Lauriston Castle Lecture Programme 2025

Join us in the beautiful surroundings of Lauriston Castle for our 2025 lecture programme...and perhaps a tour!

A black and white photo of Charabanc number 502 full of passengers with water and hills in the background

Edinburgh in the 1920s

Tuesday 1 July 2025, 10:30am

Lauriston Castle Lectures

Join us for a lecture exploring life in the City at the time the last owner Mrs Reid would have lived. Using archive material which documents aspects... Sold out More info
A row of women in WAAF uniforms line up for inspection at an RAF base, 1942

They All Wore Blue – The Women’s Auxiliary Air Force In World War II

Wednesday 9 July 2025, 10:30am

Lauriston Castle Lectures

During World War II, over 217,000 young women from 48 different countries served in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. They were known as Waafs. From... Book now More info
A sepia image of two ghostly images of women in Edwardian dress in a living room full of furniture with paintings on the wall

The Evolution of Edinburgh’s Ghosts

Thursday 17 July 2025, 10:30am

Lauriston Castle Lectures

An overview of how ghosts and the stories around them have changed over Edinburgh’s centuries as a capital city. Alex Staniforth has been a history... Book now More info
A Hogarth etching. Moll Hackabout is dying while two doctors argue over her treatment. The scene is one of pverty and squalor. Plaster has peeled off the walls, a child sits by the fire, washing hangs on a line above the bed chamber.

One Night with Venus, A Lifetime with Mercury: Sex and Syphilis

Tuesday 2 September 2025, 10:30am

Lauriston Castle Lectures

Erasmus described syphilis as “the most destructive of all diseases”, and in the nineteenth century it was considered not just a health problem, but... Book now More info
An image of the book Ruxton The first modern murder, showing a head that is part male, part skeleton

Ruxton: The First Modern Murder

Thursday 25 September 2025, 10:30am

Lauriston Castle Lectures

The 1935 discovery of two dismembered bodies discarded in The Borderlands of Scotland would set off a chain of events that would result in one of the... Limited availability More info
Mrs Reid in a long skirt and jacket, wearing a hat and carrying a cane, standing beside a sundial in the garden. Black and white photo

Socialites to servants: the women behind Lauriston

Wednesday 1 October 2025, 10:30am

Lauriston Castle Lectures

In the 700-year history of Lauriston, three women have owned the Castle and countless others have kept the place running, yet their stories have been... Book now More info
Costumed Performers at Lauriston Castle

Emily Pankhurst and The Suffragettes

Tuesday 7 October 2025, 10:30am

Lauriston Castle Lectures

This is a story about the struggle of women to obtain the same right as men to vote in British general elections, a struggle which did not end until... Book now More info
A black and white photo of three women in Edwardian clothes and big hats leaning out of a train window from the first class carriage

A Decade through Page and Place

Thursday 9 October 2025, 10:30am

Lauriston Castle Lectures

Join Ruthanne Baxter as she takes us on a time-travelling road trip across Great Britain and Ireland in the Edwardian era. As we ‘travel’ we’ll take... Book now More info
The cover of the The World's End Murders book, showing two silhouetted figures surrounded by shadowy trees and mist

The World's End Murders: The Inside Story

Thursday 23 October 2025, 10:30am

Lauriston Castle Lectures

In October 1977 Edinburgh teenagers Helen Scott and Christine Eadie went missing after last being seen at the World's End pub on the Royal Mile... Book now More info
A black and white photo of Dr Margaret Caroline Tait and someone standing at her shoulder looking into the viewfinder of a camera

Scotland’s Herstory

Wednesday 29 October 2025, 10:30am

Lauriston Castle Lectures

History is full of men: politicians, kings, heroes. But what about the women? What role did they play in society? What names should we be remembering... Book now More info
A composite image of John Law in a large wig and holding a sealed document, a French cheque and some gold coins

John Law - Swindler or Prophet?

Thursday 30 October 2025, 10:30am

Lauriston Castle Lectures

Described by Karl Marx as ‘the pleasant character mixture of swindler and prophet’, John Law inherited Lauriston Castle at the age of 12. At the age... Book now More info
A painting of Melrose from the distance, with hills in the background and trees in the foreground

Noble Intentions: The History of the Scottish Modern Arts Association

Thursday 6 November 2025, 10:30am

Lauriston Castle Lectures

Founded in Edinburgh in 1907, the Scottish Modern Arts Association set out to establish Scotland’s first ever national collection of modern art. For... Book now More info
Curator Vicky Garrington, dressed in grey, admiring a yellow and black shortsleeved dress which is displayed on a mannequin. In the background, a street map is on the wall

War on the Fashion Front: Getting dressed as a civilian in World War 2

Tuesday 11 November 2025, 10:30am

Lauriston Castle Lectures

Join History Curator Vicky Garrington for an exploration of the art of dressing during wartime. From rationing and restrictions to patriotic clothing... Book now More info