Hull Literary & Philosophical Society 26/27 Season

The Hull Literary & Philosophical Society is back at The Guildhall for its 2026/27 season, which kicks off on Tuesday 20 October. It's a series of illustrated guest lectures by professional speakers, and if you've never come across it before, it's one of the city's oldest surviving institutions. The society dates back to 1822, when it was founded as one of many self-educational societies serving an emerging urban middle class, with the aim of promoting literature and science among its members and educating fellow citizens through public lectures.

It's always been about more than just the talks, too. In its early years, the society funded lectures for the general public and took on some of the area's social problems, particularly housing, sanitation and health. In 1854 it moved into its own home, the Royal Institution in Albion Street, and became deeply involved in further education: it built a teaching laboratory, provided classrooms for technical subjects and art and design, and sponsored a Cambridge University Extension Society branch. At the beginning of the 20th century, it even opened the short-lived Hull and East Riding College of Music. Its Saturday Afternoon Lectures grew famous, and in 1902 the museum was handed over to the local authority as the city's first Municipal Museum, with the Art Gallery built above it.

The Royal Institution was destroyed by enemy action in 1943, so the society now meets in the Guildhall, where it still draws two to three hundred members each week. The 2026/27 season runs on Tuesday evenings from October through to March, with a break over Christmas. The lectures are held at The Guildhall on Alfred Gelder Street, and the full programme for this edition is yet to be confirmed, so keep an eye out for the line-up as it comes together.