Exhibitions
We are proud to house over 35,000 artefacts and 75,000 historic books in our Museum, of which we create regular exhibitions to bring these objects to life and tell their stories. All exhibitions are in collaboration with the British Jesuit Province.
2025 Opening Dates & Times
Upcoming Exhibitions & Events
The Shire; Shakespeare and Sherlock
This summer, Stonyhurst College welcomes the public to The Shire, Shakespeare and Sherlock—a new exhibition in its award-winning museum, exploring the Ribble Valley’s links to Tolkien, Conan Doyle, and Shakespeare.
Past Exhibitions
Christmas 2023: Festive Food & Illuminated Manuscripts
This Christmas-themed exhibition delves into historic festive recipes, including Catherine the Great's favourite pudding made by her Jesuit chef, and some of the finest works of art to survive from the Middle Ages that are now safely and exclusively housed in our museum.
Christmas 2024: Christmas in the Great Hall
Join us for an exclusive evening event featuring a special presentation by our Curator, Dr Jan Graffius, on ‘Christmas at Stonyhurst Through the Ages’. Enjoy festive refreshments and canapés, complemented by live organ music, followed by a private viewing of The Museum.
Folio 400: A Summer of Shakespeare
2023 is the 400th anniversary year of Shakespeare’s First Folio, and a programme of events and exhibitions are planned around the world to celebrate what is possibly one of the most famous books ever printed. Out of perhaps 750 copies printed in 1623, 235 First Folios are known to remain; one of which is housed at Stonyhurst.
Princes, Poets and Traitors
For a time, Stonyhurst educated hundreds of undergraduates, taking degrees under the direction of Jesuit professors, with famous students including the VC Aiden Liddell, Poet Laureate Alfred Austin and Irish revolutionary Joseph Plunkett. This exhibition looked at the fascinating lives of some of these students; stories not without scandal, intrigue, tragedy and triumph.
Hot Holy Ladies
The exhibition examines the lives, circles and works of a selection of influential, educated Catholic women who carried out remarkable acts of creativity and subversion spanning the early Tudor pre-Reformation period into the George IV era of Catholic Emancipation.
Relic Exhibition
The virtual showcase, “How bleedeth burning love”: British Jesuit Province’s Relics of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales, presents treasured relics belonging to priests and laypeople martyred for their Roman Catholic faith in England and Wales in the 16th and 17th centuries - and canonised by Pope Paul VI on 25 October 1970.