Great Hall Talks
Great Hall Talks
Step into the 700-year-old Great Hall at the Lord Leycester for an evening of inspiring conversation, ideas and expert speakers in one of Warwick’s most historic settings.
Our Great Hall Talks bring together historians, authors, academics, creatives and industry experts in a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere, designed to spark curiosity, discussion and new perspectives.
Whether you’re interested in history, culture, current affairs or the arts, each event offers the opportunity to hear from fascinating speakers in the unique surroundings of the Great Hall.
Standard tickets (£15) include:
- Entry to the talk
- An arrival drink
Event timings
Doors open: 6:00pm
Talk begins: 6:15pm
As a registered charity, every ticket purchased helps support the Lord Leycester’s charitable work and the ongoing care of this remarkable historic site.
| Date | Talk |
| Thursday 15th October 2026 | Sarah-Jane Downing, ‘Fashion & Beauty in the Time of Shakespeare’ |
| Thursday 19th November 2026 | Corina Apostu, ‘A New Addition to Our Collections: A Book from Robert Dudley’s Private Library’ |
Fashion and Beauty in the Time of William Shakespeare
Join us in the historic Great Hall for the next instalment of our Great Hall Talks, as author and fashion historian Sarah Jane Downing explores the fascinating world of fashion and beauty in Shakespeare’s England.
Shakespeare wrote that ‘the apparel oft proclaims the man’, and clothing plays a remarkable role throughout his work. Costume could reveal character and status, enable disguise and deception, and even drive the plot – from Malvolio’s infamous stockings to the handkerchief at the heart of Othello.
Beyond the stage, Elizabethan England was experiencing an explosion of new fashions, fabrics and influences. Clothing became a vivid form of self-expression, rich with symbolism, extraordinary colours and increasingly dramatic silhouettes for both men and women.
It was also an age in which cosmetics became newly fashionable – despite the risks. Led by Elizabeth I and her devotion to white lead ceruse, fashionable women increasingly ‘painted’ their faces, navigating poisonous ingredients as well as contemporary anxieties about vanity, beauty and morality.
Lavishly illustrated throughout, Sarah Jane’s talk will uncover the fashions worn by men and women in Shakespeare’s world and answer some wonderfully curious questions along the way. Why did Shakespeare describe saffron ruffs as ‘villainous’? Who wore a vizard mask, and why? And just what might an Elizabethan gentleman keep in his codpiece – or use to pad his hose?
Whether you love Shakespeare, fashion, social history or Elizabethan historical fiction, this promises a fascinating glimpse into how people dressed, decorated and presented themselves more than four centuries ago.
About the Speaker
Sarah Jane Downing is an author and freelance journalist with a passion for history, literature and art, particularly the history of fashion and beauty. She is a member of the Cosmetic History & Makeup Studies Network and has written for every issue of Selvedge Magazine.
Her books include Fashion in the Time of William Shakespeare, Beauty and Cosmetics 1550–1950, Fashion in the Time of Jane Austen, Pastimes and Pleasures in the Time of Jane Austen, The English Pleasure Garden 1660–1860 and, most recently, Beauty and Cosmetics in the Time of Jane Austen.
