March 12th
Victoria & Albert Museum
Group Tour - Love,
Betrothal and Marriage
Discover stories of love and seduction from
the worlds of classical mythology and the Medieval court. Consider
rituals of courtship and marriage in Renaissance Italy and Tudor
England by looking at sculpture and jewellery, including a selection
of beautiful betrothal rings, marriage chests and the wedding suit
of King James II.
Cecil Beaton exhibition of photographs of the Queen
Featuring portraits of Queen Elizabeth II by royal photographer
Cecil Beaton, this exhibition celebrates Her Majesty in her roles as
princess, monarch and mother and coincides with the 60th anniversary
of her accession to the throne.
The photographs of the British royal family by Sir Cecil Beaton
(1904-1980) were central to shaping the monarchy's public image in
the mid-20th century. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was still a
young princess when she first sat for Beaton in 1942. Over the next
three decades he would be invited to photograph the Queen on many
significant occasions, including her Coronation Day in 1953.
April 4th
Watt's Gallery & Guildford Cathedral
Recently restored to its former glory and reopened last summer, the
visit to the gallery will feature an in-depth tour, taking in the
latest exhibition 'G.F.Watts: Hall of Fame', a unique
collection of portraits of his personally admired contemporaries.
The history of the gallery and of the nearby Arts and Crafts
masterpiece, the Watts Chapel, designed by Mary Watts and full of
Art Nouveau imagery, will be brought to life on the tours.
The day concludes with a guided tour of Guildford Cathedral,
consecrated in 1961, the first Anglican cathedral to be built on a
new site in the South of England since the Reformation. Somerset
sandstone pillars and white marble floors give a 'sense of
lightness, beauty and dignity quite unique in such a modern
Cathedral.'
On short-term exhibition will be 'The book of Job' by Martha Golden,
whose 21 engravings produced by William Blake between 1823 and 1825
are considered a masterpiece of the medium.
May 10th
Turner Contemporary at Margate
http://www.turnercontemporary.org/ with
'Turner and the Elements' exhibition
http://www.turnercontemporary.org/turner-and-margate
June 19th
Royal Ascot Opening Day
Royal Ascot
http://www.ascot.co.uk/
We’re going to Ascot! Our June visit will
be a day at the races on the opening day of Royal Ascot, Tuesday 19th
June.
Just
after the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, we have an
opportunity to witness pageantry, tradition, fashion and style in
the glorious setting of Ascot.
Travelling by coach from Reigate we have
Grandstand tickets, which allow access to the ground floor of the
grandstand with access to the parade ring and the finish line.
While no food or alcohol can be taken into
the Grandstand Enclosure there are plenty of food outlets and we
will arrive at Ascot early to allow for informal picnics in the
coach park.
Then it will be time to buy a Racecard
(£3.50) and find a good spot for watching the arrival of the Royal
Procession; followed by an afternoon of wonderful racing, a little
flutter perhaps (take cash for this) tea or a Pimms and a little
fashion watching.
Cost £58 per person.
Booking opens at April lecture.
July 9th
All Saints, Tudeley
is the only church in the world to have all its twelve windows
decorated by Marc Chagall (1887-1985). The visit includes a talk
about the windows and Marc Chagall, and a unique opportunity to
examine his work at eye level and see the marks made with his own
hands. The east window, installed 1967 as a memorial tribute to a
young girl who lived nearby, was inspired, in Chagall's words, by
God's love as shown through His creation.
Chiddingstone Castle,
Kent
September 4th
Goodwood House and Denmans Gardens
This Connoisseurs' Day private visit to the home of the Duke of
Richmond and Gordon starts with a short introduction by the Curator
of the Goodwood Collection and continues with tours of the house by
experienced guides. The house, which originates from 1616, was
bought by the present family in 1697, and remodelled externally on
classical lines in 1730. The great Regency wings, designed by James
Wyatt for entertaining and displaying the art treasures, were added
in 1800-1806. Huge debts later saved the house from Victorian
overlay, and recent restoration has returned it to its Georgian
splendour. The Collection includes art work by Canaletto, Van Dyck,
Reynolds and Stubbs amongst others, Gobelin tapestries, Sevres
porcelain personally commissioned by the 3rd Duke while British
Ambassador to Louis XV and a scagliola Egyptian State Dining Room.
Denmans Gardens, formerly the garden of a country house, now jointly
owned by garden designer and writer John Brookes along with Michael
Neve, has a display of foliage colour and form which is very
special. Just four acres, it is divided into many small areas where
meandering gravel paths allow one to walk among the plants and
provide planting and design ideas that can be adapted to suit any
size of garden.
Photographs from 2011 Visits
Historical list
of all visits