Amin takes us step-by-step through the drama-filled year, exploring the mystery of the Princes in the Tower, the ill-fated rise of Richard III, and the unexpected emergence of the Tudors – consequences we still feel today.
£12. Book your spot.
About Nathen Amin:
Nathen Amin is an author from Carmarthenshire, West Wales, who focuses on the 15th Century and the reign of Henry VII. He wrote ‘Tudor Wales’ in 2014 and ‘York Pubs’ in 2016, followed by the first full-length biography of the Beaufort family, ‘The House of Beaufort’ in 2017, an Amazon #1 Bestseller in three historical categories (Wars of the Roses, Norman England, and The Plantagenets & Medieval History). His fourth book, ‘Henry VII and the Tudor Pretenders; Simnel, Warbeck and Warwick’, was released in in 2021.
Nathen is an experienced public speaker, presenting talks on the Beauforts, Wars of the Roses, and Henry VII, for more than fifty societies and book festivals, including the BBC History Weekend, Windsor Castle, HistFest, British Museum, Gloucester History Festival, Alison Weir Tours, Lichfield Literature Festival, Oundle Festival of Literature, Lancaster Historical Writing Festival, Bosworth Medieval Festival, Barnet Medieval Festival, and the Richard III Society. He has also featured on British, Australian and German radio and television, as well as in print and online media across the UK. As of 2020, he is a trustee and founding member of the Henry Tudor Trust, and in 2022 was elected a fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
Bite-size Talk | Unveiling Deception: Exploring Forgeries in the Egyptian Collection
Tuesday 14 October 2025, 2 – 2.30pm | Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum
Can we be sure that all the objects in the collection are authentic?
Hear from curator Kerry Whitehouse about some of the fake objects that have been discovered in Worcester City’s Egyptian collection.
This seated talk takes place in the Committee Room.
£4.50; book via the link below.
Check out the full programme of Bite-size Talks 2025.
Heritage Open Day | free entry and talks
Sunday 21 September, 10am – 3pm | The Commandery
The Heritage Open Days Festival returns for 2025!
Enjoy free entry to The Commandery on Sunday 21 September.
Enjoy free talks
This year’s festival theme is architecture, so you can join one of the Midlands’ leading architects specialising in building conservation, Nick Joyce. Hear about his work with The Commandery over the decades and his expertise which has helped keep this incredible building in such good repair and open to the public.
Talks are at 10.30am and 1pm, lasting up to an hour.
Booking information
If you would like to join a talk, please book this in advance due to limited numbers. If you can no longer make it, please let us know by calling 01905 361821 or emailing commandery@museumsworcestershire.org.uk. Thank you.
If you are enjoying a general visit to The Commandery, there is no need to book – just come along on the day.
Bite-size Talk | Your Worcester Stories
Tuesday 9 September 2025, 2 – 2.30pm | Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum
Hear from Suz Winspear about some of the wonderful objects on display in Your Worcester and in the chemist shop.
This seated talk takes place in the Chemist Shop.
£4.50; book via the link below.
The High Dosage Tour of Steward’s Chemist Shop
First Friday of the month, 11 - 11.30am and 2 - 2.30pm | Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum
Step inside the fantastic Steward's Chemist Shop at Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum and discover its history...
Take the High Dosage tour – with the chance to see items that are not usually on display – in the hidden realm behind the Dispensing Screen.
What secrets does the Victorian Chemist’s Shop hold? Come and find out!
The display was set up after the closure of Steward's Chemist Shop at 27 High Street, when the entire shop along with the fixtures and fittings were purchased in 1974 and transported to the museum to be redisplayed.
£4.50; book here (free entry to Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum including the chemist shop, which is open to visitors on the first Friday of every month from 11am - 3pm).
Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum is free to visit.