The Wigmore lectures are a varied and accessible range of talks presented by Medway Libraries.
The next season of lectures will run between October 2026 and March 2027.
More about the lectures
All lectures take place at Wigmore Library and start at 7.30pm.
More about:
- Kieran Poole: Shopping List Guy
- Dave Burton: Engine Room
- Christoph Bull: When Kent was a Kingdom
- Jeremy Clarke: Mary Ross, Shipbuilder
- Dean Caston: The History of the British Circus
- Shea Coffey: Modern History of Protests.
Prices
Lecture tickets are £5 each.
You can book all 6 lectures for £24 if you book at the same time.
Tickets cannot be bought at the door. They are available to buy online via the Medway Tickets Live website only.
Kieran Poole: Shopping List Guy - Wednesday 14 October 2026
Eco-artist Kieran Poole has a passion for the stories in discarded things.
He creates striking murals from bottle lids, and discovers narratives from abandoned shopping lists.
Book tickets for Kieran Poole: Shopping List Guy.
Dave Burton: Engine Room - Wednesday 18 November 2026
Dave Burton looks at the machines that powered the Industrial Revolution with a focus on local connections.
This talk includes a display of models and artifacts, with a slideshow of related images.
Book tickets for Dave Burton: Engine Room.
Christoph Bull: When Kent was a Kingdom - Wednesday 16 December 2026
Discover the history of the Kingdom of Kent, a time when Kent was its own country with a patron saint.
Find out more about the Kingdom of Kent in relation to the National Curriculum and what the British establishment hides from us.
Book tickets for Christoph Bull: When Kent was a Kingdom.
Jeremy Clarke: Mary Ross, Shipbuilder - Wednesday 20 January 2027
On 17 February 1791, Mary Ross married a business as well as a husband.
When that husband died a few years later, Mary was left with a shipyard full of workers and a house full of children. Mary was under contract to the Admiralty to produce 2 ships-of-the-line, one of which was already on the slipway.
Find out how she coped and learn more about the world of Medway’s private shipyards in the Napoleonic period.
Book tickets for Jeremy Clarke: Mary Ross, Shipbuilder.
Dean Caston: The History of the British Circus - Wednesday 17 February 2027
The History of the British Circus looks at how the circus evolved from Philip Astley, the ‘father’ of the modern circus, to some famous circus families including Billy Smart and the Robert Brothers.
The talk also provides an insight into the format of a traditional circus and how it has evolved over the years.
Book tickets for Dean Caston: The History of the British Circus.
Shea Coffey: Modern History of Protests - Wednesday 17 March 2027
It takes a certain strength to stand and protest.
Activist Shea Coffey explores the links between activism from different communities and asks why some feel the need to protest.
Some of these communities include:
- LGBTQ+
- miners
- the Grapefruit Ladies of Ireland.