Turner Memorial Lecture 2025

The Turner Memorial Lecture 2025, will be taking place on the evening of Wednesday 29 October, in The Diamond Building, Lecture Theatre 1, at the University of Sheffield, hosted by the School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering.  

The Turner Memorial Lecture is an endowed lecture presented periodically in memory of Professor W.E.S. Turner, who created at Sheffield the first Department of Glass Technology in the world, and founded the Turner Museum of Glass. 

The lecture for 2025 will focus on Professor Turner’s wife, Helen Monro Turner, who herself is considered one of the most significant figures in British 20th century glass. For their wedding in 1943, Helen famously wore a blue dress, hat, handbag, and shoes, made entirely of glass fibre, which can be seen here at the University in the Turner Museum and was highlighted by the BBC, in collaboration with the British Museum, in a 'History of the World in Objects' feature. 

This year we will be joined by Dr Jessamy Kelly, Senior Lecturer in Glass & Ceramics at The University of Edinburgh, and Sarah Rothwell, Senior Curator of Modern & Contemporary Design from National Museums Scotland, who will be giving the lecture titled: Helen Monro Turner – A Prolific Creative Force in Glass