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The Richardsons
Actors, pacifists, artists & scientists

A man walks across a cold moorland as the sun rises. He digs...

Owl, woodcut by Joseph Crawhall II, a man of very many parts - Secretary for the Arts Association of Newcastle upon Tyne, ropemaker, illustrator for Punch magazine and maker of many wonderful woodcuts, including the owl which has become something of a symbol of the Lit&Phil.

Because punctuality is a social construct, it varies from country to country. 

For instance, being just one minute behind in Japan is considered being late, whereas meeting on "Moroccan time" can mean anything from being an hour up to an entire day late for a promised get together.  

Musician, general, patron of artists, architects and writers, including Voltaire, King Frederick of Prussia dominated the 18th century. He said "It is disgusting to note the increase in the quantity of coffee used by my subjects and the amount of money that goes out of the country in consequence. Everybody is using coffee. If possible, this must be prevented. My people must drink beer." He was also a strong advocate of the potato.

The Lit&Phil has a long long history of presenting the latest scientific inventions and achievements. Through the Lit&Phil, Clegg's engine may well have influenced Stephenson in his design of the first railway engine.

Newcastle has a strong history medical advances, a history which began with the foundation of the Newcastle Infirmary in 1751. Local author Ken Smith has written an illuminating blog about its early use of antiseptics.

Rev. Dr. Bruce was a regular figure at the Lit & Phil, and was for many years one of its Vice Presidents. Between 1845 and 1881 he lectured to the Society moe than thirty times, bringing before it the results of his earliest and latest researches into the history of the Roman Wall and the Bayeux Tapestry.

From egg throwing viola players to being the but of many jokes, the viola fights back!