We will be visiting these two destinations by coach – a long day but well worth the travel. 

Rodmarton Manor is a unique Arts and Crafts Manor House containing furniture made locally and with a stunning early 20th century garden.  The house and garden were designed for the Biddulph family by Ernest Barnsley, whilst his brother Sidney was the principal furniture maker.  John Biddulph still resides in the house.

Chedworth Roman Villa was rediscovered by the Victorians over 150 years ago.  Leading the way in archaeology and conservation, Chedworth provides a unique insight into life during the Roman Period in Britain.  A modern conservation building provides exceptional access to the extensive mosaic floors, hypocaust systems and bath house rooms.  Additionally, a small museum houses a range of finds and artefacts from the villa.  This is a National Trust property. 

We leave from one of two pick-up points:  Princes Risborough or Prestwood, travelling firstly to Rodmarton Manor where we have a guided tour of the house (approximately one hour), followed by a sandwich lunch with tea/coffee.  There will be time to look around the garden before we leave for our second destination. 

At Chedworth Roman Villa where we will again have a guided tour of approximately one hour, we will have free time following this to explore and/or enjoy refreshments from the café. 

Itinerary: 

  8.15 am     pick up at Princes Risborough

  8.30 am     pickup at Prestwood 

11.00 am     arrive Rodmarton Manor, time to use facilities etc.

11.15 am     guided tour of house

12.30 pm     sandwich lunch, tea/coffee (cost included) followed by free time in the

                    garden

  2.00 pm     depart from Rodmarton Manor

  2.30 pm     arrive at Chedworth Roman Villa, guided tour followed by free time in the                     garden and opportunity for refreshments from the cafe

  4.30 pm     depart from Chedworth Roman Villa

  6.30 pm approx.   arrive back at Princes Risborough/Prestwood 

The cost of the day tour is: £62 for National Trust members, £75.30 for non-NT members. 

Booking will be via The Arts Society West Wycombe booking system with an email link being provided in the March newsletter, together with a link to this information leaflet.   

Places will be allocated on a first-come basis with a waiting list, should this be necessary.  Members will be asked for payment by the return email - also for the following details: 

v  An emergency mobile number of a family member/friend in case of emergency.

v  Any dietary requirements.

v  Whether they are members of The National Trust.  Non-members will be required to pay the £13.30 entry fee on arrival at Chedworth Roman Villa. 

Booking will close at the end of the April lecture (15th April 2026).

Visit Details for May 14th 2025

Tour at 11 am, so arrive by 10.45 am. - own transport to London. Will be able to catch the first off peak train.

Cost - £30 (£12 for English Heritage members who must have card on the day).

Tours finish 1.15 pm - 1.30 pm and the rest of the day is free for lunch etc

Background

Apsley House is internationally famous as the home of the 1st Duke of Wellington and his descendants. As such it is also a memorial to Britain’s triumph over the Napoleonic threat. It is also significant as a restored historic house, a celebration of Regency style, a museum commemorating the 1st Duke and the home of an outstanding collection of decorative and fine art. Perhaps the most important aspect of the interiors at Apsley House is the magnificent collection of fine and decorative arts, formerly part of the collections of the 1st Duke of Wellington. Over 3,000 fine paintings, sculptures, and works or art fashioned in silver, porcelain, porphyry, batons, swords and orders, given to Britain’s greatest military hero by grateful emperors, tsars and kings, are on display. Most notable are: Sculptures by Canova, including the statue of Napoleon originally commissioned from the Italian sculptor by Napoleon himself & paintings acquired by the 1st Duke from the Spanish royal collection.

Our next Visit 

Kelmscott Manor is a limestone manor house in the Cotswolds village of Kelmscott, in West Oxfordshire, southern England. It dates from around 1570, with a late 17th-century wing, 

Kelmscott is a Grade 1 listed farm house and associated barns loved and lived in by William Morris, designer, poet, author, campaigner and Father of the Arts & Crafts Movement. Set in the West Oxfordshire countryside in the village of Kelmscott next to the Thames river. This tranquil place inspired Morris to produce some of his most iconic designs and conservational thoughts. Between 2019 & 2022 major restoration and improvement works funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and others took place. 

We are now opening the booking process for our forthcoming visit by coach to Kelmscott Manor, the home of William Morris, on Wednesday 5th June 2024. Please click here to see details of the visit and to book your place.  There will be an opportunity to book in the Hall in person at our next lecture if you are not able to access the internet.  We urge you to book promptly as there will undoubtedly be a high demand for places as the visit will complement our Arts and Crafts lecture.

Click here for details

Click here for details

Click here for details

Yet again the Garsington Opera are offering us an advanced booking option ahead of general booking - which does not open until April 2023. By that time some productions may have limited availability.

You are invited to apply for tickets for whichever production you would like, any night you would like and at any price. ..though not specific seats, these are allocated by the box office.

See full availability at  http://brochure.garsingtonopera.org/#/page/

Dates and ticket prices are at Page 26/27

DO NOT CLICK ON THE BOOK TICKET TAB

There is a £20 per ticket premium for this early booking facility not included on the web-site prices ( considerably less than the cost of being a Friend to get the same facility !!)

Please bear in mind that the ticket price shown includes a £70 voluntary chartable donation to the opera. This can be removed if you request.

All requests must be made via the visits secretary Jo Dudley, as must payment.

I then apply to the box office who will allocate the tickets - probably in late February 2023.

We have never had any problems with this process and they have accommodated special requests if they have occurred.

This offer is not limited to Art Society members. Please invite your friends !

If you have any questions or are unfamiliar with the auditorium set up and would like guidance please ask. This is a relatively small purpose build auditorium and IMHO all seats give a good view and acoustics. There is a hearing loop if required.

When?           Thursday 25th May 2023
How?              We will travel by coach.
Pick Up?         The Park and Ride Hub at Handy Cross, High Wycombe, where there is plentiful parking.
Departure?    9.30am
Return By?    We aim to be back at High Wycombe by 5pm
Cost?              £45 per person including lunch
 
For more information about our destination, visit: 
Henry Moore Studios and Gardens
 
Details:
The coach journey will take us about 1hr 15 mins allowing for the vagaries of the M25 traffic.
There will be no planned stops. We aim to arrive at the studios and gardens in time for their opening at 11.00 am.  On arrival coffee or tea will be provided.
 
There are 70 acres of gardens with over 20 of Moore’s monumental sculptures on view. The Studio Workshops reveal the drawing, etching, carving and model making processes. In the Aisled Barn there are large tapestries depicting some of Moore’s drawings.
 
After coffee (& comfort breaks) we will split into four groups and have private guided tours around the site. This is partially outside and on grassed areas so please come prepared for the weather and wearing suitable footwear. In general, the whole site and amenities are accessibility friendly.
 
The tours will last until around 1pm when an included buffet of goat’s cheese quiche & salad lunch with fruit and soft drinks, will be provided. You are then free to revisit areas of the site at your leisure until we leave around 3.30pm aiming to be back at the High Wycombe hub by 5pm.
 
The cost including coach, entrance, tours, beverages, and lunch will be £45 per person payable by BACS to the society’s account. Booking will open after the Special Interest Day on 29th March.
 
To avoid disappointment, please click on tasww.bookings@gmail.com to book your place, now.

Following the recent engaging lecture by Cynthia Colman-Sparke on Fabergé: Objects of Desire, we would like to offer members the opportunity of a private, guided tour of the collection at Waddesdon.  

This will include the relatively newly opened Treasury (which is not normally included on the tour) where there are three pieces of the Rothschild’s Faberge collection currently on display, in addition to over 300 other prized objects. Lunch is also included in the price of the visit.

This will be a self-drive trip.  Lifts can be arranged if required.  

We will need to arrive at Waddesdon for 10.30am to allow time to get the shuttle bus from the car park to the house for our 11.00am meet, coffee, and cake!  

Our guided tour will take place in groups of no more than 15, before the house is open to the general public. 

It should be noted that the Treasury is accessed by two staircases, although we believe that there is also a chair lift. 

After the guided tour of the Treasury and the house, a light, two-course lunch will be served in the Manor Restaurant. The afternoon will be free for you to explore the house further or wander in the grounds… and enjoy the hundreds of daffodils which should still be on display. 

The cost is £67 per person or £45 for National Trust members. 

The closing date for bookings is March 28th. 

To book click on this link: tashwvisits@gmail.com  If you have any queries or questions, please contact our Visits Coordinator, Jo Dudley, also at tashwvisits@gmail.com

February 2023   Half day private guided tour of Penn House by Lord & Lady Howe

Penn House near Amersham dates back to 1760s and is currently the private family home of Lord & Lady Howe who are keen supporters of the arts in all its form and have offered us a personal private guided. Light refreshments included. Self - drive

Full details, date & cost to follow 

May 2023                    Day visit to Oxford  

Guided tour of Oxford Botanic gardens ( tying in with Timothy Walker’s previous lecture) +  AN Other. …probably Bodelian library+

This will be using Oxford Park & Ride. Two groups swapping over at lunch time

Full details, date & cost to follow

Thursday 22nd June 2023                Summer Social

Thursday 22nd June 2023…late morning meet at the opera rehearsal hub at Garsington opera on the Wormsley/Getty estate followed by a back stage tour led by Nicky Creedy the opera’s artistic director. Picnic lunch in the estate grounds ( self provided) followed by guided tour of the Wormsley Walled garden leaf by Charlotte the head gardener.

Self drive. Fuller details & cost to follow.

Autumn 2023        Half day private guided tour of Dorney Court near Windsor

Dorney Court is the original Tudor house and estate of which Dorneywood used to be part.

It is the family home of the Palmer family who have lived there for over 500 years. Still very true to it origins… wobbly walls & wonky windows !!

Private 2 hr Connoisseurs Tour inc coffee & biscuit to start & sloe gin to conclude. Self drive.

Full details, date & cost to follow

October 2023 Getty Library at Wormsley Estate

We have requested another visit to the library to give people who have been before …and guest…an opportunity to visit this remarkable place right on our doorstep.

Date not in our control.  Full details, date & cost to follow

The Art Society is very privileged to be permitted a visit to the Getty Library at the Wormsley estate on the afternoon of Thursday 20th October 2022.  Time to be confirmed. This will be self drive to the estate just off M40 junction 5. There is a walk of a few hundred meters on the flat but slightly up hill, to the library from the car park.  Cost £22 to members ( & £25 to guests if space permits) 

The librarians put out a selected display of the very special books in the library where Paul Getty’s original emphasis was on the Art of the Book. Included in the library are parts of  the Gutenberg bible, original Chaucer, first folio Shakespeare, Anne Boleyn’s psalter, numerous illuminated bibles, book of hours and psalters. Included are books with covers by famous artists inc Picasso and some of Repton’s famous “Red Books”. After a short introduction to the history of The Library and its amazing contents we are free to wander and admire the works on show. The Librarians circulate around the room talking to small groups about the various books and manuscripts.  

This visit is a rare privilege. The numbers are limited, so initially this visit will only be available to members (those who are members at the time of booking and on the date of the visit). A wait list will be taken for members guests who will be offered a place if these are still available after the first month. If initial interest is over-whelming places will be balloted.  

Please email our visits secretary jo dudley on tashwvisits@gmail.com for more information or to book your place

Sculpture Garden and Gallery by kind invitation of Millie Messum who will provide afternoon tea.

Many of you will no doubt be familiar with the 5 acre formal grounds at Lord's Wood from previous occasions. 

During our visit we are invited to visit the Messum gallery in the grounds not normally open to the public - renown for impressionist works from the Newlyn School.

Lords Wood is steeped in history having been an outpost of the infamous London Bloomsbury group and a location for Stanley Spencers tuition. 

The Lutyen's style family house built by artist Mary Sargeant Florence in 1899 will not be open during our visits. 

This will be an informal social occasion for Art Society members - all the more welcome after the last two years.

You will be free to wander around the formal gardens, ponds, parterre garden, productive kitchen garden and greenhouse, orchard with bees & chickens, woodland walk and wild flower meadow

Sculpture are dotted throughout . There are seats to relax and take in the views. The gallery will be open for the duration of our visit.

Millie Messum with treat us to her homemade afternoon tea. 

The cost will be £20 per Art Society member and £25 for guests.

There is ample parking on the common. If anyone would like a lift this can be arranged.

Whilst the majority of the garden and the gallery are accessible there are areas with steps and slopes that could present problems for members with limited mobility. However this should not detract from the enjoyment of the afternoon. 

Please contact Jo Dudley on tashwvisits@gmail.com to book your places.

Tuesday 11.00am - 14th June 2022
Self drive. Near Bicester - approx 50 mins from High Wycombe

Rousham house, built in 1635 and still the ownership of the same family today had wings designed by William Kent who furnished and decorated much of the interior. It has one of England’s most important gardens also designed by Kent, representing the first phase of English landscape design and remaining almost as he left it.  Many of the features that delighted its 18th century visitors are still there for 21st century visitors to enjoy. The visit will include a fascinating guided tour of the house ( not normally open to the public) and free time to enjoy the gardens and estate with its walled garden, long borders, parterre, cascades, and follies. 

There are no catering facilities ( or gift shop !) but we are welcome to take picnics to enjoy own their grounds. There are toilets and ample parking.

The cost will be £16 pp for members and £20 pp for guests
If anyone is interested please contact Jo Dudley on tashwvisits@gmail.com

Cush Jumbo (The Good Wife, The Good Fight) makes her Young Vic debut as a new kind of Hamlet for this generation.

Following a succession of award-winning productions together, she reunites with her long-time collaborator, director Greg Hersov, to bring us Shakespeare’s great tragedy about power, politics and desire, reimagined for today

The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and the largest national library in the world by number of items catalogued. It is estimated to contain 170–200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British Library receives copies of all books produced in the United Kingdom and Ireland, including a significant proportion of overseas titles distributed in the UK. The Library is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

The British Library is a major research library, with items in many languages and in many formats, both print and digital: books, manuscripts, journals, newspapers, magazines, sound and music recordings, videos, play-scripts, patents, databases, maps, stamps, prints, drawings. The Library's collections include around 14 million books, along with substantial holdings of manuscripts and historical items dating back as far as 2000 BC. In addition to receiving a copy of every publication produced in the UK and Ireland (approximately 8,000 per day), the Library has a programme for content acquisitions. The Library adds some three million items every year occupying 9.6 kilometres (6.0 mi) of new shelf space. There is space in the library for over 1,200 readers.

Prior to 1973, the Library was part of the British Museum. The British Library Act 1972 detached the library department from the museum, but it continued to host the now separated British Library in the same Reading Room and building as the museum until 1997. The Library is now located in a purpose-built building on the north side of Euston Road in St Pancras, London (between Euston railway station and St Pancras railway station), and has a document storage centre and reading room near Boston Spa, near Wetherby in West Yorkshire. The St Pancras building was officially opened by the Queen on 25 June 1998, and is classified as a Grade I listed building "of exceptional interest" for its architecture and history.

Instructions for the day

We will meet in the foyer of the British Library at 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB . The Library is a five minute walk from St Pancras/Kings Cross on the District & Circle line. Please arrive in time to join the guided tour at 11.00 am. 

11.00 am Guided tour of the Treasures of the Library , which last approx. 1 hour. The group will be divided into two, and the second group will commence at 11.15.

12.30 pm We will make our way to the Wallace Collection in Manchester Square. Either take the tube to Baker Street and walk down Marylebone High Street or take a bus – routes 10, 30, 59, 73, 91,205,390 travel along Euston Rd – or taxi. Walk down Marylebone High Street – 10 minutes – the Wallace Collection is signposted.

1.00 pm We will meet in the Atrium at the Wallace Collection for lunch. This will need to be booked beforehand for a reservation. Afterwards you can visit the Armoury to see the collection in anticipation of the talk on Renaissance armoury in January. A £5 donation p.p. at the gallery is suggested

Cost of visit - £11.00 This is the cost of the tour at the British Library. Lunch at the Wallace Collection is not included. There is a selection of snacks and food available.

Please contact Paula Hearne on 01844 352353 Mob 07909 176059 in case of any queries or amendments 

BRITAIN'S MOST IMPRESSIVE PRIVATE LIBRARY
Sir Paul Getty spent 25 years assembling one of the finest private collections of books and manuscripts in the world. When he moved to Wormsley, he commissioned the building of the castellated Library, as an extension of the main house.

The visit, which begins at 3.30pm, will be limited to 28 people.

The itinerary will include Christ Church College, the Christ Church Picture Gallery, Magdalen College and New College.  Christ Church is self guided, the Picture Gallery will be guided and we have Blue Badge guides for Magdalen and New colleges.  We shall start the day with coffee in Quod and I suggest that we lunch there too. There is quite a bit of walking involved, cobbles, uneven floors in old buildings and steps for the unwary. 

We are going first to Lamport Hall, home of the Isham family for over 400 years.  Lamport Hall is a Grade 1 Italianate mansion with an impressive collection of furniture, books and paintings and we will be given a guided tour of the Hall and its treasures.  The family has preserved records of personal, financial and estate matters for posterity.  Sir Gyles Isham was an actor who played in the first season at the newly opened Royal Shakespeare Theatre in 1932 and went on to a career in Hollywood.  There is a presentation entitled ‘ From Guilgud to Garbo’ about his roles within MGM Studios.  The gardens were replanted in 2010, and reflect the changing interests and tastes of successive  owners.  The large, walled cutting garden  is a vibrant array of colour and variety intersected by gravelled pathways.  Many of the unusual tall perennial plants were sourced from Piet Oudolf’s nursery.
 
We spend the afternoon at Boughton House, which was inspired by the Palace of Versailles.  Ralph Montagu, later 1st Duke of Montagu, had been English Ambassador to France and was keen to bring French beauty and style to the English landscape.  The highlights of the house include masterpieces by El Greco, Van Dyke, Batoni and Gainsborough, ceiling painting by Cheron, French furniture by the master cabinet maker Boulle, Mortlake tapestries and Armoury.  We will have a guided tour of the house including the grand entrance staircase, the High Pavilion and State Apartments created for the visit of William 111.  There is also a walled Kitchen Garden and a Sensory garden to explore, set in a recently restored landscape.
 
Coffee/tea at Lamport Hall and a sandwich buffet lunch at Boughton House are included.  The two mansions are a complete contrast of style and history, yet fairly near neighbours, close to Northampton.  The price of the whole day out will be £52.50 pp. 

Click here for details of the visit

Paintings and drawings by Stanley Spencer are on show this autumn in a new exhibition at the Stanley Spencer Gallery, High Street, Cookham. 

They include the Portrait of Lathonia Mercer, Oct 1959, described by Lord Mark Poltimore, Deputy Chairman of Sotheby's Europe as:

"a stunning portrait of a beautiful lady by the great, great painter Stanley Spencer … he is an absolute genius … you can see by the portrait … how wonderful it is, the attention to detail is phenomenal, he has an almost Pre-Raphaelite exactness … he is majestic … people just love Stanley Spencer and they will love this work." http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00cfn48
Lathonia Miller (née Mercer) has recently gifted the highly acclaimed work to the Stanley Spencer Gallery Collection. Her father was the artist's GP and treated Stanley towards the end of his life. Concerned that Stanley was not eating properly he asked him to the family home where Lathonia's mother made meals for him. It was during these visits that the portrait was drawn.

Just engaged to be married, Lathonia remembers how Stanley was lit it up by the idea of her engagement and set to work starting 'with my eyes, to ensure the face was in the right position on the paper and he wanted especially to include the (engagement) ring on my finger.'

This charming portrait is an absolute gem, as is Retrieving a Ball, 1954 (lithograph) also gifted by Lathonia and on display in this new exhibition. Set in a ploughed field in countryside around the Village, the artist's great draughtsmanship shines through in a complex drawing of rhythm and pattern so typical of Spencer. 

That Stanley Spencer possessed acute observational skills and a remarkable visual memory is well documented. His boyhood attempts to copy the style of admired children's book illustrators soon progressed to a desire to take his art 'out into the Cookham day' and capture his beloved home village and residents on paper and canvas.

Attending the Slade School of Fine Art in London (1908-1912) Spencer was taught by Henry Tonks, a doctor who was greatly skilled as an artist and draughtsman. As a medical man Tonks emphasised the underlying anatomical structure of a life model, and was responsible for what became known as the 'Slade style' of drawing. Students would learn to look intently at their model in order to understand the form of the face or body. 
The many fine pencil portraits displayed in this new exhibition demonstrate that Spencer became a master of this technique and used it throughout his life. According to Gallery archivist Ann Danks:

"Tonks claimed that Spencer had the most original mind of any of his students. Evidence of this originality can be seen throughout this exhibition. Visionary works from the artist's deeply spiritual imagination hang alongside penetrating portraits, beautiful landscapes and studies for Second World War commissioned paintings. All aim to bring the talent and ingenuity of Stanley Spencer sharply In Focus."

A lithograph of Burners, 1941, taken from the central section of the first in Spencer's Shipbuilding on the Clyde series is emblematic of this ravishing new exhibition. Produced as a poster to encourage the war effort, in the top right hand corner the artist himself is seen observing the figures hard at work in the shipyard.

Similarly visitors to the Gallery from 4th October 2017 will have a unique opportunity to get up close and personal with Spencer's work and focus on perennial favourites such as The Last Supper, 1920 and Christ Preaching at Cookham Regatta, 1952-9; easy-on-the-eye garden greats such as Greenhouse Interior, c1935; sensational new additions to the Gallery collection that also include Portrait of Albert Henry Seager, April 1916, a rare drawing of Spencer's from the early years of World War 1 and kindly gifted by the sitter's family earlier this year. 

The John Lewis Partnership Heritage Centre is home to the Partnership’s business archive and the textile archive of Stead McAlpin, a fabric printing factory in Carlisle that was once owned by the Partnership.

The textile viewing gallery contains over 4000 of the archive’s designs in both paper and fabric format, with gems from famous designers such as Lucienne Day, Charles Voysey and William Morris.

You can walk to the Centre, which is located at the end of Odney Lane, over the bridge and to the left in Grove Farm field.

Visit to the Brighton Pavilion with a guided tour, and to the Brighton Museum to see the Constable exhibition as well as the permanent collection.We stay at the Chatsworth Hotel in Worthing where we will have an evening meal and  b & b.  The next day we have a guided tour of Chichester Cathedral followed by a visit to the Pallant House Gallery - a Queen Anne townhouse with a contemporary extension.  It houses one of the UK's most significant collections of modern British art.

The cost of the visit  is £195.00 pp and there is a single room supplement of £19.00.

The Royal Pavilion, also known as the Brighton Pavilion, is a former royal residence located in Brighton. Beginning in 1787, it was built in three stages as a seaside retreat for George, Prince of Wales, who became the Prince Regent in 1811. It is built in the Indo-Saracenic style prevalent in India for most of the 19th century. The current appearance of the Pavilion, with its domes and minarets, is the work of architect John Nash, who extended the building starting in 1815.

Chichester Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Chichester. It is located in Chichester, in Sussex, England. It was founded as a cathedral in 1075, when the seat of the bishop was moved from Selsey.

Chichester Cathedral has fine architecture in both the Norman and the Gothic styles, and has been called by the architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner "the most typical English Cathedral". Despite this, Chichester has two architectural features that are unique among England's medieval cathedrals—a free-standing medieval bell tower (or campanile) and double aisles. The cathedral contains two rare medieval sculptures, and many modern art works including tapestries, stained glass and sculpture, many of these commissioned by Dean Hussey.

The city of Chichester, though it retains two main cross streets laid out by the Romans, has always been small enough for the city's entire population to fit inside the cathedral at once,.

The spire of Chichester Cathedral, rising above its green copper roof, can be seen for many miles across the flat meadows of West Sussex and is a landmark for sailors, Chichester being the only medieval English cathedral which is visible from the sea.

The Pallant Gallery's Collection of British Modern art is frequently described as one of the best in the UK. with important works by Gino Severini , Ivon Hitchens, Henry Moore, John Piper, Graham Sutherland, Patrick Caulfield, Michael Andrews, Peter Blake and Richard Hamilton.

Watts Gallery - Artists' Village has plenty to enjoy for visitors . Engage with history and art at the newly opened Watts Studios, and discover our permanent collection of Victorian paintings and sculpture in Watts Gallery before visiting the De Morgan Collection, on long term loan to the Artists' Village.
Enjoy a quiet moment at Watts Chapel – a Grade I listed Arts & Crafts building – then explore the woodlands and grounds before treating yourself at the Tea Shop and browsing art for sale in Watts Contemporary Gallery, along with a wide selection of gifts in the Watts Shop. 

Limnerslease was the autumn/winter residence of G F and Mary Watts. Wishing to escape the smogs of London that caused George's bad health and to find a place of tranquility for them both, "the little house" grew into a source of inspiration and a place of great productivity. Limnerslease was designed by the great Arts & Crafts architect Sir Ernest George and was completed in 1891. On Saturday 18 July the Wattses took possession.

Limnerslease was very much an artists' home. "Limner" - the Old English for artist - and "lease" - to glean hope for the future - were aptly combined. Mary was not the only one who found new inspiration in Compton; George set up a new studio designed with his large canvases in mind and desire for good light, a place where he was able to work on the many pieces that he had been meditating on throughout his career.
As the years passed, time spent at the little house grew, taking precedence over their London residence, New Little Holland House. Free from the interruptions of London society that George's fame attracted, the couple were able to work uninterrupted while becoming a celebrated part of the Compton community. The house also welcomed a number of well-known artists and figures of Victorian society, including the great violinist Joseph Joachim and the young Vanessa Bell.
Upon the death of George in 1904, Mary made Limnerslease her permanent residence. She became a recognised figure within the local community as both an artist and the keeper of George's legacy in the form of the Watts Gallery and The Annals, the biography she published on the life and thoughts of her dear husband.
Following Mary's death in 1938, Limnerslease became separated from the Watts Gallery estate. In the 1950s it was divided into three separate residences, and considerable changes were made to the east wing where George and Mary's studios had been.
Watts Gallery Trust has now secured the east wing of Limnerslease and has transformed it into Watts Studios, a new museum that has reinstated George's studio and has a dedicated gallery to the work of Mary, also telling the story of the Wattses' time in Compton.
 

Blenheim Palace is a monumental country house situated in Woodstock. It is the principal residence of the dukes of Marlborough, and the only non-royal non-episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace. The palace, one of England's largest houses, was built between 1705 and circa 1722. Blenheim Palace was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.

The building of the palace was originally intended to be a reward to John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, from a grateful nation for the duke's military triumphs against the French and Bavarians during the War of the Spanish Succession, culminating in the 1704 Battle of Blenheim. However, soon after its construction began, the palace became the subject of political infighting; this led to Marlborough's exile, the fall from power of his duchess, and lasting damage to the reputation of the architect Sir John Vanbrugh.

Designed in the rare, and short-lived, English Baroque style, architectural appreciation of the palace is as divided today as it was in the 1720s. It is unique in its combined usage as a family home, mausoleum and national monument. The palace is also notable as the birthplace and ancestral home of Sir Winston Churchill.

Following the palace's completion, it became the home of the Churchill, later Spencer-Churchill, family for the next 300 years, and various members of the family have wrought changes to the interiors, park and gardens. At the end of the 19th century, the palace was saved from ruin by funds gained from the 9th Duke of Marlborough's marriage to American railroad heiress Consuelo Vanderbilt. The exterior of the palace remains in good repair.

Enjoy Christmas shopping in style at Living Crafts for Christmas , a highlight of the festive season at Blenheim Palace.

With an improved new layout, the Churchill and Marlborough Pavilions will be situated in the Great Court, directly in front of the Palace, where over 150 British designer-makers will be showcasing high quality contemporary crafts. Come and choose the perfect presents for all the family from individual gifts and special commissions to simple stocking fillers; millinery, ceramics, studio glass, leather work, sculpture, textile crafts, photography, toys and puzzles, fashions, soaps, designer jewellery and more.

Itinerary

08.30am Depart Great Missenden Links Road car park
09.00am Depart Princes Risborough  St. Mary's car park
11.00am approx. Arrive in Salisbury. Time for a coffee and a Danish.
11.30am We divide into two groups for a guided tour of the Cathedral which will take about an hour and a half.You can lunch  at a selection of venues in the city centre, and either return to the Cathedral or visit Mompesson House which has a garden, house and tea room (National Trust so remember your card) or Arundells, the former home of Sir Edward Heath.  If you would like to walk the water meadows you will see Constable's view of the Cathedral, or see the “Doom Paintings” at the St Thomas Beckett Church.
Suggestions for lunch:  the Refectory at the Cathedral, Prezzo or Cote, the South Wilts museum which does a very good lunch, Boston Tea Party, Cafe Rouge, Prete a Manger, etc.
5.30  - 6.00pm    We are staying at Milford Hall Hotel in Salisbury, a 4 star hotel 5 mins from the Market Square, so check into your room ready for a relaxing evening and dinner (included in the price)

10.30 am Thursday morning.  Leave Milford Hall on the coach for Wilton House
11.00 am- 4.30 pm Time for a coffee before our guided tour of the collection at Wilton House for 1 hour to 1 hr 30 mins.  Visit the grounds, the “Cecil Beaton at Wilton” exhibition or inspect the retail village a short walk away.  Lunch at the Refectory or the Pembroke Arms.

The National Portrait Gallery (NPG)  houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was the first portrait gallery in the world when it opened in 1856. The gallery moved in 1896 to its current site at St Martin's Place, off Trafalgar Square, and adjoining the National Gallery. It has been expanded twice since then. The National Portrait Gallery also has three regional outposts at Beningbrough Hall, Bodelwyddan Castle and Montacute House. It is unconnected to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh, with which its remit overlaps. The gallery is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport..

As the NPG is easily accessible by tube we are dispensing with the coach on this occasion, and members will be free to visit the galleries, have lunch and stay as long as they wish.  The price pp will be £16.00.

We shall meet at the Meeting Point down the stairs from the main entrance at 11.45 at the Ondaatje Wing Theatre on Floor Level -2.  We have booked a lecture at 12 noon for an hour to guide us through the what is the largest collection of portraits in the world.  The cost of the introductory talk is £16.00, and the Gallery is open until 6 pm, so there will be time to enjoy the visit at a leisurely pace. 

Glyndebourne’s founders, John Christie and wife Audrey Mildmay, opened the first Festival here in 1934. Today the world-renowned auditorium and standards of excellence are testament to John’s original ethos: Not just the best we can do but the best that can be done anywhere.

In the years that followed, Glyndebourne continued to be headed by the Christie family, George Christie following in 1962 and then his son Gus, now Executive Chairman, in 2000.

Early years of the Glyndebourne Festival revolved almost entirely around Mozart’s extensive repertoire of operatic works before gradually expanding to include works by other composers such as Benjamin Britten, with whom Glyndebourne has enjoyed long association, as well as Giuseppe Verdi, Gioachino Rossini and many others.

Originally the theatre was built to seat 300. It was enlarged and improved many times in subsequent years to hold larger audiences; such was the demand for opera at Glyndebourne. By 1977, it held 850 people.

By the 1990s it was clear that Glyndebourne needed an even larger auditorium so in 1994 a new opera house was built to seat 1,200, opening with a performance of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, a fitting tribute to the Festival’s origins.

Glyndebourne Tour was founded in 1968 to enable the company to take operatic productions around the country, making opera more accessible to people all over the UK.

The education department was established in 1986 and since then has undertaken an array of projects with the local community and schools around Sussex and Kent often visit the opera house for performances and workshops.

Today Glyndebourne reaches around 150,000 people a year with over 120 live opera performances. Its continued employment of inspirational directors, world-class orchestras and performers, and the ongoing drive to commission new work, now go hand in hand with digital innovations such as online streamings to reach new audiences.

Anglesey Abbey Anglesey Abbey is a country house, formerly a priory, in the village of Lode, 5 1⁄2 miles (8.9 km) northeast of Cambridge, England. The house and its grounds are owned by the National Trust and are open to the public as part of the Anglesey Abbey, Garden & Lode Mill property, although some parts remain the private home of the Fairhaven family. The 98 acres (400,000 m²) of landscaped grounds are divided into a number of walks and gardens, with classical statuary, topiary and flowerbeds. The grounds were laid out in an 18th-century style by the estate's last private owner, the 1st Baron Fairhaven, in the 1930s. A large pool, the Quarry Pool, is believed to be the site of a 19th-century coprolite mine. Lode Water Mill, dating from the 18th century[1] was restored to working condition in 1982 and now sells flour to visitors. The 1st Lord Fairhaven also improved the house and decorated its interior with a valuable collection of furniture, pictures and objets d'art. A community of Augustinian canons built a priory here, known as Anglesea or Anglesey Priory, some time during the reign of Henry I (i.e., between 1100 and 1135), and acquired extra land from the nearby village of Bottisham in 1279. The canons were expelled in 1535 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries.[2] The former priory was acquired around 1600 by Thomas Hobson, who converted it to a country house for his son-in-law, Thomas Parker, retaining a few arches from the original priory. At that time the building's name was changed to "Anglesey Abbey", which sounded grander than the original "Anglesey Priory". In the late 18th century, the house was owned by Sir George Downing, the founder of Downing College, Cambridge. Huttleston (1896–1966) and Henry (1900–1973) Broughton bought the site in 1926 and made improvements to the house. They were the sons of Urban Broughton (1857–1929), who had made a fortune in the mining and railway industries in America. Henry married, leaving the abbey to his brother, then 1st Lord Fairhaven, in 1930. Henry became the 2nd Lord Fairhaven. Huttleston used his wealth to indulge his interests in history, art, and garden design, and to lead an eighteenth-century lifestyle at the house. On his death, Huttleston left the abbey to the National Trust so that the house and gardens could "represent an age and way of life that was quickly passing". In 1926 Anglesey Abbey was bought by Huttleston Broughton, later Lord Fairhaven. He fully restored the house which had fallen into disrepair and began to collect beautiful furniture, artworks and statuary. All of these can be seen at the Abbey today. Broughton (full name Urban Huttleston Rogers Broughton) was born in 1896 in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. His father, Urban Broughton, had amassed a considerable fortune. His mother was Cara Leland Rogers the daughter of multimillionaire American oil magnate Henry Huttleston Rogers. Rogers had died unexpectedly in 1909 and Urban Broughton had taken over the management of a large part of the Rogers empire. The Broughton family had moved to England in 1912 when Huttleston was sixteen. They lived in Park Lane, Mayfair. Huttleston was educated at Harrow and the Royal Military College at Sandhurst. In 1916 he became a lieutenant in the 1st Life Guards. He served during the First World War, and retired from the military in 1924.[4] He obtained the title Baron Fairhaven in 1929. One of Huttleston’s great achievements was the establishment of the garden at the house. In 1964, when Broughton was still living, Lanning Roper wrote a book entitled The Gardens of Anglesey Abbey,[5] in which he described the careful planning of this remarkable garden with its many vistas, avenues, rare and common trees, pools, statues and river temples. He describes the way in which huge areas of sky and mown grass were, been used to balance symmetrical planting and how Broughton used the trees and shrubs to make groups of contrasting colour and foliage. To commemorate the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1937, Broughton planted an extensive avenue of trees with a crossing avenue at the far end. The trees used were London plane alternating with horse chestnut in four rows copy that planted in Windsor Great Park.[6] Huttleston did not marry and had no heirs. He died in 1966 and left Anglesey Abbey to the National Trust. Fitzwilliam Museum With over half a million incredible artworks in its collection, the Fitzwilliam Museum is one of the most impressive regional museums in Europe, presenting world history and art from as far back as 2500 BC to the present day. Located in the heart of Cambridge, the Museum is one of the most iconic buildings in the Cambridge cityscape, its monumental neo-classic facade and columns just a short walk away from the central colleges and the River Cam. The Museum was founded in 1816 by the 7th Viscount Fitzwilliam of Merrion who bequeathed his vast collections of art, music and books to the University of Cambridge. Viscount Fitzwilliam felt strongly that the University should have its own museum, not only for the display of works of art, but also with its own library. A grand sum of £100,000 was provided to build an “unforgettable monument”, a university museum which would be a place of learning as well as one of the most magnificent galleries of its day. Viscount Fitzwilliam was an alumnus of Trinity Hall College in Cambridge. A keen collector throughout his life, his passion for art began at home in his family’s collections; amongst his bequest of 144 pictures were fine Dutch paintings inherited from his maternal grandfather. To this he added exceptional Renaissance masterpieces he had purchased by Titian, Veronese and Palma Vecchio which form the basis of the Museum’s fine art collection today. During a lifetime of collecting he filled more than 500 folio albums with engravings forming a vast collection of prints by the most celebrated artists, including a series of etchings by Rembrandt that was unsurpassed in England at that time. His particular passion was for literary and musical manuscripts. His library held 130 medieval manuscripts and a collection of autographed music by Handel, Purcell and other composers which has guaranteed the Museum a place among the great music libraries of the world. The Museum building was opened to the public in 1848 and since then the Fitzwilliam has continued to grow both in size and collections. Today the Museum has one of the finest collections of paintings, drawings and prints in Britain, with famous works by Rubens, Breughel, Constable, Monet and Picasso to name but a few. It is also known for its remarkable collections from the ancient world, with artefacts from ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, Cyprus and the ancient near east. Throughout the museum there are significant collections of oriental art, illuminated manuscripts, and outstanding collections of applied arts, pottery, porcelain and medieval coins. Most importantly, the Museum is still very much a part of the University and, as well as playing a big part for the University’s research for the arts, remains free for anyone to visit and enjoy.

Nether Winchendon House is a medieval and Tudor manor house with 
Strawberry Hill Gothick additions.  It has passed by family descent 
since the mid-16th Century to the present custodians, Robert and 
Georgianna Spencer Bernard.

Starting at 2.00 pm, we will have a guided tour of the house, which you can look up in Pevsner's Buckinghamshire and also the website www.netherwinchendonhouse.com. The gardens were laid out in the 1950s and contain many rare and interesting plants, shrubs and trees.  Do go and see the Church of Saint Nicholas close by, it has a gallery and Georgian box pews, and many memorials to those whose portraits hang in Nether Winchendon House.

We are driving independently to the house, which is near Aylesbury and Waddesdon Manor (directions will be issued on booking) The price for the tour of the house, a booklet about the house and collection, with tea and cakes to enjoy after the visit, will be £16.00.

This is a rare opportunity to visit a Grade 1 Listed Elizabethan Manor House with a beautiful garden, which is still a family home, so do come and sign up at our next meeting on 15th April for a really interesting and lovely outing on a summer's afternoon.

Nether Winchendon House is one of the most romantic of the ancient historic houses in England and listed Grade I, set in seven acres of tranquil Gardens and surrounded by 600 acres of Parkland, on the Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire border.

With curling Tudor chimneys, Nether Winchendon House is crenellated and partially encased in stucco and from its Medieval origins, this extraordinary house has evolved into the fabulous and exciting mixture of styles it is today. Nether Winchendon House is a unique Strawberry Hill Gothick mediaeval Manor House situated in a beautiful valley at the foot of the Chilterns. It has passed by family descent for over 450 years and remains a family home to this day.

More than sixty years before the Norman Conquest of England, King Ethelred II, the Redeless (or Unready), re-affirmed the boundaries of the ten hides at Winchendon, first from Escwulf ’s Well. In the Domesday Book of 1086, William the Conqueror’s survey confirms that this Manor, Eddedda held of Queen Eddeva.

In 1162, when Thomas à Becket became Archbishop of Canterbury, the property of Winchendon was granted by William Giffard, Earl of Buckingham to Augustian monks recently arrived from Arras. As early as the 13th century the Manorial Court met in the Great Hall of Nether Winchendon House presided over by the Lord of the Manor.

In 1528 when King Henry VIII was still married to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, the house was lived in by his courtier Sir John Daunce, who added a parlour with a magnificent hand-carved oak frieze and fabulous linen-fold panelling, which was later painted white to celebrate the Restoration of King Charles II. This is now the Dining Room.

In 1547 King Edward VI granted the property to Sir John Russell K.G. of Chenies, later created Earl of Bedford.Sir John sold the property in 1559 to William Goodwin whose daughter Petronilla married Thomas Tyringham of Tyringham, Buckinghamshire. Since this time Nether Winchendon House has passed by family descent from the Tyringhams, to their cousins the Bernard family and then to their cousins the Spencer family. The house is now lived in by Robert and Georgianna Spencer Bernard and their family.

The architecture of Nether Winchendon House, from mediaeval origins, has evolved into the fabulous and exciting mixture of styles it is today. The house was originally approached from the West. The entrance, now through the eye-catching battlemented screen wall of three arches, is late 18th century Gothick. Sir Scrope Bernard Bart redesigned the mediaeval and Tudor exterior and clad the original timber-framed house in stone and then encased it in stucco in the Strawberry Hill Gothick style.

The Grand Portico on the West Front was also added at this time. Tudor chimneys curl majestically above this wonderful house next to the elegant cupola, which used to house the clock which is now in the Church, gifted by the last Tyringham daughter, Jane Beresford. She passed the house to her cousin Sir Francis Bernard Bart, the last Royal Governor of Massachussetts Province.

The EY Exhibition: Late Turner – Painting Set Free is the first major exhibition to survey the achievements of the last works of J.M.W. Turner (1775–1851). The exhibition reassesses Turner’s extraordinary body of work during his final period (1835–50) when some of his most celebrated works were created. Beginning in 1835, the year that Turner reached 60, and closing with his last exhibits at the Royal Academy in 1850, the exhibition demonstrates how his closing years were a time of exceptional energy and vigour, initiated by one of his most extensive tours of Europe. Bringing together 150 works from the UK and abroad, it seeks to challenge assumptions around the idea of the ‘elderly’ artist, as well as his radical techniques, processes and materials during this productive time. The show includes such iconic works as Ancient Rome; Agrippina Landing with the Ashes of Germanicus exh. 1839, The Wreck Buoy 1849 and Heidelberg: Sunset c.1840 (Manchester City Galleries). Rather than focusing on any assumptions about the pessimism of old age, Turner maintained his commitment to the observation of nature. He brought renewed energy to the exploration of the social, technological and scientific developments of modern life, in works such as Rain, Steam, and Speed – The Great Western Railway 1844. He also continued to engage with the religious and historical themes that linked him to the cultural traditions of his era. Featuring many large-scale oil paintings alongside drawings, prints and watercolour, the exhibition addresses the sheer range of materials and techniques he embraced. It also demonstrates his radicalism during this period - while his Victorian contemporaries were exploring other priorities, he continued to champion an unfettered creativity in which material practice was not just medium but meaning and message too. He consciously developed his style and technique with each subsequent painting he produced. These works were often poised equivocally between finished and unfinished, for example in a series of reworkings in oil of subjects originally published as prints in his Liber Studiorum. During his final period Turner continued to widen his exposure in the marketplace. From pictures of the whaling industry in the 1840s to ‘sample studies’ and finished watercolours such as The Blue Rigi, Sunrise 1842 (Tate), he constantly sought to demonstrate his appeal to new admirers, led by John Ruskin who famously described Turner as ‘the greatest of the age.’ Curated by Sam Smiles, Professor of Art History and Visual Culture, Exeter University, with David Blayney Brown, Manton Curator of British Art 1790–1850, Tate Britain and Amy Concannon, Assistant Curator 1790–1850, Tate Britain.

Sezincote, designed in the Indian style by S P Cockerell, was the inspiration for the Brighton Pavilion. Sudeley Castle was the home of Katherine Parr, Henry V111's sixth wife. She is buried in St Mary's church within the grounds. There are medieval ruins and 1200 acres of award-winning gardens, which should be at their peak at the end of June. The cost of the visit is £36.50.

Enjoy the beauty and tranquillity of Stonor with a guided tour. The house has a 850 year history of continuity of Catholicism in the same family throughout. The gardens are a delight year round, and the park has a herd of wild Fallow Deer, with Red Kites soaring above. Nuffield Place is the home of one of the most remarkable men of the 20th century. The time-capsule home of the philanthropist William Morris, Lord Nuffield, the founder of Morris Motor Cars and one of the richest men in the world. Lord Nuffield gave much of his wealth to good causes and his house reflects a relatively modest lifestyle. Lord and Lady Nuffield’s personal possessions remain as they left them with the decor and furnishings intact, making it a perfect example of a complete 1930s country home. COST: £25.00 National Trust members £32.50 for non - members

Leighton House is the former studio-house of Frederic, Lord Leighton (1830-96) one of the leading artists of the Holland Park Circle, and a President of the Royal Academy. He was well acquainted with members of the Royal Family, and with most of the great artists, writers and politicians of the late Victorian era. He collected textiles, pottery and tiles which laid the foundations for the famous Arab Hall, a costly and ambitious undertaking, modelled on a 12th century palace in Palermo. He brought together a group of contemporary artists to contribute to the project, including the potter William De Morgan. The mosaics, marbles and skilled craftsmen were all sourced in London, apart from a gold mosaic frieze which Walter Crane had made up in Venice. Linley Sambourne House is a stone's throw way, near High Street Kensington, and is a step back in time to the 1890s. Linley Sambourne was a cartoonist who worked on Punch magazine for over 40 years, and the house is a hidden gem, well preserved and complete with original interior decoration and contents. There is a large collection of drawings, many of them reproduced in Punch, as well as photographs and prints that Linley Sambourne compiled to assist his cartooning.

The collection was set up by Lady Hattie Barber "for the study and encouragement of art..." .The works acquired were to be "of that standard of quality required by the National Gallery or the Wallace Collection in London". Come and see the pictures acquired by Professor Thomas Bodkin, the first Director. Early acquisitions for the gallery included a late 13th century crucifixion, Simone Martini's Saint John the Evangelist, Tintoretto's Portrait of a Young Man, Poussin's Tancred and Erminia, Monet's Church at Vereingeville, Turner's Sun Rising Through Vapour, and many more recent acquisitions going up to a dateline of 1983. NADFAS has for the last few years helped fund one of three highly successful internships for the gallery, working on the collection and exhibitions. Recent graduates of the internships have moved into studying art history PhDs and employment, including jobs at Tate Liverpool and the Barber itself. We shall also visit Winterbourne House at Edgbaston, an Edwardian Arts & Crafts family home which belonged to the Nettlefold family (Guest, Keen and Nettlefold, the nuts and bolts manufacturers). The house and garden were bequeathed to the University in 1944, and the garden is still used by the students for teaching and plant conservation. The cost of the outing will be £25.50pp which includes tea and coffee on arrival.