Astronomy has always been a scientific topic which readily engages the public, and astronomy outreach forms an important element of Warwick University's science communication efforts. However, records show that this is by no means a recent phenomenon.

In the 1820s and 1830s, the Coventry Herald newspaper advertised a series of astronomical exhibitions and lectures, typically occurring in the Draper's Hall or St Mary's Hall, and almost always accompanied by the exhibition of a "grand orrery". These appear to have been impressive devices - advertisements suggest that diameters of 40 or more feet were not unusual, and they are described as transparent, suggesting some form of sphere illustrating the fixed stars, within which the orrery mechanism shows the motions of solar system bodies. As the advertisement for Mr Walker's lecture of 1830 proclaims: "The Learned will be gratified, the unlearned instructed and delighted!"

As the nineteenth century progressed and the movements for self-improvement and wider education developed, the nature of public astronomy events (or at least their advertised highlights) appear to have shifted from the spectacle of the grand orrery to more educational lectures accompanied by simple magic lantern slides - at first as occasional events by peripatetic lecturers and then in association with more formal educational institutions. Examples include Mr Mackintosh's lecture at the Mechanics Institute (16th Nov 1849), astronomy lectures at the "Religious and Useful Knowledge Society" reported in 1852, Mr John Lea's lectures to the "Working Men's Self-Improvement Society" in 1861, the Rev. J W Kiddle's lecture to the "Mutual Improvement Society" in 1874, and the lecture series of 1888 hosted by the Coventry University Extension Society.

While many such societies foundered as universal education improved and formal studies became more accessible but astronomy lectures went on into the twentieth century, now often with expert speakers travelling from a considerable distance. In 1931 and 1935, Professor Selig Brodesky visited the city, while in 1937, the Technical College hosted a lecture by Sir James Jeans - a well known astronomer, astronomy popularising author and broadcaster.

In the second half of the twentieth century, Coventry's centres for further and higher education, along with the growing Coventry Astronomical Society became the dominant venues and sponsors of astronomy lectures. Both came to the fore in turn in the 1950s when first the Technical College Astronomical Society (1952) and then the Coventry Engineering Society at the Technical Institute (1955) hosted the then Astronomer Royal, Sir Harold Spencer-Jones, for popular science talks.

Moving into the twenty-first century, both the University of Warwick and the Coventry and Warwickshire Astronomical Society routinely host public outreach events including lectures, child-friendly Christmas Lectures and even Astronomy on Tap.