Law Week Festival

More information coming soon.

Do you have an interest in history and Winchester’s many untold stories? Don’t miss the chance to join a Winchester Crime Tour, created specially for this year’s Law Week Festival. The tours will focus upon the rich history of the city and the vital role it has played over the past millennia as a centre for law and punishment.

An annual service of celebration of all those who work in Law and Order. The service is preceded by the procession down High Street from Law Court. Everyone is welcome to the service.

Photo credit: Joe Low

Retired detective superintendent Julia McKay shares her experiences working in the police, as a female, and how she overcame it all, because of her passion for solving crime, and loving being a police officer. She discusses her remarkable career, focussing upon how society and the media often views victims of crime in very polarised ways based upon their age, gender and lifestyle.

Tickets: £15 adults / £10 students with valid student ID.

Photo: By Damien MacFadden

A diverse judiciary is inherent to a healthy democracy, and the reasons for this are multi-fold. The judiciary is one of the three constitutional pillars of our democracy, along with the legislature and executive and is trusted with power. Although not unrestricted, the judiciary has the power to determine vitally important matters in a person’s life; the removal of children, eviction from home, deprivation of liberty, access to education and employment, immigration status, criminal sentencing, welfare benefits – in short, most of the things that are central to a person’s life and liberty. For that reason, the judiciary is one of the professions where diversity matters the most. A representative bench is one that reflects the population it serves in order to understand the lives of the people it hears and the lives upon which it rules. An unrepresentative judiciary fundamentally undermines trust in the justice system, especially where there is any suggestion of discrimination, sexism and racism. This talk will ask the question does our judiciary reflect the diverse society that it serves? Promising to be a thought-provoking evening.

In partnership with Winchester Law Courts.

Tickets: £15 adults / Free for students with a valid student ID.

More information coming soon.

It is 1560. A visiting Bishop has been found dead in the crypt at Winchester Cathedral.

Given the injuries evident, it appears that foul play is the cause.

Investigate the apparent crime and identify who the perpetrator is. How did the Bishop die? Why did he die – revenge, political differences or something altogether more personal?

Work with specialists exploring the criminal investigation techniques available at the time of the murder to uncover the answers.

Join the University of Winchester’s Forensics’ team, collect evidence from the crime scene, then return to the onsite laboratory to work out who’s guilty.

Click on a time below to book your time slot: 
Book 10.00am – 11.00am 
Book 11.00am – 12.00pm
Book 12.00pm – 1.00pm 

Jane Austen’s “criminal mind,” while not literally criminal, refers to her insightful understanding and portrayal of societal ills and the darker aspects of human behaviour within her novels. While her stories often focus on love and social etiquette, they also explore themes of betrayal, deception, and the consequences of immoral actions. Join Jessica Bull, as she explores these themes through her ‘Miss Austen Investigates’ novels. Find out how her teenage love of Austen led her down a rabbit hole that would eventually inspire her to write stories where our favourite literary icon takes on a whole new role. Insightful, quirky and entertaining!

Tickets: £20