Events at Leith Hill Place, summer 2026.
With a packed programme of music, poetry, talks and more, find out what's coming up at Leith Hill Place this summer.
Enclosure at Leith Hill Place
Enclosure is a four-month creative programme at Leith Hill Place, exploring how our rural landscape has been shaped, fought over, and accessed across the centuries. Join us for exhibitions, events, and performances delving into belonging, displacement, and access in the Surrey Hills.
House exhibition
6 June - Sun 27 Sep (weekends only) 11am-4pm
See a contemporary art exhibition drawing on the history of land, community and protest. Including new work by students from the University for the Creative Arts, the exhibition brings together painting, sculpture, printmaking and installation, to explore the boundaries that protect and confine, the histories hidden just beneath the surface, and the question of who — or what — gets to belong.
T-Time talks
Discover the storeis of the people who have helped shaped the English countryside, through a series of free afternoon talks.
Monument to the Vanquished Peasant
Sat 6 June, 3-4pm
Join artist, curator and writer Leah Gordon as she discusses her recent exhbition and subsequent book, Common People. These works explore the history of the enclosure of common land in England and the story of those who have attempted to resist it. Free, but please book.
Holmwood Common: Uses and Abuses through the centuries
Sat 13 June, 3-4pm
For 1000 years, the Common has been a resource for the communities surrounding it. Join local historian Kathy Atherton as she tells the story of how the Common came into being, how it has been used and abused and the part it's played, and continues to play, in the lives of those who live around it. Free, but please book.
The Three Founders and the Fight for Green Space
Sat 22 Aug, 3-4pm
Join historian and curator Helen Antrobus for a journey through the lives of three great environmental activists: Octavia Hill, Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley. From the Surrey Hills to the fells of the Lake District, explore the landscapes that instilled in them the fight, and how the struggle to protect green space for all led to the foundation of the National Trust. Free, but please book.
The fight for our right to enjoy outdoors
Sat 29 Aug, 3-4pm
Kate Ashbrook, general secretary of the Open Spaces Society will talk about the society's colourful 161-year history, the challenges we face today, and what the future might hold for our enjoyment of paths and open spaces in the town and country. Free, but please book.
The Folk Trail
Sat 29 June, 10.15am-6pm
A midsummer heritage walk, with music, morris dance and poetry. Join us as we trace the footsetps of one of Englands greatest composers, Ralph Vaughan Williams, celebrating his love of folk music and landscape. This five-mile walk starts and finishes at the Parrott, Forest Green, where Vaughan Williams once collected folks songs from local singers. The route climbs to Leith Hill Tower before descending to his childhood home, Leith HIll Place, for cream teas and folk music. £38.62 per person (cream tea and entry to Letih Hill Tower and house are included). Please book.
Enclosure: Poetry open mic afternoon
Sun 16 Aug, 2-4pm
Enjoy an afternoon of words, voices and good company. In response to our summer theme, Enclosure, bring poems exploring your connection to landscape, belonging and displacement.
Three-minute slots. All styles are welcome. No judgement. Hosted by Rosie May Jones & Tony Earnshaw. No need to book, just turn up. Free.