Children's Lectures
The Holmes Lectures are designed for children aged 10 to 14 with the intention of fostering an interest in science.
The Holmes Lectures
The annual Holmes Lectures first took place at Newcastle University in 1937. They have covered a wide range of topics including: sustainability, forensic science, medical physics, chemistry and sports science. The talks form part of the INSIGHTS Public Lecture programme and are held every January.
2026 Holmes Lectures
All our events remain free and open to all, but pre-booking is required. Bookings for this lecture will open at 10:00 on 3 November.
To reserve your place click the booking link below or telephone our booking voicemail line 0191 208 6136.
For group bookings and school visits, please email the Public Lectures office at public.lectures@ncl.ac.uk or telephone our booking voicemail line 0191 208 6136.
Our immune system: the army inside our body (Lecture 1)
Our immune system is just like a well-organised army, designed to recognise and attack invaders that enter our body, such as bugs. Sometimes, however, our immune system makes mistakes and thinks our own body is the enemy. The subsequent attack can be devastating, causing ‘autoimmune’ diseases such as diabetes and arthritis. Learn how our normal immune system works, why it goes wrong in autoimmunity and how scientists can develop ways to correct it.
Book from 3 November
Guardians of health: how oral hygiene supports our immune system (Lecture 2)
There are over 700 species of microorganisms (bugs) in the mouth, and the immune response can distinguish between those that are infectious and harmless. This lecture explores how the immune response can specifically detect harmful oral microorganisms and respond rapidly to protect us from disease. Discover how an overactive immune response to oral microorganisms causes gum disease and tooth decay, and how it can also impact our general health.
Book from 3 November
Who was John H Holmes?
John Henry Holmes (1857-1935) was an English electrical engineer, inventor and pioneer of electric lighting. He invented the quick break light switch, the technology behind which remains the basis for modern wall mounted light switches. His first experimental model is preserved at the Discovery Museum in Newcastle.
Holmes was born in Newcastle on 6 June 1857 and grew up in Gateshead and then Jesmond. He attended the Friends School in Bootham, York, where he was taught the rudiments of science. At the age of 16, he won a place at the Durham College of Physical Science, later Armstrong College, now Newcastle University.
In 1880, Holmes attended a public demonstration of Joseph Swan's incandescent light bulb. This seemed to spark his interest in electric lighting, and he approached Swan on multiple occasions in hopes of becoming his apprentice.
John Henry Holmes and his brother, Theodore, founded J. H. Holmes & Co. in Shieldfield, Newcastle, in 1883. Their manufacturing company specialised in early motors, dynamos, switches, and lighting. The company was very active in the early proliferation of electric lighting, having installed Newcastle's first domestic electrical lighting into their father's house in Jesmond. They also supplied installations throughout Europe, the British colonies and the United States.
Holmes went on to become a prolific inventor, drives for printing presses, train lighting sets, and portable ships’ searchlights which enabled the Suez Canal to be traversed by night for the first time. John Henry Holmes died in April 1935 at the age of 78 and is buried at Jesmond Old Cemetery.
