Welcome to Cirencester History Festival

‘Welcome! I am thrilled to introduce our third Cirencester History Festival, returning this October half term after the incredible success of previous years.

Once again, we have a brilliant programme of local, national, and global history spanning everything from the humble smock frock to the New World Order via Bach and the Beatles. A particular highlight this year is the Bayeux-inspired Cirencester Tapestry Project. You can find full details under Saturday 24 October, but this spectacular community event will be running all week. I also warmly encourage you to explore our vibrant ‘Festival Fringe’, packed with walks, immersive tours and myriad other unique happenings, all organised by community groups and festival partners.

I can’t wait to see you there!’

Dame Fiona Reynolds

President of Cirencester History Festival and former Director General of the National Trust

Photograph © Olivia Dale Studio

‘It’s a real privilege to be back as Ambassador for my hometown’s History Festival, and I couldn’t be more excited about this year’s line-up. We’ve got archaeology from @RomanFound, Ronald Hutton on the Sisters dig, a bit of wild foraging, and two great local folk acts. To cap it all off, Professor Mark Horton is making the case for King Arthur being a Cirencester local—I can’t wait to hear that one!

I’m also really pleased that the £5 ticket scheme for under-22s is back. Encouraging the next generation to explore history is such an important part of what this festival does, and hopefully it inspires a few future archaeologists, historians and storytellers along the way. So grab your tickets, get stuck in, and hope to see you there!’

Charlie Cooper

Festival Ambassador, actor, writer and star of the BBC’s This Country and Myth Country

Families

Crafting, workshops, cookery classes, storytelling, film and Halloween fun!

Talks

Flagship talks from some of the country’s top historians, thinkers and broadcasters.

Tours

Special guided walks and tours from our partners in town.

Revelry

From top orchestras to local folk acts, feasting, storytelling and more.

Exhibitions

Special exhibitions and museum openings for festival week.

LEARN & DO

A range of activities from smocking to Latin, painting, cooking and embroidery.

2026 Festival Programme

Download the full 2026 programme as a PDF.

Download PDF

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Become a Festival Patron

We are looking for businesses and individuals to join our honourable circle of patrons, from £500.

Become a Festival FRIEND

Last year we introduced a Friends’ Scheme for £50.

This funding will go towards extending our community outreach work and making more events free.

To find out more about these schemes, please see our Support Us page and contact Di Cronin.

Email Di

With Huge thanks to our patrons & Sponsors

This festival is a true Cirencester collaboration, created by over 40 organisations with a shared vision for our town. Making it all possible are our patrons and sponsors, whose overwhelming, and ever-growing, support shows the true strength of our community.

Thank you all – we couldn’t do it without you.