A walk around Worlds Apart - Our latest exhibition showing rare early photographs from #Bath and #Shanghai.

🎟 Free entry - Open until 26th September at BRLSI, Queen Square, Bath.

#WorldsApart #PhotographyExhibition #BathUK #history #artefacts #photography #BRLSI

❄️ Secrets from the Ends of the Earth ❄️

Discover the hidden stories behind 50 objects that reveal the daring, strange, and extraordinary lives of polar explorers. Thurs 9 April 7.30pm at #BRLSI
www.brlsi.org/whatson/a-history-of-pol...

Curators Matt and Jude in the exciting final stages of installing #WorldsApart
📷Opening Saturday 28 March this fascinating #freeexhibition at #brlsi brings together stunning rare early #photographs from #Bath and #Shanghai.

www.brlsi.org/whatson/worl...

Soft Power & Economic Growth: the UK in a changing world – Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution In a more fragmented world, economic growth requires astute positioning of a country in order to navigate a world that is riven by geo-politics and economic tensions. The UK has an opportunity to highlight its role as a trusted convenor through its use of soft power. Whereas hard power is military might and coercion, soft power is based on influence and persuasion. Foreign policy requires both. In today’s changing world, an economic growth strategy will also need to include soft power. Dr Linda Yueh CBE, Adjunct Professor , London Business School

Does it help when faced with brute force to know you’ve got the #BBC and the World Service as back up? Tonight Dr #LindaYueh presenter for #Radio4 & #TheWorldService and host of the BBC’s #talkingbusiness comes to #BRLSI to discuss #SoftPower, and Britain’s use of it.

📷 Worlds Apart at #BRLSI explores early #photography in #Bath & #China. See 170-year-old calotypes, historic prints, and objects that bring scenes to life. 🏛️Free exhibition, 28 Mar–26 Sep. www.brlsi.org/whatson/worl... #PhotographyHistory #Bath #BRLSI #ArtAndHistory

Shakespeare, Bath & the plague – Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution While there is no definitive historical record confirming that William Shakespeare visited Bath, this talk explores the cultural and symbolic connections between the Bard and the city.  Bath, with its Roman heritage and healing waters, served as a metaphorical backdrop for themes of renewal, desire, and transformation—motifs that echo through Shakespeare’s later sonnets. The focus turns to Sonnets 153 and 154, often referred to as the “Bath Sonnets” due to their imagery of healing baths and love’s fire. These sonnets are mythological in tone, drawing on classical references to Cupid and nymphs. The talk highlights how these poems may reflect Shakespeare’s philosophical preoccupation with desire, mortality and the limits of reason and explains how these sonnets were nearly forgotten after their 1609 publication, then rediscovered in the 18th century. Duncan McGibbon, BRLSI Poetry Convenor

Shakespeare, Bath & the Plague 🏛️📜
Mon 16 mar, 7:30–9pm with Duncan McGibbon
Sonnets 153 & 154, Roman Baths, cupid, and the bard’s obsession with desire & mortality. For those who love a deep dive
www.brlsi.org/whatso...


#shakespeare #bathsonnets #renaissance #brlsi #poetry

Renaissance Maps: Myths & Memories – Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution The American Museum & Gardens in Bath is home to a remarkable world-class collection of printed Renaissance maps. It was amassed by American Museum founder, Dallas Pratt, and includes rare and unique examples, rivalling those held by major libraries and museums around the world. Pratt began collecting printed maps of the world as a student and quickly developed a passion for acquiring examples that illustrated Europeans understanding of the world around them. Chief Curator, Kate Hebert, tells the story of the creation of this outstanding collection and shares some of the star pieces, exploring how they shaped our understanding of the world.

What if the world you knew was still being drawn for the first time? 🌍✨

Join Kate Hebert for Renaissance Maps Myths and Memories and explore the extraordinary collection at the #AmericanMuseum&Gardens.

Part of the Renaissance Journeys of Discovery series at #BRLSI

Sighting the sun – and moon? – at Stonehenge – Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution The connection between Stonehenge and summer solstice sunrise is well known, but over-speculation, by both astronomers and archaeologists, concerning its use for observations of the sky have led many to steer well clear of the subject. This talk will describe what we can sensibly say about the relationship of Stonehenge to the sun, how this relates to more conventional archaeological evidence that has been uncovered in recent years, and what it might have meant to the people who built and used Stonehenge. But what about the moon? We have just passed a major lunar standstill, which occurs every 18.6 years when the moon can be seen at fortnightly intervals exceptionally far to the north and south. Was this - as some say - known to our prehistoric forebears and was it marked and celebrated, at Stonehenge and elsewhere? Professor Clive Ruggles will present the challenges in exploring these questions and what we can reasonably conclude about the cultural significance of the sun and moon to those who built and used Stonehenge.  As Emeritus Professor of Archaeoastronomy at the University of Leicester, Clive Ruggles has spent a lifetime investigating ancient people’s knowledge of the sky and the uses they make of what they perceive there. A lot of this involves studying the astronomical orientation of prehistoric monuments in Britain, Ireland and Europe — Stonehenge being a prime example. But Clive has also worked extensively on Hawaiian and Pacific star knowledge and in Peru, where in 2005 he co-discovered the 2200-year-old monumental solar observatory at Chankillo, which became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2021. In 2017 he was awarded the Royal Astronomical Society’s Agnes Mary Clerke Medal for a “lifetime of distinguished work in the overlapping areas of archaeology, astronomy and the history of science".

☀️🪨Why is summer solstice celebrated at Stonehenge?

Join Professor Clive Ruggles, Emeritus Professor of #Archaeoastronomy, as he explores the relationship of Stonehenge to the sun and moon🌙
🔗 www.brlsi.org/whatso...

#archaeology #astronomy #stonehenge #brlsi #bath #talks #science

Science in the Global Renaissance – Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution Modern science is typically understood as a product of the European Renaissance, but this view is far too narrow. Other cultures across the world - from Ming China to Ottoman Egypt - also experienced ...

🌍✨ Science in the Global Renaissance ✨🌍
with Dr James Poskett

📅 Thu 19 February
In person or watch online tickets available

www.brlsi.org/whatson/scie...

Was the Renaissance and the birth of modern science really just a European story?

#Renaissance #HistoryOfScience #GlobalHistory #BRLSI

💌 Our annual Valentine’s highlight: a heart-shaped #Micraster, a Cretaceous sea urchin from England. 🏛️Collected by William Lonsdale, in the 1820s, it reveals ancient seas 🌊 and echinoid evolution.

#fossils #valentine #love #brlsi #bath

So delighted to share such an enjoyable morning and lunch with #BRLSI members at the @rwabristol today and thanks to @ioneparkin for being such a great tour guide to #COSMOSTheArtofObservingSpace

✨ Where’s our Krasnojarsk Pallasite? 🌌
Our cosmic rock is on tour at Cosmos: The Art of Observing Space @rwabristol (24 Jan–19 Apr 2026). One of only 61 pallasites on Earth!
www.rwa.org.uk/produ...

#Meteorite #Pallasite #ArtAndScience #SpaceRock #BRLSI #RWA

NeverEnding Stories – free children’s activities – Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution Half term BRLSI February 2026

📚✨From cracking cases at the Federal Department of Fonts to building mythical #LEGO kingdoms, Neverending Stories at #BRLSI is packed with free, family-friendly activities that bring words to life.

📍 BRLSI, 16 Queen Square
🗓 17–18 February
⏰ 10am–4pm

🎟 Free, drop in!

Paul Langevin: physicist, humanist, internationalist – Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution Close to Einstein and the Curies, Paul Langevin’s life spanned the twentieth century physics revolution: relativity; radioactivity; quantum mechanics. Cambridge launched his prolific career, including contributions in magnetism, gas ionisation, kinetics and ultrasonics. A consummate teacher, he promoted science education and politically left-wing, he persistently warned against the rise of fascism. Professor Francis Duck, Fellow of the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine, formerly at the Royal United Hospital and the University of Bath

📷Fifth Solvay Conference on #Physics, 24 to 29 October 1927, with #Langevin highlighted and seated next to #AlbertEinstein.

Join us at #BRLSI or online on Fri 6 Feb when fellow of @ipem.ac.uk, Professor Francis Duck will present a talk on Langevin’s life and a career.

✨Thoughts as we head into 2026 - What does a good life really mean? 🤔 Let’s explore it at Café Philo: What is a Good Life? with Andreas Wasmuht & Don Cameron.

📅 Tue 6 Jan 2026
⏰ 7:30-9:00pm

www.brlsi.org/whatso...
#CafePhilo #GoodLife #BRLSI

❄️☃️A favourite from the #BRLSI #PunchMagazine #collection. Happy Boxing Day!

#christmas #winter #illustration #punch #punchmagazine #satire #comedy #seasonsgreetings #winter #snow #iceskating #boxingday

Wishing all our followers a very Merry Christmas! ✨
Here’s our favourite festive treat from the BRLSI archive- A woodblock print from John Gerard’s Herbal (1597)

📷Ilex aquifolium

#Christmas #Holly #GerardsHerbal #BRLSI #Evergreen #Tradition #SeasonsGreetings #IlexAquifolium

📷 From the #BRLSI #Punch Magazine archive
🎅 Long before the Santa we know today, St. Nicholas -a 4th-century bishop from Myra was famous for quietly giving coins to those in need. 🎁

Wishing all our followers a joyful Christmas Eve! ✨

#TheNightBeforeChristmas #Xmas #StNick

❄️ It wouldn’t be Christmas closing at BRLSI without a gem from the #BRLSI #PunchMagazine collection🎄✨🎅

We’ll be here to welcome you back on 5th January 2026 with a full programme of talks, workshops and events. Visit brlsi.org to see what's coming up!

#PunchMagazine #Vintage

🌍 #COP30!
#BRLSI Sustainability convener Stuart Reynolds shares a preview of tomorrow’s event set to unpack our planet’s path forward.
youtube.com/shorts/Bnh-L...

💬 Got a question? Send it in ahead of time!
👉www.brlsi.org/whatson/cop30-demystifie...

COP30 demystified: is the world any further forward? – Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution We invite you to join in with our COP30 panel discussion, in the style of BBC Radio’s Any Questions.  Please submit your questions for the panel in advance to profstuartreynolds@cantab.net By the date of our discussion the COP30 meeting will have concluded, but the news from Belém will still be fresh. One of the main functions of this event will be to demystify the political process of COP meetings, allowing our panellists (and audience members) to offer their own judgements on the Belém conference's successes and failures. Since Paris in 2015, successive COPs have attempted to codify and promote global scale mechanisms for climate finance including carbon trading, blended finance, damage funds, debt for climate swaps and sovereign climate insurance.  Challenges to radically upscaling climate finance include the persistent funding gap, inequitable distribution, over-reliance on debt, difficulty mobilizing private capital, institutional inefficiencies, underinvestment in nature-based solutions, and weak transparency and tracking systems. There remain serious problems of international and intergenerational justice, ethics and equity. And the USA is not even there. The big question will be: is the world any further forward after the COP30 meeting? Panellists for this session: Jay Connor (undergraduate student in International Development with Economics at the University of Bath, representing “Gen Z”). Dr Alix Dietzel (University of Bristol, School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies and Cabot Institute for the Environment) Peter Harper (independent researcher, formerly at the Centre for Alternative Technology at Machynlleth, Wales, one of the original authors of Zero Carbon Britain, also visiting lecturer at University of Bath) Dr Yixian Sun (University of Bath, Department of Social Policy; Adjunct Senior Research Fellow of the Institute for Environment and Sustainability Sciences, National University of Singapore) Please submit your questions for the panel in advance to profstuartreynolds@cantab.net

🌍 COP30 Demystified: Is the World Any Further Forward?

Questions are welcomed in this discussion unpacking the outcomes of COP30 in Belém. Experts break down climate finance, global agreements, and the challenges still ahead.

🔗 www.brlsi.org/whatso...
#BRLSI #COP30 #ClimateChange #Sustainability

✨ Italy in the Global Renaissance
Prof. Virginia Cox explores Italy’s Renaissance and its global impact, from Florence to Asia and the Americas. Part of our Renaissance: Journeys of Discovery series.
🔗 www.brlsi.org/whatso...

#BRLSI #Renaissance #ItalianRenaissance #VirginiaCox

✨ A.C. Grayling: Making Peace in the Culture Wars
Online tix still available (£6–£12).
Grayling discusses ideas from his new book on rights, interests, and #convivencia.
🔗 www.brlsi.org/whatso...

#CultureWars #PhilosophyTalk #makingpeaceintheculturewars #bath #talk #brlsi #rights

Who first observed the Moon through a telescope in England - before Galileo? 🌙🔭

Join Tony Symes on 5 Dec to learn more about this often-forgotten genius- Thomas Harriot.

🎟️www.brlsi.org/whatso...

#ThomasHarriot #RenaissanceJourney #BRLSI

🎄✨ BRLSI Christmas Market is back tomorrow!✨🎄
🗓️ Thu 27 Nov – Sun 14 Dec

💝 BRLSI Members receive 10% off bauble-making sessions!
👉www.brlsi.org/xmas/

#BRLSI #BRLSIChristmasMarket #BathChristmasMarket #BathEvents

Step back 500 years for A Tudor Christmas 🎄👑 Carol singing, mince pies, mulled wine & twelve days of feasts and pageants. Historians Alison Weir & Siobhan Clarke bring Yuletide history to life.

www.brlsi.org/whatso...

#TudorChristmas #BRLSI #HistoryLovers #YuletideHistory

🌍 COP30 Demystified: Is the World Any Further Forward?

Your questions are welcomed in this panel & audience discussion unpacking the outcomes of COP30 in Belém.

🔗 www.brlsi.org/whatso...

#BRLSI #COP30 #ClimateAction #ClimateChange #Sustainability

✒️In 1501#AldusManutius commissioned a new italic typeface. A change that made big waves in Renaissance reading.

Discover more about the printing revolution that transformed Europe with #DrKristianJensen on Mon 1st Dec

www.brlsi.org/whatso...

📸 BRLSI Collection

#BRLSI #Renaissance

From diamond profits and land speculation to sugar plantations and enslaved labour. Join historian Dr Colin Fisher as he uncovers how the glamour of Bath’s social scene was funded.

🎟️ www.brlsi.org/whatso...

#Georgian #Bath #BRLSI #Lecture #History

Interested in #books and the history of #printing? Looking for something great to do this week? Explore historical objects –including the oldest letterpress book in #BRLSI collections in an #exhibition curated by #students from #BathSpaUni #MakingYourMark. #Bath #Somerset