Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution

24/08/2026

📸 EARLY PHOTOGRAPHY: Talbot, Herschel & More 📸

Saturday 12 September, 9.45am–5.30pm
BRLSI, Bath, or watch online 🌍

🥪 Lunch (plus coffee and closing drinks) included ☕🥂

A day of talks tracing the birth of photography from Talbot's calotypes to Herschel's cyanotype and the daguerreotype boom. Featuring historians, curators and contemporary artists working with these very processes today.

https://www.brlsi.org/early-british-photography/

23/08/2026

📸 Show us your best bird shot! 🦉

BRLSI's photography competition is open ! Enter your finest bird photograph for the chance to win a free BRLSI goodie bag and a pair of tickets to our talks programme.

How to enter: email your photo to [email protected], or bring it along in person. Closing date 12 September.

While you're at it, come celebrate Heritage Open Days with us on Saturday 12 September. England's biggest festival of history and culture, and completely FREE to explore. Our interactive exhibit "Let Nature Work its Magic" introduces three legendary bird-loving naturalists: John James Audubon, Leonard Jenyns and Gilbert White, and uncovers their surprising connections to BRLSI, including an original copy of On the Origin of Species with a handwritten note tucked inside from Darwin himself! 🕊️

📅 Sat 12 Sept - 10am–4pm
📍 Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution
https://www.brlsi.org/whatson/heritage-open-day-let-nature-work-its-magic/

20/08/2026

From the wheel to the monumental 🏺✨ Alma Boyes MA shares 40+ years of ceramics, sculpture, and scaling up work for icons like .

Fri 4 Sept · 7:30pm https://www.brlsi.org/whatson/enlarging-eduardo-paolozzi-other-projects/

19/08/2026

🛠️ James is here to tell you why FixFest is one to save the date for! ✨

This October, BRLSI is teaming up with Share and Repair and Dorothy House for a first of its kind FREE family festival celebrating repair, reuse and sustainable living.

Hands on mending workshops, a pop-up repair cafe, upcycling sessions, styling tips, and loads of free activities for everyone 👶🧵

📅 Saturday 10 October 2026
📍 BRLSI, Queen Square, Bath
🕙 10am – 4pm

Got something that needs fixing, restyling or reimagining? Bring it along!

🔗 Book your spot https://www.brlsi.org/whatson/fixfest/
With thanks to our event sponsors & Bath & West Community Energy - BWCE

18/08/2026

Introducing FixFest 2026! 🛠️
Got a favourite item in need of some TLC? Curious about mending, making or reimagining something old into something new?
Join us at Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution with Share and Repair and for FixFest 2026; a fun-filled day for all the family celebrating creativity, practical skills and sustainable living.
- Saturday 10 October 2026
- 10am - 4pm, BRLSI, Queen Square, Bath
- FREE admission
Head to https://www.brlsi.org/whatson/fixfest/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fixfest to book onto the workshops.
With thanks to our event sponsors and Bath & West Community Energy - BWCE

18/08/2026

☕ Tao, Zen and a Cup of Humanity

Ahead of his talk at BRLSI on Tuesday 1 September,, philosopher and writer Julian Baggini sat down with us to answer five questions on Taoism, Zen, and why an everyday cup of coffee can hold as much wisdom as a mountain hike.

In the interview, Baggini shares why he thinks calm isn't really the goal, how attention (not stillness) lies at the heart of Zen, and why even competitive sport can be a form of meditation.

👉 Read the full interview: https://www.brlsi.org/tao-zen-and-a-cup-of-humanity/

At the talk itself, drawing on his new book Tao, Zen & a Cup of Coffee, Baggini will explore how ideas from Taoism and Zen can illuminate ordinary life through attentive, honest engagement with the world around us.

Come join us, and taste good coffee too!
🕢 7:30pm – 9:00pm, Tuesday 1 September

BRLSI invited philosopher and writer Julian Baggini to deliver a talk on Tuesday 1 September 2026, 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm BST. Drawing on his recent book Tao, Zen & a Cup of Coffee, his talk explores how ideas from Taoism and Zen can illuminate everyday life through attentive engagement with the ordina...

17/08/2026

🌿Grab a quiet desk this summer...

Our trial of dedicated desk spaces has proven really popular so far, and there's still time to take advantage...

Whether you're catching up on emails, studying, writing or working on a quiet project, BRLSI members and their guests can make use of our historic first-floor rooms.

☕ What's included:
✔️ Wi-Fi access
✔️ Tea & coffee
✔️ A peaceful desk space
✔️ Bring a guest along (payable)

🕐 Session times (Mon–Fri)
9:00am–1:00pm / 1:00pm–5:00pm

💷 £4 per session

📞 Spaces are allocated first come, first served, so call ahead on 01225 312084 to check availability before you visit.

🤲Visit brlsi.org for more details about desk space and becoming a member 😃

13/08/2026

🌍 ECO SHORTS AT BRLSI 🌍

Thursday 10 September 7:30pm – 9:00pm

Six powerful short films on our planet & conservation🎬

Join us for an evening of cinema exploring climate change and conservation from around the globe from coral restoration in Bali, to a seahorse's-eye view of Portugal's Ria Formosa, to a Turkish father's decades-long mission to reforest his homeland one sapling at a time.

This month's programme also features "You Told Us to Talk about the Weather," starring Michael Sheen, which asks why Brits find it so hard to have real conversations about the climate crisis.

The evening will be introduced by James Godman, CEO and founder of Frome International Climate Film Festival , the world's first film festival dedicated entirely to climate and the environment.

Presented with the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)
🎟️ Tickets £3–£8 📍 BRLSI 🔗 Book now: https://www.brlsi.org/whatson/eco-shorts-at-brlsi/ -tickets__tickets-form

Don't miss this one. 💚

12/08/2026

Bath Spa University offer their top 3 watching spots!

12/08/2026

Worlds Apart, Part 2 🌍

Elham reveals the counterpart to her last highlighted photograph: The Lansdown Cemetery Gatehouse in Bath, captured by Francis Lockey in 1853.

The gatehouse's walls were built using stone originally from William Beckford's tomb - a small but fascinating detail that connects this quiet corner of Bath to one of the city's most eccentric historical figures.

From a street in nineteenth-century China to a gatehouse in Lansdown, these two photographs capture very different worlds, yet both hold histories far richer than they first appear.

🗓️ Worlds Apart: Rare Early Photographs of China & Bath
📍 BRLSI
🎟️ Free entry 10am–4pm Mon–Sat