About us

Leicester Literary and Philosophical Society, the ‘Lit & Phil’, holds fortnightly lectures at 7.30pm on Monday evenings throughout the winter. These take place in the main “Victorian” gallery of the Leicester Museum & Art Gallery and are also streamed online using “Zoom”. The lectures cover a broad range of topics in the arts, literature, natural history, philosophy and the sciences. When the Society was formed, “natural philosophy” included astronomy, medicine and the sciences generally.  The Society provides a forum in which members can listen, reflect, ask questions and chat informally with the speaker and other members of the audience afterwards over refreshments.

The Lit and Phil was founded in 1835 to provide opportunities for local people to hear lectures from speakers who are experts in their fields. A brief history of the Society can be found here.  The Society was influential in establishing New Walk Museum (now Leicester Museum & Art Gallery) in 1849, the Public Library in the 1860s and Leicester University College (now the University of Leicester) in 1920. Today its links with local universities and Leicester Museum & Art Gallery remain strong and it is a registered educational charity.

Prizes are awarded to graduating students in English at De Montfort University, Loughborough University and the University of Leicester and regular lectures are held for local schools.

The Society has long established Geology and Natural History Sections which organise summer field trips, winter lecture programmes and workshops.

The Society is managed by its Council, presided over by its President, and run according to its Constitution.

Every year, the Society publishes its Transactions.