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30 July 2026Doors to Manual- the evolution of flying: from absolute luxury ro modern day economy.Lecture
25 June 2026Norman Rockwell: Great American Artist or mere Illustrator?Lecture
28 May 2026Crowds and Clouds of AngelsLecture
30 April 2026Henri Matisse; cut up, cut down and cut outs!Lecture
26 March 2026The Queen Mother at the Castle of MeyLecture
18 March 2026The Rise and Fall of Napoleon and Josephine Special Event
26 February 2026London City of Scientific DiscoveryLecture
29 January 2026Arcimboldo at the Court of the AlchemistsLecture
18 December 2025Christmas in Bach’s Leipzig: the Christmas Oratorio of 1734/5 Lecture
27 November 2025RESURGAM - the Music of St Paul's CathedralLecture
12 November 2025The Story of British Musical TheatreSpecial Event
30 October 2025Shakespeare's Monarchs: Power or Progress?Lecture
25 September 2025Banksy: Fraud or GeniusLecture
31 July 2025Catherine the Great: the World's Greatest CollectorLecture
26 June 2025Pop-Up Pyramids & Lift-the-Flap Anatomy: The Pleasures of Print in Early Modern EuropeLecture
29 May 2025The World of HomerLecture
24 April 2025Carnations, Tulips and Hyacinths: The Story of Turkey's Iznik Ceramics.Lecture
27 March 2025The creation of the BBCLecture
19 March 2025Great British Exports: David Niven and P G Woodhouse Special Event
27 February 2025John Singer Sargent: The Pirvate RadicalLecture
30 January 2025Who Dunnit: Agatha Christie's Life and Crimes in LondonLecture
19 December 2024DISCOVER THE MUSIC OF THE LATIN AMERICAN BAROQUELecture
28 November 2024​THE VERY MODEL OF AN ENGLISH ENTERTAINMENT” – THE SAVOY OPERAS OF W.S. GILBERT AND ARTHUR SULLIVANLecture
05 November 2024From Monochrome to Polychrome: Colour Transformation in Garden DesignSpecial Event
31 October 2024The Obsession for Spanish Art in BritainLecture
26 September 2024The Powder and the Glory: Helena Rubinstein, Cosmetics, Art and WealthLecture
25 July 2024MonopolyLecture
27 June 2024Indians, Buffalo and Storms: the American West in nineteenth century art.Lecture
30 May 2024Public ArtLecture
25 April 2024Mad about the Boy: Noel CowardLecture
28 March 2024The Joy of Indian Classical MusicLecture
12 March 2024Splendours of Mexico and PeruSpecial Event
29 February 2024Secret Art in the Passport: how we use it to fox the forger.Lecture
25 January 2024Marathon!Lecture
21 December 2023HANGING EVERYTHING – ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER AND THE PASSION OF MUSICAL THEATRELecture
30 November 2023From Paper to Printing- the Developemnt of the Book along the Silk Road.Lecture
15 November 2023"Happy and Glorious" - A thousand years of Coronations Special Event
26 October 2023Whodunnit? Agatha Christie's Life and Times in London CANCELLED replaced by Viking Gods and Valkries by James VauxLecture
26 October 2023Viking Gods and Valkyries: the Arts of Norse Mythology.Lecture
28 September 2023Breugel: the Seasons and the WorldLecture
27 July 2023Eers, Ploughmen and Monkey Bums- the wonderful world of medieval manuscript marginalia.... including the tale of the Nun and the penis tree.Lecture
29 June 2023A Photogrphic Odyssey: Shackleton's Endurance Exhibition Captured on Camera(s).Lecture
25 May 2023The Making of Landscape PhotographsLecture
27 April 2023 Henry Purcell and the Music of Westminster Abbey Lecture
30 March 2023Before the Raj: British Life in India, c 1775-1845Lecture
15 March 2023Why Paris?Special Event
23 February 2023Dale Chihuly: the Worlds Formost Glass ArtistLecture
26 January 2023A bit of a Carry OnLecture
15 December 2022The Music of AdventLecture
24 November 2022Dick Whittington: International man of myth and mister(ie)Lecture
15 November 2022The Enigma of Edward ElgarSpecial Event
27 October 2022Stone on Stone: the men who built the Catherdrals.Lecture
29 September 2022THE SHAKESPEARE OF DOGS' SIR EDWIN HENRY LANDSEER (1802-73)Lecture
28 July 2022RODIN AND THE CAMBODIAN DANCERSLecture
30 June 2022JEROME KERN, IRVING BERLIN, COLE PORTER AND GEORGE GERSHWIN: AN INTRODUCTORY LECTURELecture
26 May 2022TREASURES OF THE TURF - THE FINE AND DECORATIVE ARTS OF HORSERACINGLecture
28 April 2022HEAVEN ON EARTH: A ROAD TRIP THROUGH MEDIEVAL BURGUNDYLecture
31 March 2022FASHION, FURY & FEMINISM: WOMEN’S FIGHT FOR CHANGE. The Dark Side of FashionLecture
15 March 2022The Faberge Imperial Easter EggsSpecial Event
24 February 2022Jorge LowinskiLecture
27 January 2022The Healing Power of PlantsLecture
11 January 2022Virtual visit to The Frick, New YorkVisit
16 December 2021From Phaetons to PhantomsLecture
25 November 2021A Carpet Ride to Khiva - exploring the rievival of 15th Century Timurid carpet designs form Persian illuminated manuscripts.Lecture
09 November 2021Cultural Revolution in the Heart of EuropeSpecial Event
28 October 2021AGM and lecture " Love actually"Lecture
30 September 2021A Decorative Art: the history of wallpaperLecture
29 July 2021The Queen of Instruments: the Lute within Old Master Paintings.Lecture
24 June 2021The Bauhaus 20th Century DesignsLecture
27 May 2021Sewn and Sown: the Gardens of Restoration England.Lecture
29 April 2021Eleanor Coade and her stone.Lecture
25 March 2021Moorish Architecture: the legacy of a vanished kingdom.Lecture
25 February 2021Provenance Matters. The mass faking of the Russian Avant Garde on the world art market 2000-2018Lecture
28 January 2021Eric Gill: the early yearsLecture
17 December 2020Santa Claus: the art that turns him from St Nicholas into Father Christmas.Lecture
26 November 2020The Genius of RaphaelLecture
12 November 2020Victorian Jewellery RoadshowSpecial Event
29 October 2020Performance "In the Secret Garden of Frances Hodgson Burnett"Lecture
24 September 2020The Life and Times of a Silver TeapotLecture
20 August 2020Extra talk via Zoom Nigel Bates, Percussion - use and abuse.Lecture
30 July 2020The History of the Royal ParksLecture
25 June 2020Oh, we do like to be beside the seaside.Lecture
28 May 2020A Decorative Art: the history of wallpapers.Lecture
14 May 2020Coach trip to Stoke Bruerne and Holdenby House Northants.Visit
30 April 2020From Phaetons to Phantoms: One hundred years of Coachbuilding.Lecture
23 April 2020Self Drive visit to Piccotts End Hemel HempsteadVisit
26 March 2020A Carpet Ride to Khiva: exploring the revival of fifteenth century Timurid carpet designs from Persian illuminated manuscripts.Lecture
10 March 2020The Seine: River of Light, Home to ImpressionismSpecial Event
27 February 2020The BauhausLecture
30 January 2020From Downton to Gatsby: Jewellery and Fashion from 1890-1929Lecture
19 December 2019Is Christmas in Good Taste?Lecture
28 November 2019The Two Gustav's: Mahler and KlimtLecture
12 November 2019London: Plague, Fire and WarSpecial Event
31 October 2019AGM and talk "A Walk from St John's Wood to Paddington Green" followed by cheese and wine.Lecture
26 September 2019Food and Art though the AgesLecture
25 July 2019Phrases and Sayings: The Etymology of the City of London.Lecture
27 June 2019The Treasures of Livery Company HallsLecture
04 June 2019A visit toTheobalds Farmhouse Garden - NOW FULLVisit
30 May 2019Norman Wilkinson: a dazzling artistic career.Lecture
16 May 2019Sex, drugs, models and Muses: the PreraphaelitesSpecial Event
25 April 2019Giles: his life, times and cartoons.Lecture
28 March 20191930's Glamour and GrimeLecture
14 March 2019The Wit and Wisdom of Jane Austen: An exploration of her family life, letters and early work.Special Event
28 February 2019The Silver Thread: Silver Filigree and traditional Arts in KosovoLecture
31 January 2019The Secret Language of Sacred Spaces: Religious Architecture of the World.Lecture
17 January 2019Meet up visit. The Queens Gallery, Buckingham Palace, "Russia: Royalty and the Romanovs"Visit
13 December 2018Christmas at Covent GardenLecture
07 December 2018Meet up visit. The British Library, "Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms: Art, Word, War" Meet at 11am.Visit
29 November 2018The Borgias. The most famous family in history?Lecture
15 November 2018World War I: Poetry, Art and Music, Wilfred Owen and his ContemporariesSpecial Event
07 November 2018Meet up Visit. Royal Academy, OCEANIA exhibition, meet 11amVisit
25 October 2018AGM followed by a full Arts Socety lecture and then cheese and wine. Lecture title: A Journey through the Imperial WardrobeLecture
27 September 2018Paintng the Modern GardenLecture
26 July 2018A Load of Old BallsLecture
28 June 2018The Language of ClothesLecture
31 May 2018Basingstoke and it's contribution to world culture.Lecture
08 May 2018Three Victorian Mansions, their Stories and their FatesSpecial Event
26 April 2018The Genius of Antonio StradivariLecture
29 March 2018The vanishing Maidservant: an Enfiield tale told through contemporary prints.Lecture
06 March 2018Organic Gems: from Elephants to Frozen ForestsSpecial Event
22 February 2018Undressing AntiquesLecture
25 January 2018Hidden Canvases: street art and the cityLecture
11 December 2017That pretty German toy: Musings on the Christmas tree.Lecture
30 November 2017Beyond Borders: fortified and painted Churches in RomaniaLecture
09 November 2017Connoisseurs and Conundrums: restoration, forgery and kitsch.Special Event
01 November 2017meet up for "Matisse in the Studio" at the Royal AcademyVisit
26 October 2017AGM, this will be followed by a shorter lecture on Holland Park and it's NeighbourhoodLecture
28 September 2017Mauve to MumbaiLecture
24 August 2017Coach trip to BOUGHTON HOUSE, Kettering NorthamptonshireVisit
24 August 2017No meeting - but there is a coach tripLecture
27 July 2017The Power of JewelleryLecture
12 July 2017Small group visit to the Estorick Gallery Visit
29 June 2017Underground Cathedrals: the development of the London tube system.Lecture
25 May 2017Lapis Lazuli and the pursuit of the celestial stoneLecture
16 May 2017Coach trip to BELMONT HOUSE, Faversham, KentVisit
27 April 2017Silver and Social CustomLecture
30 March 2017The Role of the Royal Mistress in HistoryLecture
21 March 2017Windsor Castle: History, Occupants and the Treasures in the Royal LibrarySpecial Event
23 February 2017Kicking and screaming: a brief story of post war British ArtLecture
26 January 2017Mars and MusesLecture
15 December 2016The Ox and the Ass: The silent watchers at the cribLecture
24 November 2016Three Great Families and their GardensLecture
15 November 2016HISTORY of ENGLISH FAIRS, MARKETS and SHOPSSpecial Event
27 October 2016AGM plus shorter lecture -- Baker Street and Silver Street, then and now.Lecture
29 September 2016The greatest collectors of all time: behind the scenes at the Art FundLecture
25 August 2016Coach trip to LULLINGSTONE CASTLE and LULLINGSTONE ROMAN VILLA, in Eynesford Kent.Visit
25 August 2016no meeting - but there is a coach trip - see under VisitsLecture
28 July 2016Designing the Dining Room- from the middle ages to the present day.Lecture
30 June 2016Glittering Prizes: the Mosaics of RavennaLecture
26 May 2016The Drama behind the TajLecture
10 May 2016Coach trip to HIGGINS MUSEUM, Bedford, and WREST PARK,Silsoe, Bedfordshire.Visit
28 April 2016Faber and Faber- 90 years of excellence in cover designLecture
31 March 2016The Art and Beauty of Old Maps of the WorldLecture
10 March 2016THEIR HOUR UPON THE STAGESpecial Event
25 February 2016Bottoms Up!Lecture
28 January 2016Medieval London: "Flower of all Cities"Lecture
17 December 2015Wonder Workers and the Art of IllusionLecture
26 November 2015Lawrence of ArabiaLecture
10 November 2015Tapestries and their role in Art and DesignSpecial Event
29 October 2015AGM plus shorter lecture - The Women I have marriedLecture
24 September 2015Ruskin and the Pre RaphaelitesLecture
27 August 2015Island Hall, Godmanchester, CambridgeshireVisit
30 July 2015Pomp and CircumstanceLecture
25 June 2015From Egg to BaconLecture
28 May 2015From Flea Pit to Picture PalaceLecture
05 May 2015Ashmolean Museum, OxfordVisit
30 April 2015Staffordshire FiguresLecture
26 March 2015The History of English Architecture in 10 Great BuildingsLecture
26 February 2015The Sign of the FalconLecture
05 February 2015Music in the Great Art Collections of EuropeSpecial Event
29 January 2015The Ashmolean Museum and its classic collectionsLecture
18 December 2014The Victorian ChristmasLecture
27 November 2014The Dollar PrincessesLecture
13 November 201412,000 YEARS OF JAPANESE ARTSpecial Event
30 October 2014AGM: Plus shorter lecture - History of Local RailwaysLecture
25 September 2014Going, Going, Gone – Behind the Scenes at an International Auction HouseLecture
10 September 2014Visit to DORNEY COURT, BerksVisit
31 July 201420th Century Design ClassicsLecture
17 July 2014Visit to ART IN ACTION at WATERPERRY GARDENS, OxonVisit
26 June 2014London and its Livery CompaniesLecture
29 May 2014Rodin and His SourcesLecture
06 May 2014Visit to DEENE PARK, NorthantsVisit
24 April 2014The Gilded StageLecture
27 March 2014Follies of EuropeLecture
11 March 2014LALIQUE and TIFFANYSpecial Event
27 February 2014The Grand Tour; Perils and PleasuresLecture
30 January 2014Getting to Grips with Abstract ArtLecture