Future Events

Sunday 24 June 2018 11:00am to 4:00pm

The ancient library of Alexandria contained some 400,000 scrolls. It is said that an inscription over the door read: ‘Medicine for the soul’. Whether you are seeking medicine for the soul, some light holiday reading, forgotten classics, or learned texts, our Summer Book Sale will provide a suitable hunting ground. There will be plenty of books of paperback fiction, biography, history, travel, the arts, architecture, gardening, cookery and much more.

Donations of good quality books are most welcome. For further information contact Sidney Blackmore and David Wiltshire on 01985 213195 or email sidney.blackmore@btinternet.com We are happy to collect books in the Bath area from mid-May onwards. Thank you in advance for your donations of books, all sales go toward funding the Holburne Museum.

Lodge Style, on Combe Down in Bath, was designed by CFA Voysey in 1909 for
T. Sturge Cockerell, an Alderman of Bath, is a flamboyant display of masonry. A notable private house of its day, it fuses Voysey’s distinctive touch with a host of historical and vernacular references (inspired by the then owner’s Oxford college, Merton) and shows the continuing possibilities of Bath stone as a building material.

The visit is being organised by Antonia Johnson. Tickets are £25 each,
to include a private tour of the house and its gardens, with a break for tea, coffee and biscuits. Please complete and return booking form no.4 in the Summer 2018 Newsletter.

A Day Trip to Forde Abbey & Mapperton House

A full day trip to see two of Dorset’s finest and most interesting properties.
In both cases we are fortunate enough to have exclusive, private access around the interiors as part of our guided tour. We head first to Forde Abbey, near Chard. Forde’s origins are as an early 12th century Cistercian monastery, but in the ensuing years it has been much altered and added to, and is now part-medieval, part-modern, with ecclesiastical as well as secular characteristics. As well as the fine interior we will visit the grounds which contain the country’s highest powered jet fountain. From Forde, we have a short drive to Mapperton (pictured above), where we will also have lunch. Described by Country Life Magazine as “The Nation’s Finest Manor House”, Mapperton lies in the heart of Hardy’s Dorset countryside. Mapperton is equally famous for its grounds, focussed on a gorgeous Italianate sunken garden.

This trip is being organised byMark Hake. The coach will leave the Museum promptly at8:30 am, returning at about 6:30pm. Please complete and return booking form no. 5 in the Summer 2018 Newsletter.

The price will be £62 to include return private coach transport, light refreshments and a ploughmans lunch at Kelmscott Manor, exclusive private access to Kelmscott and a private guided tour of the house. Entry to Buscot Park and the Faringdon Collection is NOT included in the ticket price – National Trust members will get in free, non-members pay £10 for house & grounds or £7 just for the grounds. This trip is being organised by Mark Hake. Please complete and return booking form no. 6 in the Summer Newsletter. We will depart Sydney Place, next to the Museum, promptly at 8.30am and aim to be back in Bath by 6.30pm.

The lecture follows the Friends private view of the exhibition Thomas Gainsborough & The Theatre, which has been co-curated by Hugh Belsey with Sue Sloman.

Gainsborough painted portraits at all periods of his career and they provided the majority of his income. Some were initiated by the artist and in the 1780s, when he was expending much of his energy on so-called ‘Fancy’ pictures, the lengthy process of painting a couple of important portraits raises further questions about their classification, their intention and their purpose. This lecture examines this dichotomy and shows how very inventive Gainsborough’s work was during the last decade of his life.

Hugh Belsey is one of the foremost authorities on British 18th century art. After studying at the universities of Manchester and Birmingham he became Curator of Gainsborough’s House in Sudbury. Later this year Yale University Press will publish his catalogue of Gainsborough’s portraits.

This event is bing organised by Antonia Johnson. Tickets are £15 each. Please complete and return booking form no. 3 in the Summer Newsletter for tickets.

Vienna is a glorious city offering huge scope for enjoyable short breaks. There is so much to see and do that, as a group, we are only proposing an initial walking and orientation tour and a coach trip to Schönbrunn on the last day. Two and a half days will be free for everyone to organise their own, individually chosen schedule, armed with a provided ‘Vienna Pass’ giving speedy, free access to all museums and most sites. Almost everything is within reasonable walking distance of the centrally-situated, famous Hotel Bristol (5 star).

The cost is approx. £1,150 per person sharing a double/ twin room. Please note that we’ve used up all of our single-room capacity, so only some double-rooms remain available (as at 21 March 2018). 

Suggested flights (to be confirmed and price NOT included): Monday, 15th October: depart Bristol 14.00, arrive Vienna 17.30 Friday, 19th October: depart Vienna 18.05 arrive Bristol 19.35

Please contact Heritage Travel for a brochure and any further information: 01225 466620 heritage@grouptravel.co.uk 

This trip is being organised by Olivia Eliot.