Tea and Talk

Listen to a free talk from an expert on a different topic each month, have a cup of tea and a snack, and chat with like-minded people.

Wednesday 26 November

The Butler’s Pantry - Adam Toole

Join us this month to hear from Adam Toole, the curator of Decorative Arts at Temple Newsam and Leeds Museums and Galleries to hear about how the Butler’s Pantry restoration project that opened to the public in the Spring of 2025.

Wednesday 10 December

Sculpture at Temple Newsam - Clare Nadal

Clare Nadal, our assistant curator of sculpture, talks about Temple Newsam’s era as Leeds’s Art Gallery during World War II and how this has provided the impetus for the sculpture exhibition that will be opening at Temple Newsam in 2026. 

28 Jan 2026

Victor Hawkins - The Great Sale of Wetherby

The Great Sale of Wetherby, by the sixth Duke of Devonshire, took place over a four day period beginning on 12 October 1824 in the Old Town Hall in Wetherby. In the first two days the town itself was sold as individual items, and the last two sold the surrounding lands and farms. In four days Wetherby changed from a town of tenants to a town of property owners.

The talk will include some interesting individual sales and how they relate even today. 
Why was Wetherby owned by the Duke of Devonshire and what was the history leading up to the sale, why did he want to sell the town, and how much did he eventually make from the sale?

The history includes the Vikings, clashes between the Crown and previous Owners, and various Civil uprisings and battles. Wetherby does indeed have a very colourful past and history.

25 Feb 2026 - Clare Crossdale - Remember Barnbow

Join us this month to hear from local historian Clare Crossdale about the National Filling Factory No.1 in Barnbow and the tragedy that took place here in 1916.

25 Mar 2025 - George Gale - A beginner’s guide to researching your family tree

Local historian and genealogist George Gale joins us this month to start you off in your journey to researching your family in this Beginner’s Guide to Researching Your Family Tree. 

29 Apr 2026 - Rebecca Royce/James Skipper - White Rose Forest – community forest for the North and West Yorkshire

How much do you know about your community forest at your doorstep? Rebecca Royce, Social Forestry Officer and James Skipper, Green Streets Project Officer, both from White Rose Forest will be with us this month to talk more about planting forests for the future.  
🌳 Woodlands & Community: Growing Together in Leeds 
Come along for a journey through the woodlands of Temple Newsam and beyond, where trees and people are growing side by side. This presentation will explore how the White Rose Forest is working with communities across Leeds to increase tree cover, create greener spaces, and bring nature closer to where we live. From hands-on volunteering to long-term planning, discover how local action is helping shape a healthier, more resilient landscape for everyone. 

27 May 2026 - Natalie Raw & Textile volunteers - Temple Newsam textile archive research project

Join us this month to hear more from our volunteers and Textile curator Natalie Raw about this project and how are helping us to interpret our textile collection. 

24 June 2026 - Gloria Hanley - A former midwife’s personal journey

Gloria Hanley made her journey from the Caribbean to the UK to train as a nurse. Gloria joins us on this month’s Tea & Talk to share the challenges she faced and how they were overcome. She will also speak on her involvement in the Community here in Leeds. 

29 Jul 2026 - Mike Turpin/Jim Jackson - South Leeds Archaeology Group’s excavation at Temple Newsam and Capability Brown’s Garden

South Leeds Archaeology had conducted an excavation onsite at Temple Newsam in the Summer of 2025. Join us this month to hear from members of South Leeds Archaeology as Jim Jackson describes this project and Mike Turpin explains! 

26 Aug 2026 - Dr Mark Westgarth - Antique Dealers and Museums – curating the art market in museums

The role played by antique dealers in the assembly of museum collections is an untold story – a story that is obscured and often deliberately supressed.  
SOLD! The Great British Antiques Story, staged at The Bowes Museum in 2019, the first exhibition of its kind in a public museum, directed renewed attention to the history of museum objects through the fascinating story of the history of antique dealing in Britain.  
This talk by its curator, Prof Mark Westgarth, highlights how this groundbreaking exhibition retells the intriguing tales of expert discoveries and fortunate finds and revealing some of the stories, and myths, about antique dealing. 

30 Sep 2026 - Dr Amy Saunders - Representing Stuart Kings and Queens in Heritage Sites 

Dr Amy Saunders explores how seventeenth century Stuart Kings and Queens are represented in heritage sites.  
Amy's work on James VI & I, Anna of Denmark, Charles I, Henrietta Maria, Charles II, and Catherine of Braganza explores how over 100 years of royal love, loss, patronage, politics, and conflict, are reimagined for modern audiences in heritage sites across England and Scotland.  
Drawing on a decade of research, this talk will cover themes including fertility and parenthood, artistic patronage, religion, and national identity. It will cover representations found in wide variety of sites from Stirling Castle to the V&A, to temporary exhibitions, and our very own Temple Newsam.  

21 Oct 2026 - Catherine Robins & Sporting volunteers - #DYC On the pitch, off the pitch – Collecting Sport in Leeds

#DYC On the pitch, off the pitch – Collecting Sport in Leeds was a National Lottery Heritage Fund project recognising the important place of sport in the culture of Leeds. It increased representation of sports in Leeds Museums and Galleries and across the City and created connections between collections and the city’s public spaces. Join us to hear more from the Curator and the volunteers who successfully delivered this project. 

25 Nov 2026 - Dr Henry Irving - Talking Rubbish at Temple Newsam

This month’s talk explores the surprising history of rubbish. Dr Henry Irving will use a range of local examples to consider what we can learn from the way waste was managed in the past. Among other things, he will explain why Temple Newsam’s pigs depended on food scraps and how landfill has been used to hide the legacy of mining in plain sight. 

16 Dec 2026 - Jane Ellis - Do you remember the old cinemas of Leeds?

An illustrated talk by Jane Ellis looking back to the era before corporate multiplexes, when Leeds had around 100 independent picture-houses and cinemas. Some were repurposed from what had been public halls or similar suitable buildings, many were architect designed, becoming instantly recognisable landmarks and there was the emergence of the international Odeon chain setting the standard for impressive architecture.   
As these fine buildings began gradually to disappear, speaker Jane Ellis began making a photographic record from the 1980s of what remained, and collected the memories of local people who remembered with affection the heyday of “going to the pictures”.