Visits
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Visits in 2011 Trip to the Houses and Gardens of North Yorkshire
Since
the last meeting 22 of us went on the society holiday. We were extremely lucky
with the weather and were able to explore everywhere without the need for
umbrellas. All the places we visited
were interesting but being taken round houses by the owners added a personal
touch at Markenfield and Constable Burton.
Castle Howard won an award for its garden recently and
while we were there the roses were particularly good, the ‘rambling rector’
along the pergola was stunning.
We had a very good Blue Badge
Guide to take us round York. She was very informative but also entertaining. She explained to us the
origins of the Merchant Adventurers and brought the place to
life. We saw so much more as we walked though York to the Cathedral than we
would have on our own.
Our last day was equally busy with a trip to Nostell Priory with paintings by Brueghel, and then on to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. The temporary exhibition at the park was Jaume Plensa and this was an unusual collection of sculpture, installations and sound. Many of us felt that we could have spent much longer there and the holiday was over far too soon. We look forward to the next holiday.
Visits in 2010 19th May 2010
Visit to Carnfield Hall
Unspoilt Elizabethan `Mansion House'. Panelled rooms, two 17th century staircases, great parlour. From 1502 the seat of the Revells and now of the Cartland family. Atmospheric interior with 3 centuries of family portraits, furniture, porcelain, needlework, costumes, royal relics and manorial documents.
Visits in 2009
24th February 2009
Visit to All Saints Church, Wilden and the Barber Institute of Art, Birmingham
All Saints Church, Wilden (near Stourport-on-Severn), is described as a temple to Victorian art, with fourteen windows designed by Edward Burne-Jones. Alfred Baldwin, father of Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin lived in Wilden and paid for the Church to be built. Through family connections to Burne-Jones the original plain windows were replaced by his designs between 1902 and 1914. One shows Stanley on life’s journey guided by an angel.
22 - 21 April 2009
3 day, 2 night visit to the Lake District to include visits to houses Blackwell, Brantwood, Sizergh Castle, Levens Hall and the Abbot Hall Art Gallery.
 This trip was notable for the variety in the places visited. We started on the first day with Sizergh Castle and Gardens, the home of the Strickland family for 750 years, with its fine Elizabethan carved overmantels and its limestone rock garden.
 On the second day we visited Levens Hall with its wonderful topiary and Brantwood - the home of John Ruskin, the Victorian thinker, which we approached by crossing Lake Windermere on a wonderful sunny afternoon.
 On our way home, we visited Blackwell the Arts and Crafts house. Completed in 1900 for the Holt brewing family from Manchester, Blackwell displays examples of decorative art, based on natural forms. Our final stop was at the Abbot Hall Art Gallery in Kendal with its works by Ruskin, Romney, Turner and Freud.
June 2009
Madresfield Court, Hanbury Hall, Worcestershire
Madresfield Court has never been bought or sold since records began. However, members of the Lygon family have put their stamp on the property, changing a medieval hall into a Tudor manor and then into a vast Victorian Gothic mansion. adresfield Court has a unique association with the Arts and Crafts Movement. C.R.Ashbee was commissioned to create their library, which has a huge collection of books. There is a stunning chapel, with frescoes featuring the seven children of the family of the seventh earl, amidst a profusion of flowers found on the estate. It remains a friendly family home containing many interesting collections. Evelyn Waugh was a frequent houseguest and based his novel “Brideshead Revisited” on the house and family. His desk is proudly displayed. There is a sadness in the family history and the quotation on the sundial in the herbaceous garden “That day is waste on which we have not laughed“ is very touching.
After our picnic lunches in the gardens, we travelled on to the contrast of Harvington Hall, which has been rescued from dereliction, and remains much as it was in Tudor times. It has uneven floors, numerous small rooms, a hidden chapel and many priest holes, where the Catholic owners hid their visiting priests when the magistrates arrived to search. We listened to the words of a priest who was confined to a tiny space for three days while a search was carried out – very frightening. We were conducted around the Hall by a guide in full Tudor dress which looked very bulky, especially in the old kitchens.
Visits in 2008
28 February 2008
London: Terracotta Army, Skinner's Company, Eltham Palace. Dulwich Picture Gallery and Kenwood House.
Visit to the British Museum and its "The First Emperor: China's Terracota Army" special exhibition. This display will explore one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century.
There is also a special guided tour of the Skinner's Company and a viewing of the loving cups. This will be followed by a visit to Eltham Palace with its medieval ruins, stunning interiors and delightful gardens.
A visit to Dulwich Picture Gallery follows with its unique collection of European masterpieces from the 1600 and 1700's. Finally there is a visit to Kenwood House and Hampstead Heath.
At the Skinner Hall on the London trip 
At Eltham Palace
Terracotta Army
7 May 2008
Arbury Hall
Arbury Hall has been the seat of the Newdegate family for over 400 years and is the ancestral home of Viscount and Viscountess Daventry.This beautiful Elizabethan house, was built on the site of a 12th century Augustinian Priory has. It was transformed in the 18th century to become the finest example of Gothic Revival architecture in the country. The house contains fine collections of antique furniture, pictures, glass and china and many of the splendid rooms of the house are on view to the public. Standing in its own parkland, the Hall is surrounded by delightful landscaped gardens with wooded walks and lakes.
30 June 2008
Broughton Castle
"About the most beautiful castle in all England - for sheer loveliness of the combination of water, woods and picturesque buildings", so wrote historian, Sir Charles Oman in 1898. More recently Simon Jenkins included Broughton in his selection of top 20 English Houses.
Broughton survives from the middle ages and is still inhabited by its founding family, the Fiennes, Barons of Saye and Sele.It was a defended manor house rather than a castle, with Moat and gatehouse. The great hall and chapel, built in the early 14th century, remain at the heart of the house. There was further extensive work carried out in Elizabethan times with the great parlour being completed in 1599. The house contains important fireplaces, quality plasterwork and superb panelling.
The house is enhanced by delightful gardens with roses, topiary and mixed borders. The adjacent church of St Mary is outstanding for size and beauty.
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