Visit
to The Manor Hemingford Grey & Little Gidding Church,
Huntingdonshire
Saturday
October 8th 2011
One
of the oldest inhabited houses in England: the 12th
Century manor of Hemingford Grey situated among water meadows on
the banks of the River Ouse was the home of the children’s
author Lucy Boston, famous for “The Children of Green Knowe”
and it’s sequels.
She
bought the house at the outbreak of WW II as a retreat from
Cambridge, revealing during restoration, the survival of ancient
windows and fireplaces covered over by later owners.
The house survives just as she left it: furnished in a
fascinating eclectic manner similar to that of her friends, the
Ede’s, at Kettles Yard in Cambridge.
RFS members who enjoyed Lodge Farm, Pamphill on the recent
Dorset conference will find the Manor a similar – if somewhat
earlier and larger – example of domestic architecture.
The
day will start just west of Huntingdon, with a guided tour of the
twin churches of Little Gidding and Leighton Bromswold.
The
early 17th. Century church at Little Gidding was
rebuilt by Nicholas Ferrar, as part of the Anglo-Catholic commune
he founded in 1624 following his flight from bankruptcy and the
turbulent religious politics in London.
The little two-cell church at the end of a lane which
retains most of its original oak fittings, and a fine brass
chandelier, was celebrated by the poet T.S.Eliot in ‘The four
Quartets’.
The
church of Leighton Bromswold, nearby, was the first living of
George Herbert, whose poems were published posthumously by
Nicholas Ferrar. The church also contains splendid woodwork,
believed to be by the same craftsmen as at Little Gidding.
The
Cock Inn, a short walk from The Manor at Hemingford Grey, with a
good reputation for food, is recommended for lunch, or if the
weather is good, members may picnic in the garden of the manor.
The
price for the day is £18 (refreshments
not included) Children £3.
Preference
will be given to any member accompanied by children or
grandchildren who would like to discover the house and garden in
which the Greene Knowe books are set. Diana Boston skilfully
involves children throughout the tour, allowing the adults to
relax and enjoy the house.
Maximum
30, members only
Jeremy
Bate
Application
Form
Welsh
Houses Study Day
Saturday
22 October 2011
The Regional
Furniture Society and the Furniture History Society have arranged
this joint study day of Welsh Houses in the Cowbridge area of
South Wales. Cowbridge
is a small prosperous town in the Vale of Glamorgan, near Cardiff.
The visits are all within a 5 mile radius, and will include
a shop visit to a small exhibition of Welsh furniture, a church,
and a farmhouse with pieces illustrated in Richard Bebb’s book Welsh
Furniture 1250-1950. There
will be a visit to a Great House, the name given in the Vale to a
squire’s house, which includes Welsh oak, mahogany and
eighteenth/early nineteenth-century samplers. There will
also be a visit to a Plas with mainly mahogany and walnut
furniture, and an interesting garden.
Cost: £25
per member, to include light lunch and tea.
Limit: 25, members only
Application
Form
The
2011 Christopher Gilbert Memorial Lecture: Max Donnelly, South
Kensington and the Revival of Painted Furniture
The
Geffrye Museum, Kingsland Rd, London,
Saturday 19 November 2011, 2.30pm
We
are very fortunate that Max Donnelly FSA, Curator of
Nineteenth-century Furniture at the Victoria and Albert Museum,
has accepted our invitation to give this year’s Memorial
Lecture. His subject follows on from the study day on painted
interiors and furniture that was held at the Merchant’s House in
Marlborough in April. Formerly a decorative arts specialist at the
Fine Art Society, Max Donnelly has lectured, published and
broadcast on aspects of nineteenth-century art and design. His
article on Van Gogh and English stained glass appeared in 'The
Burlington Magazine' (September 2011).
Cost
of the lecture and afternoon tea: £10 for members; £12 for
non-members.
Application
Form
John
Wesley’s Chapel, House and the Museum of Methodism, 49 City Rd,
London EC1Y 1AN
Saturday
19 November 2011, 11am.
The
Methodist Chapel in City Rd was built for John Wesley in 1778 to
the designs of George Dance the Younger.
George Dance was also the architect of two houses built
either side of the courtyard in front of the Chapel; one built for
John Wesley himself and the other to provide accommodation for
visiting preachers. John
Wesley’s house is the only one of the two to survive; it has
been described as ‘one of the finest surviving small Georgian
townhouses in London’ and it contains some of its original
furniture including the kitchen dresser and table and John
Wesley’s bureau and chair in his study.
Cost
of the guided visit: £10.
Please
note, if you are planning to take part in this visit and then
attend the Christopher Gilbert Memorial Lecture in the afternoon,
it is possible to have lunch in the restaurant at the Geffrye
Museum.
Application Form
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CONFERENCE/
STUDY DAY BURSARIES
A number of small bursaries, normally 50% of the
fee, are available annually to help with the cost of
attending RFS events. These bursaries are designed to
encourage interest in the subject and support early-career
professional members and students, particularly those who
are new to the subject, to attend the annual conference or a
meeting. Successful applicants will normally be expected to
submit a short note for publication in the Society's
Newsletter.
Details
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