The Arts Society Bury St Edmunds is pleased to announce a private visit to Holkham Hall on the North Norfolk Coast. This is a unique opportunity to visit whilst the hall is closed to the public, and to be taken around its extraordinary collection in small groups by expert guides. Rather than coming in by the public side entrance and parking at some distance from the Hall, the coach will sweep us up the main drive with stunning views of the Hall and statuary on the approach, to park immediately in front of the grand entrance. We will step from the coach into the imposing Marble Hall, where coffee and tea will be served.

Holkham Hall has been the home of the Coke family since the 18th Century. In 1712 a young Thomas Coke, who later became the first Earl of Leicester, set out on a six-year Grand Tour. Spending much of his time in Italy, Thomas met William Kent and together they developed a passion for the architecture of Andrea Palladio (very familiar to those of us who toured the Palladian Villas of the Veneto in 2023), who championed a return to the building styles of Ancient Rome. On his travels Thomas amassed a huge collection of paintings, sculptures, drawings, and other treasures. When he returned to England, he turned his dreams into reality by building a vast Palladian House on the North Norfolk Coast, creating the magnificent Holkham Hall. Unlike many stately houses, which are now owned by the National Trust, Holkham is still very much a lived in family home. Today, Thomas Coke, 8th Earl of Leicester, lives in the Hall with his wife and children and actively manages the 25,000-acre estate.

Anne Glenconner’s book about her life as a Lady in Waiting to Princess Margaret gives a vivid account of her upbringing at Holkham, where she still lives. The guided tours will include information and anecdotes about the lives of members of the Coke family past and present.

A distinctive feature of Holkham is its Walled Garden, entered through ornate Venetian gates. To complete our day, we will be taken in the coach to visit the six-acre garden, to enjoy its tranquil atmosphere and varied array of flowers, fruit, and vegetables. Here you will find an impressive collection of Georgian and Victorian greenhouses, as well as the newly renovated Samuel Wyatt vinery.

The cost of the day is £67.00 for members of The Arts Society Bury St Edmunds, and £72.00 for guests. This includes coach travel, refreshments on arrival, exclusive access to the Hall with expert guides, access to the grounds and deer park, entrance to the Holkham Stories Experience and access with the coach to the walled garden. Lunch is not included but there are several eating opportunities, including the Stables Courtyard Café serving a varied menu, and other food outlets.

For those with limited mobility there is step free access to all ground floor areas, and a stair climbing machine to convey visitors to the first floor. Wheelchairs and mobility scooters are available to borrow.

Please note, it is essential that you submit a booking form. Payment by BACS without a form will not secure a place. Confirmation of places will be made either by email or by telephone call.

For further information and a Booking Form, please click here

Picture: Holkham Hall

The Arts Society Bury St Edmunds is pleased to announce a private visit to The Manor Hemingford Grey, Cambridgeshire. This is an opportunity to experience one of the oldest continuously inhabited houses in Britain; a rare example of a 12th century two storey moated Norman house. Members will also enjoy the garden, renowned for its large collections of old roses, irises and unusual herbaceous plants. We will be taken around in two small groups of no more than 15 by Diana Boston, current owner of the property, and another member of the family.

This will be a self-drive visit, as the Manor is only a 45-minute drive from Bury St Edmunds. There is very limited parking at the Manor and we will meet and park at a charming local pub and restaurant, The Cock, in Hemingford Grey, which is only 200 yards walk away. The pub will open for coffee or tea from 9.45 am. After our visit to the Manor, there is the opportunity to have lunch at the pub which serves delicious fresh, seasonal food. A two-course set menu will be circulated nearer the time, so that the lunches can be pre-ordered.

The Grade 1 listed Manor House was built circa 1130 by Payn Osmundsen and is situated by the Great Ouse river. It was owned by the de Grey family from 1356 to 1490. In the 1730s, it was owned by the Gunning family and was the birthplace of Maria and Elizabeth Gunning, known as the ‘Beautiful Miss Gunnings’, famed for their beauty across Europe.

The original front of the house is visible from the hidden garden. Most of the Norman house remains virtually intact, despite various changes over nine centuries.

The house was made famous when Lucy Boston, the author, (mother in law of the current owner Diana) bought it in 1939 and recreated it as the house of Greene Knowe in her series of six books, the second of which was made into a film, ‘From Time to Time’. Her son Peter’s illustrations for the books depict many of the things in the house and garden.

In the winter, as well as writing, Lucy made exquisite patchworks, the last of which was created when she was 92 years old. In 2024 the Manor was one of six houses shortlisted for the Historic Houses Collections award, for the eleven patchworks created by Lucy between 1939 and 1984; the Patchwork of the Crosses is now one of the top 10 best known patchworks worldwide.

Lucy Boston also laid out the garden and created the topiary coronation and chess pieces. For the extensive collection of roses and irises for which the garden attracts many visitors, Lucy had advice from such experts as Graham Stuart Thomas, best known for his work with garden roses, and Sir Cedric Morris, who specialised in irises. The collection contains some bred by him, and many famous Dykes Medal winners.

The cost of our visit is £14.00 for members of The Arts Society Bury St Edmunds and £18.00 for guests. This includes entrance to the Manor with an introductory talk, guided tour, and access to the garden.

The cost of the optional 2-course lunch is £22 per person (excluding drinks) Pre-orders will be taken shortly before the visit. Please note that payment for lunch is required at the time of booking for the visit.

Regrettably this visit is not suitable for those with limited mobility due to the steep stairs and uneven floors in the house.

For Further Information and Booking Form, please click here

It is essential that you submit a booking form. Payment by BACS without a form will not secure a place. Confirmation of places will be made either by email or by telephone call.

Picture: The Manor, Hemingford Grey

The Arts Society Bury St Edmunds is pleased to announce a full day visit to Waddesdon Manor, near Aylesbury, on June 7, 2024. Waddesdon, a neo-Renaissance country house, contains the world-renowned collections of the Rothschild family. It is owned by the National Trust, but unusually still managed by the Rothschild Foundation.

Waddesdon Manor
Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild built Waddesdon between 1874 and 1889, in the style of the French Chateaux, as a weekend residence for entertaining and to house his collection of Arts and Antiquities. As the manor and estate have passed through three generations of the Rothschild family, the contents have expanded to become one of the most rare and valuable collections in the world. In 1957, James de Rothschild bequeathed Waddesdon to the National Trust, but with the family continuing to manage the property. Today the Rothschild Foundation, chaired by Jacob de Rothschild, acts as custodian and investor. New works have been acquired, there is a programme of engagement with contemporary artists, and a series of special exhibitions. About to open is an exhibition of works by the renowned Bolognese painter Guercino. This will be available to our members and is included in the cost.

Waddesdon had one of the most important Victorian gardens, of which many of the key features have been restored. In 2000 it won the Europa Nostra award for ‘the extraordinary re-creation with modern techniques of a major Victorian Garden’. There is a fine Parterre, an aviary and sculpture, with seasonal carpet bedding throughout the grounds.

All in all, there will be plenty for Members of The Arts Society to enjoy on what promises to be a varied and hugely interesting day out.

Picture: Waddesdon Manor

Cost and Programme
As National Trust members (who must present their membership card to benefit) will not be required to pay an entrance fee, the cost of this visit falls into 4 categories. Click here to see the Booking Form for cost details and a summary of the Programme.

The costs include coach travel, refreshments on arrival, a guided tour of the house, entrance to a special exhibition on Guercino (a 17C Bolognese artist) and, for those who are not National Trust members, the entrance fee to Waddesdon.

Not included, is the cost of lunch; there is, however, a wide choice of eating possibilities including the gourmet Manor Restaurant (booking strongly advised), an informal café in the stables, several take away stalls, and picnic areas.

Booking:
To reserve a place on this visit, please complete the Booking Form and send it with your payment, either online or by post, to the address given on the form.

Please Note: It is essential that you submit a Booking Form. Payment by BACS without a form will not secure a place. Confirmation of your booking will be given either by email or by telephone call.

Priority for this visit will be given to members of The Arts Society Bury St Edmunds. Members may be accompanied by their partner or a friend, as a guest.

The visit is subject to minimum numbers. In the event of these not being met by members of The Arts Society Bury St Edmunds, it will be opened to members of neighbouring Arts Societies and then to non-members.

Non-members travelling independently will be expected to apply for membership of The Arts Society Bury St Edmunds.

The Arts Society Bury St Edmunds is delighted to offer members a private visit to Euston Hall, home of the 12th Duke and Duchess of Grafton. As this visit is so local, it is being offered on a self-drive basis (postcode IP24 2QW). Although there is ample car parking, car sharing is encouraged and will be facilitated on request. The cost (£25.00 for members, £28.00 for guests) includes refreshments on arrival, and a sandwich lunch.

Members should arrive by 9.50 to park their cars and make their way to the Hall for 10.00, where they will be welcomed with coffee or tea. Our party will then be split into two groups. The first will be taken on a guided tour of the Hall, starting at 10.15 and lasting for approximately an hour and 15 minutes, and then have time to explore the parkland and its many attractions. The second group will start with free time in the parkland and then convene for a guided tour of the house at 11.15. A sandwich lunch will be provided for everyone at 12.45.

Euston Hall
Built by Lord Arlington in 1666 Euston has been home to the Dukes of Grafton for over 350 years. The elegant red-brick Palladian House boasts a superb collection of Stuart Art, as well as fine objets d’art and furniture. Under the present Duke Harry it has undergone extensive restoration, making it an even more beautiful and historically interesting place to visit. Apart from the Hall, our members will be free to enjoy the 10,500 acres of parkland landscaped by William Kent, the formal gardens, the Capability Brown designed waterways, the charming church of St Genevieve, an historic watermill, and a small collection of agricultural bygones.

Picture: Euston Hall

To reserve a place on this visit, please complete the booking form and send it with your payment either online or by post to the address given on the form. Click here to see the form.

Places are strictly limited. It is essential that you submit a booking form. Payment by BACS without a form will not secure a place.
Confirmation of places will be made either by email or by telephone call.

Booking Notice
Priority will be given to members of The Arts Society Bury St Edmunds. Members may be accompanied by their partner or a friend, as a guest.
The visit will be opened to members of neighbouring Arts Societies and then to non-members, in the event that insufficient numbers are achieved within The Arts Society Bury St Edmunds.

Non-members travelling independently will be expected to apply for membership of The Arts Society Bury St Edmunds.

The Arts Society Bury St Edmunds is delighted to give members and their guests the opportunity to visit one of England’s most unusual Tudor Houses. Its fascinating history is inextricably linked to local families and to the Abbey, and is now the family home of Eileen and Andrew Gilbert.

The Hall was built by Sir John Croftes, Master of Horse to Mary Tudor, Queen of France and the Duchess of Suffolk, who is buried in St Mary’s Church, Bury St Edmunds. Mary Tudor’s coat of arms as Queen of France can be seen over the door to the Hall’s decorative gatehouse, which has turrets surmounted by terracotta figures and contains a very rare 16th century wall painting of the Four Ages of Man.

The colonnade linking the gatehouse and hall was built in 1580. The main house consists of large timber frames joined by iron ties. The downstairs rooms are heavily timbered with side uprights rising to the roof. They contain stone taken from the Abbey and feature an enormous inglenook fireplace.

West Stow Hall remained in the Croftes family until 1670, when it was left to the Progers, who were royal servants. Since then, it has been owned, among others, by the Marquis of Cornwallis, the Rector of Culford the Revd Edward Bunyon, and the Earl Cadogan. Since 1937 it has belonged to four different families.

Eileen and Andrew Gilbert bought the Hall in 2009 and have since devoted themselves to renovating it sympathetically, in accordance with its Grade 1 listing and with the guidance of English Heritage.

Our visit will take place from 14.30 until 17.00 and will include a guided tour and a homemade tea. Afterwards, there will be time to explore the grounds and gardens.

The cost will be £20.00 for members and £22.00 for their guests. As the tour takes in the first-floor rooms of the Hall it may not be suitable for those who have difficulty with stairs.

This visit is local to Bury St Edmunds,and is being offered on a self-drive basis. Although there is ample car parking, car sharing is encouraged and will be facilitated on request.

West Stow Hall (IP28 6EY) is situated on Icklingham Road, just outside Bury St Edmunds, very close to West Stow Anglo Saxon Village and to Fuller’s Mill Garden. Coming from Bury to West Stow, turn left past the church into the village and it is 100 yds on the right.

To reserve a place on this visit, please complete the booking form (Go to 'Our Society'>'Documents' or click here) and return it with your payment either online or by post to Rosie Varley at the address given.

Picture: West Stow Hall

For full details, please go to 'Tours'

Following curator Daniel Robbins’ September lecture, ‘A Private Palace of Art: Frederic Leighton’s Studio House’, The Arts Society Bury St Edmunds is delighted to offer the opportunity to visit Leighton House and nearby Sambourne House. Both houses have recently undergone extensive renovation and, after a 2-year closure, re-opened in October.

Leighton House is the former home of the Victorian Artist Frederic, Lord Leighton (1830 to 1896). The only purpose-built studio-house open to the public in the United Kingdom, it is one of the most remarkable buildings of the nineteenth century, containing a fascinating collection of paintings and sculpture by Leighton and his contemporaries.

When Frederic Leighton settled in Holland Park Rd in 1864 the artist Valentine Cameron Prinsep constructed his own studio-house next door and, by the time of Leighton’s death, a colony of artists, ‘The Holland Park Circle’, had grown up around him, with ten further artists living and working in neighbouring studio-houses.

Sambourne House is the former home of Punch cartoonist Edward Linley Sambourne (1844 to 1910), his wife Marion, their two children and their live-in servants. The house provides insight into the personal lives of the Sambourne family, and is a rare example of what was known as an ‘Aesthetic Interior’ or ‘House Beautiful Style’.

Picture: Leighton House interior

This is a private visit, to include a 90- minute guided tour by Jenny Hand, the Museum Director, covering the standing collection, a special exhibition The Art of the Poster, and Munnings’ Studio.

After the tour members will be free to enjoy the museum further at leisure, and to enjoy the extensive gardens and parkland. The Museum’s café with indoor and outdoor sitting will be open from 10.30 for coffee and for lunch after the tour. Alternatively, there are good pubs and cafés in the nearby villages of Dedham, East Bergholt and Flatford where members can explore the countryside, depicted in Constable’s most well-known paintings.

The visit is being arranged on a sel-drive/ shared-car basis and costs £15 for members and £18 for guests. Contact Rosie Varley (rosievarley1@gmail.com) to book. 

Elton Hall is a romantic part Gothic house which has been in the Proby family since 1660. It is a fascinating mixture of styles, reflecting the tastes and interests of succeeding generations.

Every room contains treasures including magnificent furniture and paintings from old masters to the remarkable C19th work of Alma Tadema and Millais and a fine collection of porcelain. The library is one of the largest in private ownership and includes such treasures as Henry VIII's prayer book.

The beautiful gardens have been restored during the last 30 years, based on the Edwardian design of paths and lawns. Immaculately kept hedges of hornbeam and yew frame different areas, including an enchanting sunken pond. The millennium was celebrated with the building of the new Orangery which is set in a colourful Mediterranean garden.

On arrival at Elton Hall we will be served with a Ploughman's lunch at the Mulberry café. We will then be met by our guides who will lead us to the Hall along a pleasant tree-lined walk and who will divide us into groups of 12 for the tour, which lasts approximately an hour. Afterwards there will be time to look around the gardens at leisure.

Accessibility - Unfortunately, the hall is not suitable for wheelchairs or mobility aids and there are several flights of steps which may also present problems for anyone with walking difficulties. There is no visitor seating within the hall. The walk from the coach park to the hall is approximately 300 metres.

Click here for the Booking Form

Enjoy a private tour of one of Cambridge's best kept secrets

Behind a very ordinary terraced façade at 186 Gwydr Street (a short walk from the station) lies David Parr House. 

Parr was a nineteenth century decorative artist who helped execute some of the greatest Arts and Crafts and Neo Gothic designs of the day. In this, his family home, he created a stunning set of hand painted interiors, inspired by his association with George Bodley, William Morris and others. After his death, his grand-daughter Elsie lived in the house for over 80 years, conserving and overlaying her grand-father’s work. The house was out of view for decades, but is now open to the public under the management of a charitable trust.

The house is small, accommodating 6 people at a time, so we have arranged a series of private small group tours, each lasting 90 minutes and led by a specialist guide. The first tour will start at 10.30 am. 

Following the visit, members will have the option of taking a free self-guided walking tour of Cambridge, including churches and buildings decorated by F R Leach & Sons, the firm for which David Parr worked for 40 years. There are also any number of nearby cafés and restaurants, notably Hot Numbers, immediately opposite, and Scott’s, on Mill Road, a two-minute walk away.

Click here for booking information.

Picture: Interior detail, David Parr House

A fascinating introduction to a little known culture, through beautiful and extraordinary exhibits.

The Saka culture of Central Asia, flourishing 2,500 years ago, is largely unknown outside Kazakhstan. This exhibition presents artefacts from the extraordinary burial mounds of the Saka people of East Kazakhstan and is the first time these exhibits have left Kazakhstan, 

This exhibition has been built around material from three different burial complexes in East Kazakhstan: Berel, Shilikty and Eleke Sazy. Saka society included agriculturalists, pastoralists, nomads, settled people, warriors, those engaging in ritual practice, with immense technological skill and deep knowledge of wild and tamed animals.

Tickets will be pre-booked, and although free, we invite a donation of £5.00 per head on behalf of the museum. 

Click here for information about how to join this visit.

Picture: From the Exhibition

John Waite, a regular presenter of Pick of the Week and former investigative journalist, led us around Highgate in the morning with help from two other guides. We divided into small groups (one of them is pictured, right) which toured the cemetery, taking in the the graves of the famous (such as Marx, George Elliot, Rossetti, Lucien Freud, Litvinenko and George Michael) and less well known, but all with fascinating life stories. The Cemetery often steeply sloping paths offered stunning views of London.

At lunchtime the visit moved on to nearby Kenwood House. This is an C18th neoclassical villa overlooking its own grounds, beautifully landscaped in the Romantic style, and which run directly on to Hampstead Heath.

This remarkable survivor - a country estate now subsumed into the heart of London - also provided spectacular views of the City, while the house itself has an outstanding collection of paintings, including works by Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Hals. 

170 years after the first pictures were exhibited by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1849, Pre-Raphaelite Sisters, explores the overlooked contribution of twelve women to this iconic artistic movement. Featuring new discoveries and unseen works from public and private collections across the world, this show reveals the women behind the pictures and their creative roles in Pre-Raphaelite’s successive phases between 1850 and 1900.

For information and booking form, click here

Picture: Night and Sleep by Evelyn De Morgan

Dale Chihuly is considered to be one of the most daring and innovative artists currently working in glass. This exhibition, set against the unique backdrop of Kew Gardens, brings together his Reflections on Nature, a stunning selection of colourful sculptures and expressive drawings from the past 50 years.

Maps will be provided to guide you round a trail to ensure that you see all the exhibits placed around the gardens as well as those installed in the glasshouses and the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art.
There is an Explorer hop-on hop-off tour land train available for a small fee, which you may wish to use.
You will have the opportunity to enjoy other highlights that Kew has to offer, whether it’s the tropical plants of the Palm House, the impressive trees of the Arboretum or the architectural wonder of The Hive, there is plenty to see surrounding the art.

For further information and a booking form, click here.

To see the Kew Gardens website, click here:

Picture: Dale Chihuly, 'Chartreuse Hornet Polyvitro Chandelier' (detail), 2001 © Chihuly Studio

Henry Spencer Moore (1898-1986) was one of the most important British artists of the twentieth century and arguably the most internationally celebrated sculptor of the period. He is renowned for his semi-abstract monumental bronzes, which can be seen all over the world.

The Henry Moore Foundation at Perry Green, near Much Hadham in Hertfordshire, was founded by the artist and his family in 1977 to encourage public appreciation of the visual arts. Today, the Foundation continues that purpose, whist preserving the legacy of Moore, as a great sculptor, who did so much to bring the art form to a wider audience.

Our visit offers the chance to discover more about his life and work. We start with a guided tour of Hoglands, the house where Henry Moore lived with his family for over 40 years. We have arranged a sandwich lunch in the Visitor Centre after which we will have a tour of the sculpture gardens and studios which are deemed the best place in the world to appreciate the artist's work.

Picture: Large Figure in a Shelter, 1985-86

For further information and a booking form, click here.

This is a ‘once-in-a-generation’ exhibition in which, through poetry, prose and inscription, the people of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms reveal their history.

Books, handwritten and intricately decorated, illuminated manuscripts, finely-crafted metalwork, inscribed jewels, and sculpture, are the media used to provide a glimpse, sometimes richly detailed, of the period from the eclipse of Roman Britain, to the Norman Conquest.

The exhibition presents many of the earliest, most exquisite and rare examples of written communi-cation including, for example, the earliest surviving parchment letter, and Bede’s ‘Ecclesiastical History’.

It is, according to the Evening Standard ‘by some distance the most significant exhibition in London’.

Whilst many of the exhibits are from the British Library’s own, outstanding collection, the exhibition includes many exceptional loans.

Picture: Venerable Bede ‘Ecclesiastical History’

For further information and a booking form, click here

All Saints Brixworth is the largest Saxon church in England, and most likely the largest Anglo-Saxon building of any kind. It is one of the most important church buildings of its period in Europe.

The church that exists today dates from AD750-850. It was ruined, but not destroyed, by the Vikings in 870. Reconstruction took place from 960-970, in which ‘reclaimed’ materials, including Roman brickwork, were used.

The nave is entirely Saxon in construction and there are several unique Saxon features. One of these is a ring crypt at the east end, surrounding the apse. In the shape of a stilted semi-circle, it is one of only 3 such crypts in England, and probably served as an ambulatory for pilgrims. Another unique feature is the external stair turret that climbs the west tower; one of only 4 such turrets in the country.

Just inside the 12th-century south door is another treasure. Set into a niche is an ancient stone carved with an eagle's head. This may once have been part of a Roman villa located near Brixworth. Near the pulpit is another stone fragment; the lower section of a Saxon cross, which was discovered by chance in the vicarage garden in 1897.

One of the most interesting interior features is the Lady Chapel, otherwise known as the Verdun Chapel after Sir John de Verdun (d. 1276), whose tomb is in a recess on the south wall. At the entrance to the Lady Chapel is a beautiful 15th-century screen. This was moved from its original location in front of the apse and has been repainted in what is thought to be the original medieval colour scheme.

78 Derngate was famously re-modelled by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1916 for his client, Northampton model engineer, Wenman Bassett-Lowke. Purchased for Bassett-Lowke by his father as a wedding present, the typical early-nineteenth century brick terrace house was originally constructed 100 years earlier.

An unknown friend, possibly Francis Newbery, Headmaster of the Glasgow School of Art, recommended Mackintosh to Bassett-Lowke in 1916. Bassett-Lowke was already interested in modern architecture and design and he wanted to encourage good design in others.

Mackintosh may not have visited 78 Derngate during its remodelling and decoration. He may, however, have seen photographs of the completed scheme. It is also believed that he visited a couple of times later, probably in connection with the redecoration of the Hall Lounge c. 1921-22. The Bassett-Lowkes lived there until 1926. A number of private residents occupied the house until 1964, when it was purchased by Northampton High School for Girls.

Concern for the future of the house came to a peak in the early 1990s when the school decided to sell the property. Local people united with members of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society to campaign for its preservation, restoration and opening to the public.
In 1996 Northampton Borough Council bought a 999-year lease on the property. Two years, later the newly-formed 78 Derngate Northampton Trust undertook restoration of the house and development of number 80, as an exhibition and circulation space. Work began in the summer of 2002 and the house opened to the public at the end of 2003.

Picture: Rennie Mackintosh House interior, 78 Derngate, Northampton

For further information and a booking form, click here

Boughton House, the ‘English Versailles’, near Kettering, is one of Britain’s grandest and best-preserved stately homes with outstanding collections of fine art, furniture, tapestries, porcelain and carpets. Paintings include ‘The Adoration of the Shepherds’ by El Greco, Gainsborough’s portrait of Mary Montagu, grisailles and portraits by Van Dyck, and ‘Breaking Cover’ by John Wootton.

Boughton also has some superbly-preserved baroque State Rooms: grand apartments of contrasting character decorated in extravagant yet elegant taste with the finest artworks of the House’s golden era.

Day 1 ends with a walking tour of Shrewsbury, and overnight stay at the Prince Rupert Hotel.

Weston Park, near Shifnal, Shropshire, is set in 1,000 acres of ‘Capability’ Brown Parkland. The present house dates from the 16th and 17 centuries, however, the history of the estate can be traced back to the Domesday Book.

The family were patrons of Thomas Chippendale; his chairs line the walls of the Entrance Hall alongside works by Morel & Hughes, royal furniture makers to the Prince of Wales, later King George IV.

The art Collection includes paintings by Van Dyck, Holbein the Younger, Thomas Gainsborough, Sir Joshua Reynolds and George Stubbs. Weston also has a rich collection of ceramics, and silver displayed in a purpose built treasury; The Tapestry Room houses a superb set of French Gobelin tapestries commissioned for Weston by Sir Henry Bridgeman in the 1760’s featuring the Love of the Gods.

Coton Manor Gardens, Northampton, is a peaceful ten-acre garden occupying a hillside position extending down from the 17th century manor house, which is constructed of mellow Northamptonshire stone. Landscaped on different levels, it comprises a series of distinctive smaller gardens, providing variety and interest throughout the season, and enhanced by flowing streams, fountains and ponds.

For a fully detailed brochure, click here.

For a booking form, click here.

Picture: Boughton House - the English Versailles

Otley Hall was built and owned by the Gosnolds, who lived here for over 230 years from 1440, first as tenants then as owners, with much of what we see today having been built during the 16th century.

At least four rooms at the Hall are easily recognisable from Gosnold's time. Candle burns on the wood are clearly visible and, by a small leap of the imagination, one can picture Bartholomew Gosnold in the Great Hall, planning his epic voyage to the New World, when in 1607, 13 years before the Mayflower landed, the Virginia Company expedition founded the Jamestown colony. It seals Otley Hall's place in history, as it is argued that "The United States was founded out of Jamestown."

The house has a wealth of notable features including a cross or screens passage, richly carved beams, most beautiful and complete linenfold panelling and remarkable 16th-century wall paintings celebrating the marriage in 1559 of Robert Gosnold III and Ursula Naunton. Outside, the lofty chimneys, herringbone brickwork and magnificent vine-leaf pargetting, give a tantalising glimpse of a glorious past. The ten acres of gardens, have been placed sixth in the 50 top British gardens.

Pevsner described Otley as “one of the most interesting 15th and early 16th century houses in Suffolk”. The Hall has long been regarded as the oldest house in Suffolk to survive largely intact, and is still a private home.

Our visit will include a guided tour of the house, followed by refreshments, with limited time to explore the garden.

For further information and a booking form, click here.

The Stained Glass Museum offers a unique insight into the fascinating history of stained glass, an art-form that has been practised in Britain for at least thirteen hundred years.

The permanent gallery displays over 125 stained glass panels representing eight hundred years of the history of this ancient art, from the thirteenth century to the present day.

All the stained glass panels in the gallery are displayed at eye-level enabling visitors to have a rare close-encounter with the art of stained glass.

Our visit will include an explanation of the processes involved in the making of medieval glass, and a tour of the museum guided by the Curator. Following a practical lesson on stained glass fusing, given by an artist, we shall have an opportunity to try our hand at the process and produce a piece of artwork.

For further information and a booking form, click here

To visit the Ely Stained Glass Museum website, click here

Picture: An inspirational collection of stained glass, from medieval to modern

Discover the legendary art collection of Charles 1. For the first time since the 17th century, this landmark exhibition will bring together the astounding treasures that changed the taste of the nation.

‘This is an historic event, a marvel of organisation, borrowing power and intensive scholarship. It is not a show so much as an entire museum of masterpieces, from Holbein’s infinitely sensitive Tudor portraits to Titian’s stupendous grace, from the eroticism of Veronese to the silk-and-satin swagger of Van Dyck.’ – The Guardian

Picture: Charles I and Henrietta Maria with Prince Charles and Princess Mary by Anthony van Dyck.
ROYAL COLLECTION TRUST

For further information and a booking form, click here

‘Of course it is Modigliani’s stylized interpretations of languid, melancholy women that are best-known today. But what makes many of his portraits linger in one’s memory is the unease clouding his subjects’ faces. “All are like hurt children, albeit some of these children have beards or grey hair,” wrote Russian novelist Ilya Ehrenburg, who had also known the artist in Paris. “I believe that the world seemed to Modigliani like an enormous kindergarten run by very unkind adults.” The vulnerable-looking child wringing her hands in Little Girl in Blue had, in fact, just been scolded. The artist had sent her out for a bottle of wine, and she’d returned with lemonade.’

Doug Stewart, Smithsonian Magazine, March 2005

Modigliani’s nudes are a highlight of this exhibition. Radical and thought-provoking sculptures are also featured, and portraits of his friends, lovers and patrons.

Picture: Nude 1917

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The Munnings Art Museum reveals another side to one of Britain’s finest equestrian painters with this new exhibition in Castle House. Drawn from the museum’s significant collection of work by this prolific East Anglian painter, over 40 oil and watercolour views of the rivers Stour, Waveney and Barle (Exmoor) are presented along with related sketches, photographs and personal ephemera.

Sir Alfred James Munnings
Munnings became the leading equestrian artist of his day. He was president of the Royal Academy from 1944 until 1949. He is also remembered for a bibulous after-dinner speech at the Royal Academy, when he publicly attacked Modernism, describing Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse as “foolish daubers”. He had, by then, been president of the RA for five years, pipping Augustus John to the post, but the controversy he stirred up led to his resignation.

Munnings was born on 8 October 1878 at Mendham Mill, Mendham, Suffolk, where his father was the miller. At fourteen he was apprenticed to a Norwich printer, designing and drawing advertising posters, and attending the Norwich School of Art in his spare time. When his apprenticeship ended, he became a full-time painter. Two of his pictures were shown at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 1899. He painted rural scenes, frequently of subjects such as Gypsies and horses. In accepting commissions from society figures, he became best known for his equine painting, often depicting horses in scenes of hunting and racing.

Castle House
Munnings bought Castle House, Dedham, in 1919, describing it as 'the house of my dreams'. He used the house and adjoining studio extensively throughout the rest of his career. It is an elegant property of Tudor origins remodelled in the Georgian period, situated on the outskirts of Dedham in Constable Country, on the borders of Essex and Suffolk.  Beautifully proportioned and filled with light, its well-appointed public rooms have a remarkably welcoming and friendly atmosphere. Munnings paintings are everywhere.
It was opened as the Munnings Art Museum in the early 1960s.

Picture: Boxworthy Water, Exmoor, at Cloud
Alfred James Munnings (1878-1959), The Munnings Art Museum

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The House: The romantic exterior of Knebworth House with its turrets, domes and gargoyles silhouetted against the sky does little to prepare the visitor for what to expect inside. The House has stood for many years longer than the Victorian decoration suggests and the stucco hides from view a red brick house dating back to the Tudor times.

Every generation of the Lytton family has left something of its style and taste, making Knebworth an extraordinary walk, through 500 years of British history. Stories and heirlooms reflect the family’s contribution to literature, politics and foreign service, and visits by characters as diverse as Charles Dickens, Winston Churchill and Noel Gallagher.

The gardens, a fascinating history: There have been gardens at Knebworth House since at least the 17th Century, but the present layout dates largely from the Edwardian era. The architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, who married into the Lytton family, simplified the ornate beds and statuary of the Victorian garden with lawns and avenues of pollarded lime trees. Lutyens created ‘garden rooms’ with each area having a different feel depending on the planting. The Herb Garden was recreated in 1982 from Gertrude Jekyll’s 1907 design. Each generation has enhanced the gardens, and the recent wood carvings are particularly interesting.

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Picture: The state drawing room, created by John Grace and Lord Lytton in the 1840s

After the Great Fire of London in 1666, fifty-one churches were rebuilt under the direction of Christopher Wren. Our tour begins at the greatest of Wren’s churches, St Pauls Cathedral, and will include at least 5 others, among them St Stephen, Walbrook and St Mary, Aldermary. We shall see the steeples of many more and visit some small churchyard gardens on the way.

Our tour leader, Tony Tucker, is an experienced City of London guide and NADFAS lecturer. He is author of ‘The Visitors Guide to the City of London Churches’, now in its third edition. During our walk, Tony will regale us with stories of roman emperors, medieval kings and queens and also take us to sites with connections to Dickens, Keats, Wordsworth and Shakespeare.

We shall finish with a superb view of the London skyline from a City rooftop.

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Picture; Interior of St Mary Aldermary

David Hockney is without doubt one of Britain’s greatest living artists and one of the most popular and influential artists of the 20th century.

This exceptional and comprehensive exhibition will gather together an extensive selection of his most famous works celebrating achievements in painting, drawing, print, photography and video, across six decades.

Hockney’s impact on post war art, and culture generally, is inestimable. This exhibition represents a fantastic opportunity to see the full trajectory of his career to date.

Picture: My parents (1977)

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Emma, Lady Hamilton is most famous for being the lover of Admiral Horatio Nelson, but this exhibition reveals another side to the woman who was born into poverty and became one of her era’s most celebrated characters.

Emma’s compelling story will be explored through exceptional fine art; antiquities that inspired her famous “attitudes”, costumes that show her impact on contemporary fashions, and prints and caricatures that carried her image to a mass audience.

After a break for lunch we will meet at the Lecture Theatre in the Museum for a lecture by Quintin Colville, the Curator of the Exhibition.

Picture: Emma Hamilton as a young woman c. 1782, by George Romney

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Palace House is the hub of the new National Heritage Centre for Horseracing and Sporting Art, situated in the remains of Charles II’s sporting palace and stables, in the heart of Newmarket. It comprises three complementary attractions; the National Horseracing Museum, a National Art Gallery of British Sporting Art, with a collection ‘as fine as one would find in any gallery worldwide’, and The Rothschild Yard. The yard, built in 1903 and now restored, is dedicated to the retraining of racehorses for ‘a life after racing’.

This visit, linking with our February lecture ‘Horse: a History of Bronze Equine Sculpture from pre-history to the Present day’, will include the three key features of the Heritage Centre.

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To see the Palace House website, click here.

Picture: Two Hunters, print by George Townly Stubbs, 1792

The Warner Textile Archive, located in a Grade II textile mill in Braintree, was opened in 1993 and is the second largest publicly owned collection of textiles, designs and patterns in the UK.

The Collection combines an extensive part of the business and design archives of Warner & Sons, as well as smaller collections of textiles and paper designs purchased by them for inspiration.

There are around 100,000 items including hand-woven silks documenting nearly 500 years of design history.

Our visit will start with a private visit to the store and a talk on Warner & Sons whilst you are shown some of the fantastic collection. This will be followed by a visit to the Archive Gallery to discover more of the collection and its rich history.

The Christmas Gift Shop will have just opened so you will have first pickings at finding an unusual gift to give or for yourself.

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Submerged beneath the waters of the Mediterranean for over a thousand years, the lost cities of Thonis-Heracleion and Canopus lay at the mouth of the Nile. Named after the Greek hero Heracles, Thonis-Heracleion was one of Egypt’s most important commercial centres for trade with the Mediterranean world and, with Canopus, was a major centre for the worship of the Egyptian gods.

World-renowned archaeologist Franck Goddio and his team, excavating over the last 20 years, have made spectacular discoveries in this underwater metropolis, which are transforming our understanding of the connection between the great ancient civilisations of Egypt and Greece.

In this exhibition many of their discoveries, alongside fascinating objects from major Egyptian museums, will be seen for the first time in the UK.

Photo: Colossal statue of the God Hapy, who was credited with the annual flooding of the Nile

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The ‘Day Out’ begins with a visit to

Henstead Exotic Garden near Beccles

Owner, Andrew Brogan, started from scratch on his creation some 10 years ago. Behind his unassuming cottage, and now extending to some 2 acres, the garden has featured widely in the media, including BBC Gardeners World, National Geographic, Homes and Gardens and the national press. One of Alan Titchmarsh’s favourite gardens, Alan said it was ‘like walking into the jungle – it’s like Belize comes to Beccles’. Andrew will guide us through this impressive and unique garden experience.

Lunch will be taken at the nearby

Evergreens Exotic Garden Centre

Apart from being a great place to eat, the centre sells wonderful exotic (can that really be a coincidence?) plants as well as those more familiar in Britain. The restaurant is run by an enthusiastic young chef who has received much praise for the quality of his freshly cooked food.

After lunch, and maybe some plant buying, the day continues with a visit to

Earsham Hall

This is a large Queen Anne house with medieval origins. It is home to the present owners Rupert and Annabel Derham, who have embarked upon an extensive programme of preserving and renovating the Hall. The Earsham Hall furniture showrooms are a business venture which helps to fund their programme of renovation. We will be given a tour of the house followed by tea/coffee and biscuits and an opportunity to browse the showrooms.

Picture: Henstead Exotic Garden ©

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The Chapel: "It is no exaggeration to say the Watts Cemetery Chapel is one of the most beautiful, extraordinary, original, marvellous and magical buildings in the whole of the British Isles!" - Lucinda Lambton

Watts Gallery: "I had no idea that here in Surrey, there was a collection of such richness and a story of such depth. That one man with his devoted wife could leave so much - which makes Compton a unique artists' village and Watts one of the most important artists and philanthropists of the 19th century." - Penelope Keith CBE DL

Our visit to the village of Compton in the Surrey hills will include The Watts Gallery, the Artists’ studio and workshop, their home, and the Chapel.

On day two, we shall visit Hever Castle, childhood home of Anne Boleyn, at Hever in Kent.
Spanning more than 700 years of history, the present state of the castle is the result of extensive restoration work initiated by William Waldorf Astor who bought the castle in 1903. He also commissioned the ‘Astor Wing’ and the magnificent gardens and lake.

We shall round off our tour with a visit Charles Darwin’s home, Down House, at Downe.
Moving to the house in 1842, Darwin with his wife Emma remodelled the house and its extensive gardens, which Darwin used as an open-air laboratory. As it was when he lived there, we shall see the room where Darwin wrote ‘On the Origin of Species by means of natural Selection’.

Picture: The Watts Cemetery Chapel

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Monet, arguably the most important painter of gardens in the history of art, once said he owed his painting “to flowers”. But Monet was far from alone in his fascination with the horticultural world.

Painting the Modern Garden is explored through works created during a period of great social change and innovation in the arts, by some of the most important Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and Avant-Garde artists of the early twentieth century.
The exhibition, which includes masterpieces by Renoir, Cezanne, Pissarro, Manet, Sargent, Kandinsky, Van Gogh, Matisse, Klimt and Klee, shows how the emergence of the modern garden gave artists freedom to break new ground and explore the ever-changing world around them.

Highlights include a remarkable selection of works by Monet, including the monumental Agapanthus Triptych, reunited specifically for the exhibition.

Picture: Louis Comfort Tiffany by Joaquin Sorolla, 1911

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Perhaps the grandest address in the capital, once known as 'Number 1 London', this beautiful Georgian building was the London home of Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington. It has changed very little since his great victory at Waterloo in 1815. It is home to one of the finest art collections in London, with paintings by Velazquez and Rubens, as well as a wonderful collection of silver and porcelain.

History of Apsley House

Originally designed and built by Robert Adam in the 1770s for Lord Chancellor Henry, 1st Baron Apsley, the house was bought by the Duke of Wellington in 1817. He transformed it into a palatial residence to befit his status, and filled it with works of art and gifts from grateful rulers across Europe. Given to the nation in 1947, it remains the family town house, while the public rooms – magnificent examples of the Regency style – form a dazzling backdrop to the 1st Duke’s outstanding art collection.

Significance of Apsley House

Apsley House is internationally famous as the home of the 1st Duke of Wellington and his descendants. It is a memorial to Britain’s triumph over the Napoleonic threat. As a restored historic house, it is a celebration of Regency style, a museum commemorating the 1st Duke, and the home of an outstanding collection of decorative and fine art.

Picture: The Waterloo Gallery, used to celebrate Wellington’s annual Waterloo Banquet from 1830 onwards

The Wellington Arch

Wellington Arch, a well-known London landmark, was built in 1825–7 and was originally intended as an outer entrance to Buckingham Palace. At first it stood directly south of Piccadilly, facing the Hyde Park Screen; but it was moved to its present position in the 1880s to allow for road widening. Its original design was never completed, and a controversial equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington was erected on top of it in 1846. This was taken down in the 1880s when the arch was moved, eventually being replaced in 1911–12 with the quadriga sculpture that crowns it today and fulfils Decimus Burton’s 1820s design.

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This richly featured two-day event will include a visit to the church of All Saints, Tudeley, where we shall have a guided viewing of the Stained Glass Windows created by the eminent Russian artist Marc Chagall. The principal visit of the first day will be to the National Trust, Sissinghurst Castle Garden, where we shall enjoy, at leisure, this wonderful site so firmly associated with Vita Sackville West and Harold Nicolson.

We shall stay overnight at the Premier Inn in the centre of Eastbourne.

Our second day is a British Art at Home tour, commencing at Charleston Farmhouse, home to the Bloomsbury Group of painters, writers and intellectuals. One of the principal members of this group was Virginia Woolf, a troubled soul who had such a close friendship with Vita Sackville-West.

Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell decorated the house in their unique style. The rooms on show form a complete example of the decorative art of the Bloomsbury artists: murals, painted furniture, ceramics, objects from the Omega Workshops (a design enterprise founded by members of the group), paintings and textiles: it is a home like no other. We shall also visit nearby Berwick Church.

Lunch is included at The Cricketers Arms in Berwick, after which we shall drive to Farley Farmhouse, Chiddingley, which was the home of the artist Roland Penrose and the celebrated photographer Lee Miller, and is still the home of their son Antony. Many members will remember the engaging lecture by Antony Penrose, “The Boy who Bit Picasso”. Farley is where it all took place.

This area of Sussex encompassed so many of the artistic luminaries - writers, poets, artists, sculptors, photographers and horticulturists - of the early 20th Century, and our visit promises to be inspiring and illuminating, so do join us.

To be sure of a place, please make your reservation as soon as possible.

Picture: Charleston farmhouse

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Alexander McQueen was one of the greatest British fashion designers of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, whose visionary designs constantly pushed the boundaries of fashion. In March the V&A will host a major fashion exhibition to showcase his extraordinary talent, spanning his 1992 MA graduate collection to his unfinished Autumn/Winter 2010 collection. Over 120 McQueen designs will be presented with the dramatic staging and sense of spectacle, which was synonymous with his runway shows.

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Welcome to BBC Broadcasting House

Broadcasting House, in the centre of London, is the iconic home of the BBC reinvented for the digital future. In a redevelopment programme which took a decade to complete and cost £1014m, it is now home to the most advanced digital broadcast and production facilities in the world.

It contains an array of new public facilities, including an external piazza, enhanced with specially designed artworks and lighting, and a new reception and Media Café serving Radio Theatre audiences and offering a vista directly over the central newsroom.

In our guided tour, we are invited to step inside the exciting world of broadcasting, going behind the scenes of this dynamic, live broadcasting hub to see and hear what goes on at the beating heart of the BBC. We may experience a camera's eye view into some of the studios broadcasting to the nation, including television and radio news studios, and visit The One Show studio, learning how this popular nightly topical programme is put together. We shall also have a chance to try our hand at reading the news and weather on an interactive news set! (Well, perhaps not every one of us.)

The 1930s reception space in the original Grade II* listed Broadcasting House has been carefully restored, the foyer being a fine example of art deco design with classic lantern lighting, columns made of Hopton-Wood marble and the original 1932 paint colour.

Eric Gill’s elegant marble statue, The Sower, stands in the foyer as a metaphor for broadcasting – as the sower casts their seed so does broadcasting cast its messages and communications to its audiences.

Picture: the restored foyer at Broadcasting House

BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir

(popularly known as the 'Neasden Temple')

“An oasis of breath-taking architecture completely redefining the landscape - even on a gloomy November day.
Beautiful enough to simply look at from the outside, the experience is just quite startling when you go inside. It's beautiful, peaceful, spiritual, and deeply enlightening.”

This traditional Hindu temple in north-west London is a vibrant place of worship, learning and community service. It was constructed from 5,000 tonnes of Italian Carrara and Indian Ambaji marble and the finest Bulgarian limestone, the Mandir was hand-carved in India before being assembled in London; it was inaugurated in 1995.

The Temple (mandir) is the focal point of a complex which includes a permanent exhibition entitled ‘Understanding Hinduism’, and a cultural centre known as the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Haveli. The design is traditional Gujarati haveli architecture and, using environmentally friendly methods, it was fashioned from intricately carved Burmese teak and English oak.

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Visit to the V & A, London to see a major exhibition which reassesses John Constable’s influences, techniques and legacy to offer a new interpretation of Britain’s best-loved artist. Discover how great works of art are created as Constable’s most famous masterpieces are united with his revolutionary oil sketches: expressive evocations of land, sea and sky that allowed him to transfer the freshness of the outdoors into his exhibition paintings!

For the first time, Constable will be presented alongside the old masters of classical landscape whose formal values he studiously assimilated. By combining the authority of their compositional ideas with a breathtakingly naturalistic vision that was entirely his own, Constable would ultimately transform the genre of landscape painting, and in the process shape the enduring popular image of the English countryside.

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