Music, talks and lots of fun in Waterloo festival

The weekend is organised by Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum and Heritage Matters to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo. It is part of Leamington Looks Back at Waterloo, a ‘mini festival’ of heritage and culture.

It begins with a free talk by local historian Jacqui Kirk who will present a talk entitled Rattle in a Red Coat at the Pump Room today (Friday) at 1pm. Four of Leamington’s Masters of Ceremony in the years after Waterloo had been army officers in the Napoleonic Wars, with the talk telling how officers were expected to move effortlessly from the ballroom to the battlefield.

Music, Medals and the Military is the name of an afternoon of activities tomorrow (Saturday) from noon to 4pm just outside the building in the Pump Room Gardens. Meet the Duke of Wellington and make military hats with the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers Museum. Napoleonic-era music will be performed by Dodici Corde on early 19th-century guitars.

To end the weekend of celebrations, a Handsome Hats workshop will run on Sunday 21 June, from 11am-4pm. Create and decorate a hat suitable for a Regency lady or gentleman. Over the Leamington Looks Back at Waterloo weekend there will be an opportunity to see objects relating to the Napoleonic Wars from the collections on display in the art gallery and museum.