What’s On
The Master’s House hosts an exciting selection of events, exhibitions and activities on a wide range of subjects. You can find out more about upcoming ones here. We look forward to seeing you soon!
To book tickets for an event, phone Ledbury Library and Customer Services on 01432 383499 or visit us.
Booking and tickets
Events are free unless otherwise stated.
Please check if you need to book: you will be asked for your ticket at the event.
Tickets will be available six weeks before the event from Ledbury Library unless otherwise stated. Tickets that have not been collected the day before the event, unless otherwise advised, will be reallocated.
Children under 8 years old must be supervised at all times.
Hiring event and exhibition space in The Master’s House
If you would like to hire one of the event and exhibition spaces in The Master’s House for an event of your own, telephone 01432 383499 or email ledburylibrary@herefordshire.gov.uk.
Explore what’s on
Cartographic Loveletters
Tuesday 18 June – Monday 1 July
Library opening times (from 12 noon Tuesday)
Free
This exhibition is inspired by the residents of a care home, where Marsha O’Mahony was writer-in-residence for a year. Marsha spent time with residents who have memory loss and mental health illness to create a ‘cartographic love letter’. Second World War bomber raids, hill sheep farming, lost and rejected loves, these are just a flavour of lives lived.
Ledbury Library Readers’ Group
Tuesday 2 July
4.45pm – 5.45pm
Free
A friendly book group held in Ledbury Library for enthusiastic readers. Read one selected title a month then meet in the library to discuss it. Come along and join us, books will be provided.
Master’s House Tour
Wednesday 3 July
10am – 12 noon
Free tickets / donations gratefully accepted
The Friends of the Master’s House will be hosting a detailed tour of this beautiful 15th century building. This Grade II* listed building in the centre of Ledbury is one of the remaining parts of the medieval St Katherine’s Hospital.
Mappa Ledbury Exhibition
Friday 5 July – Monday 15 July
Poetry Festival opening hours
Free
Join this artistic celebration of the Ledbury Poetry Festival’s community and outreach programme. Hundreds of participants of Festival workshops across the county have been creating poetry and artwork in response to the theme of Mappa Ledbury, taking its inspiration from Herefordshire’s famous Mappa Mundi. The exhibition reflects on place and home with Ledbury at its poetic heart.
Summer Reading Challenge – Space Chase
Saturday 13 July
Library opening times
Free
Sign up to the Summer Reading Challenge, and help the Rockets family track down books that have been nabbed by aliens! As you read six library books over the summer, collect special stickers (including some stinky ones) to complete your folder and collect rewards. Take part in our Space Chase treasure hunt and draw your own Space Alien for our summer art competition. If you join the Challenge on Saturday 13 July, you can collect a free kit bag!
Under 13s
Ledbury Poetry Festival @ The Master’s House (1)
Friday 5 July – Sunday 14 July
As part of Ledbury Poetry Festival, spend 20 minutes with these celebrated poets in the Panelled Room.
Saturday 6 July
10.20am – 10.40pm Free
20 Minutes with… Doireann Ní Ghríofa
12.20pm – 12.40pm Free
20 minutes with… Maja Lee Langvad
2.20pm – 2.40pm Free
20 minutes with… Josep Pedrals
Ledbury Poetry Festival @ The Master’s House (2)
Saturday 6 July
4.20pm – 4.40pm Free
20 minutes with… Indrė Valantinaitė
6.20pm – 6.40pm Free
20 minutes with… Augusta Laar
Sunday 7 July
12.20pm – 12.40pm Free
20 minutes with… Hannah Swingler
2.20pm – 2.40pm Free
20 minutes with… Casey Bailey
4.20pm – 4.40pm Free
20 minutes with… Nafeesa Hamid
6.20pm – 6.40pm Free
20 minutes with… Ben Norris
Ledbury Poetry Festival @ The Master’s House (3)
Monday 8 July
10am – 12.30pm
£15 per half hour session
One to One sessions with Nigel McLoughlin
Develop your poetry writing skills with an individual session.
Thursday 11 July
10am – 12 noon & 2pm – 4pm
£15 per half hour session
One to One sessions with David Constantine
Develop your poetry writing skills with an individual session.
Ledbury Poetry Festival @ The Master’s House (4)
Saturday 13 July
12.20pm – 12.40pm Free
20 minutes with… Romalyn Ante
2.20pm – 2.40pm Free
20 minutes with… Aviva Dautch
4.20pm – 4.40pm Free
20 minutes with… Ben Bransfield
Ledbury Poetry Festival @ The Master’s House (5)
Sunday 14 July
10am – 12 noon Tickets £6
‘A little town of ancient grace, a long street widened at a market place’
with Peter Carter and Robert Waddington
Visit the Master’s House in the company of the Friends of the Master’s House with a brief slide show to set the building in its historical context and show elements of the recent restoration. Take a short tour throughout the building, finishing in the John Masefield Archive. Discover the Archive’s significance and find out about some of the many poets who have been associated with the town
Ledbury Poetry Festival @ The Master’s House (6)
Sunday 14 July
12.20pm – 12.40pm Free
20 minutes with… Margaret Adkins
3.20pm – 3.40pm Free
20 minutes with… John Lawrence
5.20pm – 5.40pm Free
20 minutes with… Brenda Read-Brown
For more information see poetry-festival.co.uk
Tel: 01531 636232
Email: boxoffice@poetry-festival.co.uk
Ledbury Library will be open longer hours for the Festival, see www.herefordshire.gov.uk/libraries for details.
Ledbury Celebration – Open House
Sunday 14 July
11am – 4pm
Free drop-in
The Master’s House and library is open for the Ledbury Celebration, a day of food, drink, music, poetry and heritage. Helta, a local acoustic folk/rock band will be playing an original mix of music styles in the courtyard and the Friends of the Master’s House will be offering tours from 12 noon. Enjoy the local food and drink market, a classic car display, and all of Ledbury’s heritage buildings are here to visit. See ledburyfoodgroup.org for more details.
Staying Safe Online
Tuesday 16 July
4pm – 6pm
Free tickets
A two hour course on how to make sure your computer is secure, look out for scams, safely shop and bank online, and find safe websites. Provided by Fastershire. 16+ years
The Sacred Journey – Medieval Pilgrimage in Europe with Nick Bury
Thursday 18 July
7pm – 8.30pm
Tickets £6
This illustrated talk given by Rev. Nick Bury will look at why pilgrimage was so popular in the Middle Ages and concentrates on the impact of pilgrimage on art and architecture from late antiquity until the fifteenth century.
Ledbury Young Writer’s Group
Saturday 20 July
10am – 12 noon
£6 per session
Fun and creative writing workshops for young people, led by professional writer Sara-Jane Arbury. Booking is essential, to reserve a place visit writingwestmidlands.org
9-14 years
The Secret Life of Plants
Monday 22 July Saturday 27 July
Library opening times (from 12 noon Monday)
Free
This exhibition by Ledbury Evergreen Club is the culmination of six months studying the various uses of plants in everyday life. During that time, they looked at medicinal uses of herbs, ancient remedies and aromatherapy, and incorporated it into art, poetry and flower arranging.
Ledbury U3A Recorders
Saturday 3 August
10.30am – 12 noon
Free
Ledbury U3A Recorder Consort delights us again with a selection of favourite arrangements.
Ledbury Library Readers’ Group
Tuesday 6 August
4.45pm – 5.45pm
Free
A friendly book group held in Ledbury Library for enthusiastic readers. Read one selected title a month then meet in the library to discuss it. Come along and join us, books will be provided.
Master’s House Tour
Wednesday 7 August
10am – 12 noon
Free tickets / donations gratefully accepted
The Friends of the Master’s House will be hosting a detailed tour of this beautiful 15th century building. This Grade II* listed building in the centre of Ledbury is one of the remaining parts of the medieval St Katherine’s Hospital.
Space Chase – Pop-up Planetarium
Saturday 10 August
Tickets £1.50 children / £2 adults
Come for an out-of-this-world experience in the library this summer in an inflatable Planetarium!
The Little Star That Could 2.40pm
Join a yellow star on his adventure to find planets of his own and discover what makes other stars and our Solar System special. 5-8 years and families
Big 3.20pm
How big is our Universe? Narrated by David Attenborough, this show tackles this big question on an immersive journey to the far reaches of the observable Universe. 11+ years
International Space Station Tour and the Night Sky 4pm
Come on a virtual tour of the ISS with British astronaut Tim Peake, along with an introduction to finding your way around the night sky for budding astronomers. All ages
Supported by the Friends of the Master’s House and Ledbury Library Development Group.
Medieval Lettering Workshop with Caroline Owen-Thomas
Monday 12 August
10am – 4pm
£48 (including materials)
Spend a day with calligrapher Caroline Owen-Thomas learning to write Uncial, an early medieval script using an edged pen. The workshop will cover exercises on pen angles, move on to letter shapes and then words. Beginners and improvers welcome. This is the first of a series of medieval lettering workshops over a year. All materials supplied, including a pen and nib to take home.
15+ years
How to Use a Smartphone
Tuesday 20 August
4pm – 6pm
Free tickets
Learn the basics of how to use a smartphone, from learning about apps, picking up emails on your smartphone, using the internet and connecting to our library wifi. Bring your own device or borrow one of the smartphones we have available fro the session. Provided by Fastershire.
16+ years
YA Librarian Workshop
Saturday 24 August
10.30am – 11am & 11.30am – 12 noon
Free
Love books and aged 13 to 16? Come and work with a librarian to help choose new books to add to stock in Herefordshire Libraries. Come for one or stay for both sessions. Feel free to bring a book list of your favourites!
13-16 years
Space Chase – Create an Alien
Saturday 24 August
10am – 12.30pm
Free drop-in / donations gratefully accepted
Come create an awesome alien for our summer art competition. Lots of craft fun.
Under 13s
Ledbury Library Readers’ Group
Tuesday 3 September
4.45pm – 5.45pm
Free
A friendly book group held in Ledbury Library for enthusiastic readers. Read one selected title a month then meet in the library to discuss it. Come along and join us, books will be provided.
Master’s House Tour
Wednesday 4 September
10am – 12 noon
Free tickets / donations gratefully accepted
The Friends of the Master’s House will be hosting a detailed tour of this beautiful 15th century building. This Grade II* listed building in the centre of Ledbury is one of the remaining parts of the medieval St Katherine’s Hospital.
Last Day of the Summer Reading Challenge
Saturday 7 September
4pm – 6pm
Free
This is the last day to finish the Summer Reading Challenge 2019 and to collect your medal and certificate. Don’t forget to get your entries in for our Space Alien art competition too!
Ledbury Young Writer’s Group
Saturday 7 September
10am – 12 noon
£6 per session
Fun and creative writing workshops for young people, led by professional writer Sara-Jane Arbury. Booking is essential, reserve a place at writingwestmidlands.org
9-14 years
Heritage Open Day (1)
Saturday 14 September
9.30am – 4pm Free
Heritage Open House
The Master’s House and library is open until 4pm as part of England’s favourite heritage festival. Come explore this magnificent building and discover its past with our free self-led heritage tablet tour. Guided tours may also include St Katherine’s Hall and Chapel which are part of the original medieval hospital site.
9.30am – 4pm Free
Heritage Discovery Trail for Kids
Come dress up in Tudor costume and complete our discovery trail for Heritage Open Day. Older children can become apprentice Tudor builders and have a go making a timber-frame model of the Master’s House. See session times on the day.
Under 13s
Heritage Open Day (2)
Saturday 14 September
10am – 2pm Free
Herefordshire History
Find out more about the Herefordshire History digitisation project run by Herefordshire Libraries herefordshirehistory.org.uk. This digital archive contains local newspapers, specialist local eBooks, photographs, almanacks and more. Find out how your photographs could be added to the collection and used to illustrate Herefordshire’s past for future generations. See session times on the day.
Introduction to the Internet
Tuesday 17 September
4pm – 6pm
Free tickets
Learn how to search the internet safely and effectively, including how to access our library services online. Laptops will be available for the session. Provided by Fastershire.
16+ years
Lino Printing Workshops with Jeanette McCulloch
Monday 30 September , 7 & 14 October
10am – 1pm
Tickets £65 (including materials)
Lino printing is a popular technique and during these three relaxed but informative workshops we will explore lino printing (without a press) and also make our own print blocks, which add texture and pattern. This three week course is led by artist Jeanette McCulloch. All materials will be supplied, including tools to take home.