We will firstly visit the Holburne Museum with its newly opened Schroder Gallery and then proceed to the American Museum and gardens at Claverton Manor.  Tickets will be on sale in February and will cost £45 for members and £50 for non-members. (The visit is fully booked currently; if you would like to go on the waiting list in case of a cancellation, please follow this link: Waiting List)

The Holburne Museum is located in Sydney Pleasure Gardens, Bath. The city's first public art gallery, the Grade I listed building is home to fine and decorative arts built around the collection of Sir William Holburne. Artists in the collection include Gainsborough, Guardi, Stubbs, Ramsay and Zoffany. At the heart of the Holburne Museum is the collection of Sir William Holburne (1793-1874), fifth baronet of Menstrie. William seemed destined for a naval career but, following the death of his elder brother Francis, he inherited the family title and a modest fortune. He left the navy and embarked on an eighteen-month Grand Tour of Europe, visiting Italy, the Alps and the Netherlands. This sparked a life-long interest in art and his enthusiasm for collecting. He particularly loved bronze sculptures, silver, porcelain and Dutch landscapes.

Sir William never married. He lived with his growing collection and his three unmarried sisters on the North side of Bath. It was his wish that his collection be left to the City of Bath for everyone to enjoy. Since his death, more than 9,000 items have been added to his collection including portrait miniatures, porcelain, embroideries and portraits by some of the greatest artists of the eighteenth century. 

The Schroder Gallery, is a new gallery space displaying world-class Renaissance treasures on long-term loan to the museum from the Schroder family collection. The new space on the lower ground floor of the museum, designed by Eric Parry Architects with Real Studios, takes inspiration from the great treasury displays of the past. It houses one of the finest private collections of silverware in the country, as well as paintings, bronzes, maiolica and gems. The collection of Renaissance objects is displayed in its entirety in public for the first time.

At first-floor level, another new gallery space displays a selection of paintings drawn from a larger collection of 17th-century Dutch art assembled by Baron Bruno Schroder and his wife Emma between 1913 and 1928.

The display of over 100 pieces of silver in the Schroder Gallery includes some of the greatest masterpieces of the silversmith’s art, such as The Schwarzenberg Nef, a rare Mechanical Celestial Globe, and The Aldobrandini Tazza (one of a set of twelve once described as ‘one of the most spectacular groups of 16th century silver’).

The collection also contains masterpieces of 16th century Italian maiolica, a type of vibrantly coloured, glazed pottery. An Urbino deep circular cistern (1549) is highly decorative, painted in blue, green, yellow, orange, brown, and purple. Examples of istoriato dishes, bearing mythical and allegorical themes, include The Mazo Dish painted with the allegory of the civilising power of Eloquence. An Urbino istoriato circular dish depicts Leda and the Swan, recalling an episode from classical mythology, and possibly the Renaissance inclination to the erotic.

Important paintings from the first half of the 16th century are hung in The Dutch Gallery on the first floor, used most recently as an office and now returning to public use a space designed as a gallery when the former Sydney Hotel was first converted into the Holburne Museum in 1916. The display includes works by artists such as Lucas Cranach the Elder and Hans Holbein the Elder. It features a single non-Dutch work: Pastoral Landscape with Shepherds Playing Music by a River, which was painted around 1637 by the renowned master of the ideal landscape, Claude Gellée—or Claude Lorrain, the grandfather of the pastoral landscape. This year marks a century since this painting was last publicly exhibited—at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Paris, during the exhibition Landscape from Poussin to Corot (May–June 1925). Other landscapes and portraits on display are by artists including Aert van der Neer, Jan van Goyen and Willem van de Velde the Younger, amongst others.

All the works are a loan to the Holburne from the Estate of the late British banker Bruno Schroder, by his daughter Leonie and her family. The loan adds an array of world-class works of art to the collection of one of the most respected regional art museums in the country. 

The American Museum and Gardens (formerly American Museum in Britain) is a museum of American art and culture based at Claverton, near Bath, England. Its collections of American furniture, quilts and folk art are displayed in a Grade I listed 19th-century house, surrounded by gardens overlooking the valley of the River Avon.

Claverton Manor

The country house was designed for John Vivian, a barrister who had purchased the manor in 1816, by Jeffry Wyatville in 1819–20. It stands on the steep west slope of the Avon valley, above the Claverton village, and is about 2 miles (3.2 km) east of the centre of Bath. The house has three storeys and is built in ashlar. Its east elevation, overlooking the river valley, has full-height bows flanking three central bays with a projecting square porch, above it two Ionic columns in antis. The south elevation has five bays, the central three embellished with Ionic pilasters under a pediment bearing the Vivian arms. A tall screen wall to the south has urns on pedestals, and a six-bay north wing containing service rooms has similar decoration. The building and walls were designated as Grade I listed in 1956. A two-storey coach house and stables were built to the south of the house, also in ashlar, around 1820.

Earlier owners of the estate include Sir Edward Hungerford (d.1607), a Member of Parliament, and (from 1609) Martin Bassett, whose son William (d.1656) and grandson William (d.1693) were also MPs. In 1758 it was bought by Ralph Allen, owner of Bath stone quarries, and in 1816 by John Vivian, who replaced the earlier manor house (near Claverton church) with the present house on its elevated site. Vivian's second son George, an artist and traveller, developed the gardens and added the screen walls. The estate had a succession of owners after it was sold by the Vivian family in 1869, and during the ownership of the Skrine family the gardens were in 1897 the venue for the first public speech by Winston Churchill. The house was the headquarters of an RAF barrage balloon group during the Second World War. John Judkyn and Dallas Pratt, co-founders of the museum, bought the house and grounds in 1958.

Museum

The museum was founded by two antique collectors: Dallas Pratt (1914 – 1994), an American psychiatrist from New York and heir to a substantial Standard Oil fortune; and his lifelong partner John Judkyn (1913 – 1963), a British designer and antiques dealer who took American citizenship. The museum was opened to the public for the first time on July 1, 1961, and remains the only museum devoted to American decorative arts outside the boundaries of the United States. The museum's mission today stays true to the ambitions of its founders; to increase knowledge of American cultural history in order to strengthen the relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.

The Gardens

Overlooking the Cotswolds, the American Museum and Gardens is located on a hilltop with spectacular views of the Limpley Stoke Valley. Set within 125 acres of rolling green landscape, the Grade II-listed gardens feature 2.5 acres of formal gardens, renovated in 2018 by US garden designers Oehme, van Sweden (OvS). The grounds include the New American Garden, the Mount Vernon Garden and the Children’s Garden, as well as an arboretum, parkland and ornamental grasses showcasing more than 30 cultivars. The Mount Vernon Garden is a reproduction of the 18th-century Upper Garden at George Washington’s estate in Virginia. Remnants of the old Italianate-style manorial pleasure gardens and parkland, dating back to the 1820s, can still be seen throughout the grounds. These includes period features such as a grotto, balustrades, curtain walls and ornamental stonework.

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Join a guided walking tour taking in the Brighton Palace Pier, The Lanes, and then experience Regency splendour at the Royal Pavilion - the jewel in Brighton's crown - an iconic Indian-style palace built as a Royal seaside retreat.

Constructed as the seaside pleasure palace of George IV, architect John Nash transformed a modest villa into the magnificent oriental palace we see today. With no expense spared, the decoration is opulent and the furnishings are exquisite. It was the ultimate in comfort and convenience with particular attention to lighting, heating and sanitation. Our walking tour will take in several well known areas of Brighton. The Lanes: A famous part of Brighton and Hove, the quirky, labyrinthine area is famous for narrow alleyways, hidden squares and many retail opportunities!! Parts of the Lanes date back to the late sixteenth century when Brighton was a small fishing town. The Palace Pier is acknowledged as the finest pier ever built. It replaced a wooden pier that was washed away in a raging storm. At 1722 feet in length, the pier has survived both the weather and world wars. It opened on 21st May 1899 and was illuminated by 3000 light bulbs on its opening night.

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Arriving at Chawton, we visit the Hampshire cottage which was Jane Austen’s home from 1809 and the birthplace of six of her beloved novels.  Continuing to north of Guildford, we explore the range of attractions at the Watts Gallery/Artists Village including Limnerslease (the founders’ home and studio, designed in the Arts & Crafts style) the Historic & Sculpture Galleries and the Watts Chapel (a spectacular Grade 1 listed, terracotta building).

Jane Austen's House - Chawton

Here, in this inspiring Hampshire cottage, Jane Austen lived for the last eight years of her life. Here her genius flourished and she wrote, revised and had published all six of her globally beloved novels: Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. Today, Jane Austen’s House is a cherished museum with an unparalleled collection of Austen treasures, including items of furniture, paintings and household objects. Visitors can discover Jane’s personal letters and first editions of her novels, items of jewellery that she cherished, portraits of her friends and family, and the tiny writing table at which she wrote.  

Visitors can explore the rooms where Jane lived and wrote, from the sunny Drawing Room where she practiced the piano every morning, and where she read Pride and Prejudice aloud to a neighbour on the very day she received her first copy, to the vibrant green Dining Room where she wrote, and the cosy bedroom upstairs that we believe she shared with her beloved sister Cassandra.  After Cassandra’s death in 1845, the House underwent some changes to accommodate labourers’ families from the Chawton Estate. We have done our best to return the rooms to their historic layout, with pieces of original furniture and reproduction wallpapers carefully reprinted from historic designs.  As well as period rooms, the House includes ‘museum rooms’ in which we display precious items from the collection in secure display cases. These also allow us to put on small, temporary exhibitions, or to display highlight objects. We aim to always have a letter and a first edition on display. 

Immersive audio and subtle historic scents throughout the House evoke the atmosphere of a bygone era. The gentle sound of piano music drifts from the Drawing Room, the buzz of quiet conversation, excerpts from Jane’s novels and letters, drifts down from the bedroom. The chiming of the grandfather clock and the creak of footsteps on the historic floorboards all add to the charm and atmosphere of this special place. Visitors can step back in time and follow in Jane’s footsteps as they explore the rooms where she lived and wrote, discover objects and stories that inspired her, and learn about her writing life.

Watts Gallery

Watts Gallery – Artists' Village is an art gallery in the village of Compton, near Guildford in Surrey. It is dedicated to the work of the Victorian-era painter and sculptor George Frederic Watts. The gallery has been Grade II* listed on the National Heritage List for England since June 1975. Watts moved to "Limnerslease" in Compton in 1891, and with his artist wife, Mary Fraser-Tytler, planned a museum devoted to his work, which opened in April 1904, just before his death.

The architect of the Gallery was Christopher Hatton Turnor, an admirer of Edwin Lutyens. Inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, the building contains top-lit galleries that allow Watts's work to be displayed under natural light. It is one of only a few galleries in the UK devoted to a single artist and is often hailed as a national gallery in the heart of a village. The present director is Alistair Burtenshaw and the curator is Dr Cicely Robinson. Former curators include Dr Nicholas Tromans, Wilfrid Blunt, Richard Jefferies and Mark Bills. 

Over one-hundred paintings by G. F. Watts are on permanent display at the Gallery. Spanning a period of 70 years they include portraits, landscapes and his major symbolic works. From the dramatic entrance of the Livanos Gallery to the monumental sculpture and studio artefacts in the Sculpture Gallery, Watts Gallery shows the collection left by the artist as his legacy. In January 2016, Watts Gallery opened the newly renovated "Limnerslease", the former home and studio of G. F. and Mary Watts, completing the Artists' Village.  Compton's burial ground, nearby, houses Watts' remains and is dominated by the ornate Arts & Crafts Watts Mortuary Chapel, designed by Watts' wife Mary, also run by the museum.

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Two fascinating attractions are combined; the first examines Stanley Spencer’s enduring influence with a morning visit to his Gallery in the Wesleyan Chapel, Cookham, where the artist worshipped. This collection is dedicated to the life and imaginative world of one of Britain’s most talented artists.Then an exploration of Basildon Park outside Reading. Built in the late 1700s, the Palladian inspired house has been through many changes, including war damage, before being restored to its former glory in the 1950s and gifted to the National Trust in 1978.

The Stanley Spencer Gallery

The Stanley Spencer Gallery is dedicated to the life experience and imaginative world of one of Britain’s most talented artists. Its regular programme of summer and winter exhibitions promotes inspiration and enjoyment through expertly curated encounters with high quality art.

The Stanley Spencer Gallery is led and run by a community of volunteers who are passionate about the art they care for, the artist who created it and the environment that inspired him throughout his life. Through their freely given talents, entrepreneurship, professionalism and collaborations the Gallery remains creative, independent and self-funded sixty years after its foundation.

The Gallery is a Fully Accredited Museum under the scheme administered by Arts Council England.

The Stanley Spencer Gallery’s permanent collection has developed since its foundation in 1962. It continues to grow thanks to generous gifts and bequests, as well as through occasional and carefully selected purchases. In addition, the Gallery welcomes and retains on long-term loan other works by Spencer. Works from the Gallery’s collection are available for loan to exhibitions held in other institutions in the UK and abroad.

Stanley Spencer (1891–1959) stands as one of the most distinctive and original British artists of the 20th century. Born in Cookham, Spencer’s artistic journey was deeply intertwined with the landscapes and everyday life of his hometown. Renowned for his unique blend of realism and spirituality, Spencer’s work often depicted the ordinary with extraordinary insight, infused with a profound sense of mysticism and personal symbolism.

In addition to a guided tour of the chapel we will follow a walk around the village "In Spencer's Footsteps" and take in some of the sights and places where he lived.

Basildon Park

Basildon Park is a country house situated 2 miles (3 kilometres) south of Goring-on-Thames and Streatley in Berkshire, between the villages of Upper Basildon and Lower Basildon. It is owned by the National Trust and is a Grade I listed building. The house was built between 1776 and 1783 for Sir Francis Sykes and designed by John Carr in the Palladian style at a time when Palladianism was giving way to the newly fashionable neoclassicism. Thus, the interiors are in a neoclassical "Adamesque" style. Never fully completed, the house passed through a succession of owners. In 1910 it was standing empty and in 1914, it was requisitioned by the British Government as an army convalescent hospital. It was again sold in 1928 and quickly sold again. In 1929, following a failed attempt to dismantle and rebuild the house in the US, it was stripped of many of its fixtures and fittings and all but abandoned.

During World War II, the house was again requisitioned and served as a barracks, a training ground for tanks, and finally a prisoner of war camp—all activities unsuited to the preservation of an already semi-derelict building. In 1952, a time when hundreds of British country houses were being demolished, it was said of Basildon Park "to say it was derelict, is hardly good enough, no window was left intact and most were repaired with cardboard or plywood."

Today, Basildon Park is as notable for its mid-twentieth-century renaissance and restoration, by Lord and Lady Iliffe, as it is for its architecture. In 1978, the Iliffes gave the house, together with its park and a large endowment for its upkeep, to the National Trust in the hope that "The National Trust will protect it and its park for future generations to enjoy.

Visit timings:

Depart Salisbury Rugby Club car park - 09:00

Return Salisbury Rugby Club car park - 18:00

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A fascinating day out with a trip to the intriguing Sculpture by the Lakes park in the morning followed by a guided tour of Thomas Hardy's house, Max Gate.

The Sculpture Park

Described as one of the most beautiful and unique settings in the UK. With over 120 pieces positioned across The Sculpture Park, it is a place where you can experience art and the landscape working seamlessly together. It’s somewhere you can leave your busy life behind and enjoy peace and tranquillity in a beautiful and serene environment.

Set in 26 acres alongside Dorset’s River Frome, with lakes, streams, meandering paths and plenty of places to sit, we encourage people to take their time, switch off, relax and fully absorb yourself in this unique sculpture park. Walking around can take anywhere between 45 minutes to a whole day but we recommend experiencing it at a slower pace to take in everything it has to offer.

Max Gate

Max Gate, an austere but sophisticated town house a short walk from the town centre of Dorchester, was the home of Dorset's most famous author and poet Thomas Hardy. Hardy, who designed the house in 1885, wanted to show that he was part of the wealthy middle classes of the area, to reflect his position as a successful writer, and to enable him to enter polite society. The house was named after a nearby tollgate keeper called Henry Mack. The tollgate was known locally as ‘Mack’s Gate’, which Hardy then used with a different spelling when he named his house, ‘Max Gate’.

Many of Hardy's possessions were dispersed before we acquired the house, but we've furnished the rooms for you to enjoy the spaces he created to write and live in. He wrote some of his most famous novels here, including Tess of the d'Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure, as well as much of his poetry.

You will find the garden much as it was originally planned, with high walls and large trees encircling the property to preserve Hardy's privacy. The sundial, designed by Hardy, was erected by his late wife, Florence, in his memory.

Itinerary

9.00 am.  Depart Salisbury for Dorchester (Pallington Lakes, 33 miles)

10.30 am.  Arrive at Sculpture by the Lakes (coach drop off on road, short walk into site); coffee  + introductory talk by staff member (coffee: either BYO or from site coffee shop).  Lunch can be obtained from on-site cafe or own picnic brought; undercover area available if inclement weather.  Picnic storage space to be made available.

11.00 am.  Free time to stroll, relax, eat lunch

1.30 pm.  Leave Pallington Lakes

2.00 pm.  Arrive Max Gate for guided tour by NT staff

3.30 pm.  Leave Max Gate

4.30 pm.  Arrive Salisbury

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Longford Castle

We have managed to arrange a tour of Longford Castle and its amazing art collection on the 15th March 2024. Numbers are limited to 40 and places have been allocated by lottery draw. Members attending the visit can find directions and information about the visit at Longford Information. 

Longford Castle, on the banks of the River Avon south of Salisbury, was purchased by the Des Bouverie family in 1717. The family had a mercantile background, but became wealthy landowners over the course of the 18th century. The first major art collector within the family was Sir Jacob Des Bouverie, who was ennobled in 1747, becoming 1st Viscount Folkestone. He passed the castle and collection on to his son, William, who became 1st Earl of Radnor in 1765.
The collection at Longford was enjoyed by visiting artists, such as Thomas Gainsborough, who came to stay in 1773 to study works by David Teniers, among other artists, and to paint portraits for the family. Guidebooks for tourists to Longford often focused on the famous works by Claude and Hans Holbein the Younger, as well as the fine furniture collection. 

Patronage and purchases

Sir Jacob's first significant art acquisition took place in April 1737. He bought two landscapes by Gaspar Dughet, pupil to the eminent French painter, Nicolas Poussin. These were purchased at Haye's Sale, one of the many London art auctions from which the family bought works of art over the years. He also acquired items through picture dealers, such as Arthur Pond. During the 18th century, contemporary artists also received commissions from the family, including the sculptor Henry Cheere who created chimneypieces for Longford.

Displaying art at Longford Castle

The fine art acquired during the 18th century was housed in Longford Castle, then essentially an Elizabethan structure. However, some refurbishment was undertaken to ensure the interiors matched the standards of the artworks on display. In 1740, almost £170 was spent on green damask to provide a suitable backdrop to the paintings in the Picture Gallery.

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, further architectural changes were planned for the castle. While not all of them were carried out, they indicate that the family was thinking carefully about how best to display their art collection. For example, unexecuted plans for top-lighting in the Picture Gallery were considered. Top-lit galleries, where natural light enters from the ceiling, were later developed by public art museums in the early 19th century, so the discussion of their use in a private home at this time was pioneering. They can still be seen at the National Gallery today, as can some of the artworks from the Longford collection that have been sold or loaned to the Gallery over the years. Three paintings were sold in 1890; a further painting was sold in 1945.

Visit to Shire Hall Museum and Dorset Museum in Dorchester – 20th February 2024

Visit to two contrasting museums almost on our doorstep.

Join us on a day’s visit to our neighbouring county of Dorset to travel through the ages from over 2000 BC to this century. We’ll take a journey from the world of the dinosaurs to the present day. The stories of land, lives, events and change are there to be unveiled. We’ll have time for refreshments and lunch and to investigate other parts of Dorchester between the organised tours of each museum.

Shire Hall Museum  

Shire Hall was Dorset’s courthouse from 1797 until 1955. Through that time, it saw everything from the 1834 trial of the Tolpuddle Martyrs to the 1856 domestic abuse case that inspired Thomas Hardy to write ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’, to victims of mesmerism, child perpetrators and American GIs tried during the Second World War.

Alongside its human history lies Shire Hall’s intrinsic architectural value, as one of the best-preserved buildings of its kind. This is recognised in its Grade I listed status, awarded in 1950. It was designed by architect Thomas Hardwick. As well as being a well-known architect in his own right, Hardwick was also the architectural tutor of the artist J.M.W. Turner, before advising him to focus on his painting instead.

After ending its life as a court in 1955, Shire Hall was used as offices for West Dorset District Council (previously the Rural District Council), thus preserving the Georgian architecture for future generations.

Dorset Museum   

The Museum began by collecting natural history and archaeology. Literature, fine art, textiles, costume, local history, and photography collections grew over time. The Thomas Hardy collection was a major bequest in 1937.

Today the Museum looks after an incredible four million objects.

The Museum was founded by figures, who wanted to protect Dorset’s heritage and antiquities as the Industrial Revolution and new railways brought changes to a rural county. 

Some of Britain’s most significant archaeological finds are in this collection of around four million objects. They span from the Palaeolithic to the medieval period, and include objects from sites such as Maiden Castle and Roman Dorchester.

Dating from the 16th century to the present day, this collection represents the dress of the rural working poor and the well-to-do. It includes delicate lace, sunbonnets, Dorset featherstitch, smocks, quilts, Dorset buttons, shoes and gentlemen’s 18th-century dress.

The Museum holds the world’s largest collection relating to Dorset-born Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) – one of the most important writers of the 19th century. It includes many paper items, together with clothes such as Hardy’s embroidered christening robe, his sister’s stunning red silk bustle dress, and a striped scarf that he lent to his gardener. The core of the collection was gifted to the Museum by the Hardy family in 1937, and the archive was placed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 2012.

Elizabeth Frink Exhibition

Coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the artist’s death, Elisabeth Frink: A View from Within will be the first exhibition to focus on the significant body of work produced by Frink (1930-1993) at her Woolland studio in Dorset between 1976 and 1993. It will explore her artistic process, personal life and the profound influences that shaped her work: human conflict and our relationship with the natural world. It will run from 2 December 2023 to 21 April 2024.

The exhibition will present works from the collection that Dorset Museum acquired from the Elisabeth Frink Estate in 2020, featuring sculptures, prints, drawings, and personal possessions. Many of these items, including working plasters that formed the basis of Frink’s bronze sculptures, will be on public show for the first time.
Arranged thematically, Elisabeth Frink: A View from Within will comprise around 80 works arranged in eight themed sections, each offering a unique perspective on Frink’s life and art.
From her personal and artistic life at Woolland to a recreation of her studio, the artist’s creative methods will be explained, along with insights into her profound artistic vision. Through her sculptures the exhibition will explore her intimate connection with the natural environment; the contemplation of human-animal interdependence; spirituality and humanist beliefs; her dedication to human rights advocacy and finally her enduring legacy.

As well as items from the Dorset Museum collection, the exhibition will include personal papers and photographs from the Frink Archive at the Dorset History Centre, and large-scale sculptures from Yorkshire Sculpture Park and The Ingram Collection of Modern British and Contemporary Art.

Following its run at Dorset Museum, Elisabeth Frink: A View from Within will tour Wessex Museum partners’ Swindon Museum and Art Gallery (2024, dates to be confirmed) and the Salisbury Museum (May – October 2025).

Elizabeth Selby, Director of Collections and Public Engagement at Dorset Museum, said: “Elisabeth Frink was an extraordinary artist who explored what it meant to be human through her work. This exhibition will portray Frink in a more intimate light, revealing her inner world and the major themes she explored in her sculptures, prints and drawings. We are thrilled to be able to display more of the works we acquired from the Elisabeth Frink Estate in 2020, and explore Frink’s connections with Dorset, where she lived and worked from 1976 until her death in 1993.”

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Visit to Russell-Cotes Museum, Bournemouth and Athelhampton Manor – 18th April 2023

A fascinating day’s trip with a visit to the Russell-Cotes Museum in the morning, a museum established by a Victorian entrepreneur and his wife. This will include a guided tour of an exhibition of Lucy Kemp-Welch’s paintings to tie in with our January lecture. In contrast we will then travel to Athelhampton Manor, near Dorchester, a magnificent Tudor house set in a glorious Victorian garden. A lunch of soup and bread will be given on arrival, followed by a guided tour. You will then have plenty of time to explore the lovely, extensive gardens.

Russell- Cotes Museum. In 1901 Merton Russell-Cotes gave his wife Annie a dream house on a cliff-top, overlooking the sea. It was an extraordinary, extravagant birthday present – lavish, splendid, and with a touch of fantasy.  They filled this exotic seaside villa with beautiful objects from their travels across the world and lined the walls with a remarkable collection of British art, creating a unique atmosphere in a most dramatic setting. A home, an art gallery, and a museum. Then they sealed it in time and gave it to the future. The house (now a Grade II* Listed Building) reflects Moorish, Japanese and French decorative styles alongside contemporary Victorian design. The interiors provide a context for their extensive collections of artefacts, furnishings, sculpture and paintings. Completed in 1901, East Cliff Hall was one of the last Victorian villas to be built in the town.

Athelhampton Manor.  Athelhampton nestles in the Piddle valley, between Tolpuddle and Puddletown and is easily reached from the A35 main road. The ancient manor of Athelhampton has been continually lived in since Saxon times. The manor is mentioned in the Domesday book. The current house is largely constructed in Tudor times, with the Great Hall built by Sir William Martyn in 1485, considered one of the finest examples of Tudor architecture in England. The house was extended in Elizabethan times when the West Wing and Kitchen Wings were added. The Kitchen opened to the public for the first time in 2022.​

In 1891, Athelhampton was purchased by the young Victorian gentleman, Alfred Cart de Lafointaine who created the fabulous gardens that surround the house and restored the house taking advice from his friend and mentor Thomas Hardy.

Pictures of the visit can be seen in the gallery at>>

The visit encompassed tours at two very different historic houses, Corsham Court originally built in 1582 and Great Chalfield Manor constructed over a 100 years earlier in 1467.

A visit to this historic school and its artistic treasures collected over the last six centuries since its foundation by Henry VI.

Our visit in March will enable members, accompanied by the College’s head of Fine & DecoraƟve Art, to obtain a snapshot of the historic school .

Eton College Chapel – Work on the chapel commenced in 1441, one year after the foundation of the college. The wall paintings in the Chapel are the most considerable work of art in the College.

Lower and Upper Schools – Lower school is the original school classroom. The boys were taught Latin and Latin alone, although Greek was added to the curriculum in the early 17th century.

The Audit Room - A room in the Headmaster’s house in which are displayed some of the most notable portraits belonging to the college. These include Sir Thomas Lawrence’s Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington 1818 and Sir Joshua Reynolds’s Hon. John Damer 1762

College Hall – The original dining hall for the scholars. On display will be a selection of the magnificent silver collection owned by the college.

The Verey Gallery – An exhibition on the life of Henry VI and his association with the college. Artifacts include a large silver gilt model of the college chapel and original charter documents for the foundation of the college.

Museum of Eton Life – The museum gives a fascinating insight into life at Eton College throughout the ages

24th-25th September 2019

A two day visit to three memorable Midlands locations: Coventry Cathedral, National Memorial Arboretum, Arbury Hall.

Launched in 1843 she was called 'the greatest experiment since the Creation’. By combining size, power and innovative technology, Brunel created a ship that changed history.

A fascinating visit to a privately owned castle

Chavenage House

16th century historic house on a site occupied since the 1300's. Occupants included Thomas Seymour and his wife Katherine Parr and Colonel Nathaniel Stevens who, cursed by his daughter, died soon after giving rise to a ghost story. The house had been used in many films and television series, most recently ‘Poldark' and we were shown round by the current family who have occupied the property since 1891.

Westonbirt Arboretum

We had a special guided walk to learn about and enjoy the huge variety of trees and shrubs from all over the world, collected since 1850. We also had the opportunity to try the tree-top walk which offered spectacular views across the arboretum.

This was an opportunity to visit England's smallest city to enjoy two of its greatest treasures. Wells Cathedral, described as 'the most poetic of the English Cathedrals', dates from the 12th century and unique features include the beautiful inverted arches supporting the central tower and one of the largest collections of historic stained glass in the country.

After a break for lunch we visited the stunning medieval Bishop's Palace for a guided tour of the interior. Home to the Bishops of Bath and Wells for over 800 years it is acknowledged to be the most impressive historic bishop's house still in use in England. It contains a beautifully vaulted Undercroft, a Long Gallery, the Bishop's private chapel and a splendid ruined Great Hall.

We began with a tour of the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham. The main auditorium is an architectural masterpiece designed by the pioneering Victorian architect Frank Matcham which has inspired generations of performers. We discovered the rich history of the Theatre and saw what a day in the life of a working theatre was like. Our tour took us on stage, into the wings and showed us the star dressing rooms.

The afternoon was spent at the Nature-in-Art gallery, dedicated to fine, decorative and applied art inspired by nature. The growing collection is housed in a fine 18th c Georgian mansion. Spanning 1500 years, displays embrace work in all mediums and styles from across the globe. The collection contains the best creations of 600 artists from over 50 countries.

Our day began with a private tour, before it opens to the general public, of Parham House and its beautiful gardens. At the Pallant House Gallery we had a talk on the John Piper Textiles exhibition.

We saw the Clockmaker's Collection and the Museum's Measuring Time gallery provide us with access to a remarkable horological collection spanning the 16th to 21st centuries. After lunch we had a talk on Botticelli Reimagined, followed by timed entry to the Botticelli exhibition