Our Wic - celebrating Berwick-upon-Tweed's everyday royalty

When: Saturday 11 – Thursday 16 July 2026, 11:00-18:00

Where: The Straw Yard and Holy Trinity Church, Berwick upon Tweed

Tickets: Free – booking required. Available to book via The Straw Yard’s website 

Our Wic is a new exhibition and interactive installation by artist Lucy Wright and Arts&Heritage, celebrating Berwick-upon-Tweed’s everyday royalty.

Taking inspiration from the crowning of the Tweed Salmon Queen in Berwick (a tradition that marks its 80th anniversary in 2026), Our Wic features a new photography exhibition celebrating six nominated ‘kings and queens’ from the town – each wearing one of six bespoke crowns created by local artists.

It also includes an immersive installation that gives local people and visitors to Berwick the chance to crown themselves for the day. An elaborate throne room, complete with a bronze Our Wic crown sculpted using the town’s buildings and landscapes, is where residents and visitors can perform their own coronation and lay claim to their territory.

Some of the everyday royalty of Berwick include:

• Eva Simpson from malt manufacturer Simpsons Malt, who is pictured wearing a crown by basket maker, Anna Corbett.
  
  
• Brenda Collins, who has worked at The Free Trade Pub in the town since 1971, is photographed in an ornate stained-glass crown created by David Purvis of Condottieri Glass.
  
  
• Roz Haddrill from The Green Shop, an independent eco-friendly store that has traded in Berwick for more than 30 years, wears a crown created by Jennie Howes from Jennie’s Wool Studio.
  
  
• Lyndsey Morris from Pith Papers, a new business established in 2020 that represents Berwick’s hundreds year-old print industry, is pictured wearing a crown created by Lucy Baxandall of Tidekettle Paper.
  
  
• Annaluisa Wood from Berwick Infirmary wears a crown by Deborah Boyd Whyte.
  
  
• John Skelly from butchers W.R. Skelly & Son, which at 266 years old holds the title of the longest-running family business in Berwick-upon-Tweed, is photographed wearing a crown by Suzanne Wright.

Other everyday royalty of the town will be featured in a special publication and on the official Our Wic instagram page.

Our Wic is commissioned and funded by Create Berwick, Northumberland County Council, and the North East Combined Authority.