Details to Follow

Join us for a guided tour of the Royal National Theatre and discover the secrets of one of the most
iconic buildings on the South Bank. 
We will be led by one of their expert guides with a 75-minute tour which takes you on a journey behind the scenes to see what’s being made in their on-site
carpentry, props and scenic painting workshops, and discover how they create world-class
productions.

This is an Independant Travel vist and furhter details, including the Expressoin of Interest form can be found by following  this LINK

We have planned a visit to Historic Guildford which includes a walking tour with a guide, lunch in a pub and a visit to the Guildford Spike.   

All the details and the important Expression of Interest Form are in the Document store and can be found by following this link:

HISTORIC GUILDFORD

For our Christmas outing we have been able to source a limited number of tickets for
the matinee performance of Ballet Shoes at The Olivier Theatre in the National Theatre, London on Wednesday 3 December 2025.

(The Olivier Theatre is a 500m walk from Waterloo Station)

ABOUT THE SHOW

"Ballet Shoes" tells the story of three adopted sisters, Pauline, Petrova, and Posy, who are raised by their eccentric guardian, Gum, and his niece Sylvia in a house full of fossils. The girls are encouraged to pursue their individual passions, with Posy drawn to ballet, Pauline wanting to be an actress, and Petrova aspiring to be a pilot.

It is a perfect Christmas show and reviews include:
‘Ballet Shoes: A playful, graceful adaptation – and a palpable hit’
‘This stage adaptation of the beloved children’s classic is a joy – an un-balletic stampede to the box office surely awaits it’

Further details in the Expression of Interest Form which can be found by following this link,

BALLET SHOES

The Wallace collection, housed in Hertford House Marylebone, features fine and decorative arts from the 15th to the 19th centuries with important holdings of French 18th-century paintings, furniture, arms and armour, porcelain and Old Master paintings arranged into 25 galleries.

Our visit includes a Private Tour of the main collection and the opportunity to visit:

• The Arms and Armoury Collection and/or
• Sir Grayson Perry Exhibition : Delusions of Grandeur

Further details and the Expression of Interestr Form can be found by following this link 

WALLACE COLLECTION

Martin Scalway will be leading this visit to explore the area around King’s Cross St Pancras
and the Regent’s canal.

More details can be found by following this link:

Kings Cross Visit - Information

and the Booking Form can be found by following this link

Kings Cross Visit - Booking Form

The Royal Hospital Chelsea is an iconic location, and this visit includes a 90 minute private tour with a Chelsea In-Pensioner. 

We will travel independently and arrive at the Soane Stable Yard, the start of our visit.  Here we will find the Café, for coffee on arrival and for lunch, the Chelsea Pensioners Museum and the usual retail opportunities.   2 hours have been allowed for you to visit the Museum and have refreshments before the highlight of the day.

At 2.30pm we will be met by one of the Chelsea In-Pensioners for a private conducted tour of the Royal Hospital, which takes approximately 90 minutes.

 After the tour you are free to make your own way home.

The visit costs £28 - with all travel and refreshment at personal expense.  

Firther details and the important Expression of Interest form are in the Documents Store and can be found by following this link:    CHELSEA

This promises to be an exciting tour where we will experience the best Tate has to offer with a Highlights Tour of must-see artworks in our world-renowned galleries, the Tate Modern and Tate Britain.

We will travel independently by train to Blackfriars on the Thameslink, via Sutton.

After a private one-hour tour around Tate Modern we will take the river boat will take us to Tate Britain. The journey takes 20 minutes and after a break for lunch there will be a one-hour tour of Tate Britain's highlights before we head home.

Further details and the Expression of Interest Form can be found by following this link. TATE to TATE

Parham House is a perfect example of an Elizabethan Manor House and has been
described as a “Jewel set in the South Downs”.

The plan for the visit is:

• 08.45am   Depart Leatherhead Leisure Centre Car Park
• 10.00am   Arrive at Parham, Morning Coffee in the Old Kitchen
• 10.30am  Guided Tour followed by break for Lunch. (Options to be confirmed)
• 1.30pm    Garden Tour
• 3.30pm    Depart for Leatherhead, arriving around 5.00pm

Cost, inclusive Coach, Driver, Admission, Guides, Gratuities & Morning Coffee: £55pp

Further details and for to submit your Expression of Interest for this visit can be found b y following this link PARHAM

Join us for a morning visit to renowned glass artist Adam Aaronson and his team at the Southeast’s largest glassblowing studio and learn about the age-old craft of glassblowing and the hypnotic magic of red-hot molten glass. Tea/coffee/biscuits will be available during the demonstration and there will be time to view (and make purchases!?) in the shop.

Further details and the Expression of Interest Form can be found in the Documents section and by following this link:  GLASS BLOWING

Battersea Power Station has been totally transformed in recent years and we have arranged for a conducted tour with Ian Swankie on Thursday 3 October.

All of the details can be found in the document store - please click on this link:  BATTERSEA

As a complementary visit to our April lecture ‘A Private Palace of Art – Frederic Leighton’s Studio House’, we have planned an outing to Leighton House in Holland Park and a visit to the nearby Sambourne House.

Cost: The joint tour cost is £38, which includes admission and guided tours in each house. Each tour takes approximately an hour and a half.

Accessibility: Sambourne House has no step-free access, with 8 external steps to the basement visitor reception and stairs to all four internal floors. Leighton House has a lift and step-free access.

The Booking form can be found by following this LINK

Although it is the Old Hatfield Palace built by the Bishop of Ely around 1485 and seized by Henry VIII at the Dissolution which evokes the strongest memories of the final three monarchs of the Tudor Dynasty - Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth 1st having spent much of their youth there – it is the awesome Jacobean House built next door between 1607-12 which today retains most of our attention.

This is a particularly exciting year to visit the National Gallery as it celebrates its bicentenary in May. 

In March our lecture will be ‘Behind the Scenes at the National Gallery’ with Sian Walters. We have planned this complementary visit which includes a guided tour of the most important artworks in the Gallery.

We will travel independently by train to Waterloo and make our way to the National Gallery.   Afterward the visit there are a number of options for lunch including Muriel’s Kitchen in the Gallery or the Buffet in the Crypt of St Martin in the Field next door.

If you wish to extend your day, the National Portrait Gallery is adjacent to the National Gallery and has recently reopened after a huge refit.

Cost: £ 20.00 pp. (exclusive of travel costs, refreshments, and lunch)

If you are interested, please first complete a registration of interest form. You can find it by clicking on THIS LINK.

You will then be sent a booking form.   Confirmation of place(s) will be sent on receipt of payment.

Under the expert guidance of Kate Davey, an accredited Blue Badge Guide and a member of Inner Temple, this visit will take us to the Inns of Court and the Royal Courts of Justice.
Our visit will start in The Garden Room, with refreshments, followed by a 90 minute tour.
We will visit the Temple Church with its many historic associations including the negotiation of the
Magna Carta between 1214 and 1219, and the American Declaration of Independence and Constitution

Cost: The price of £33 covers tea/coffee on arrival, the Society's payment to our Guide, Kate Davey and entry to Temple Church.

We will each pay for our own travel, and lunch

Full details and links to the Registration of Interest form can be found by clicking on this link  LEGAL LONDON

We have arranged a visit to Horsley Towers and talk on Ada Lovelace Monday 11th March 2024; 10.15 to 12.30.

This is an Independent travel visit and there is the optional extra of having lunch at the Duke of Wellington pub after the event.

The mansion which sits at the heart of the estate was originally built in 1820, and designed by Charles Barry, the architect of The Houses of Parliament. In the late 19th-century, the mansion was bought by Lord Lovelace and was the marital home of Ada Lovelace, the well-known mathematician, writer, and daughter of the poet Lord Byron.

On arrival we will enjoy tea/coffee/biscuits and once seated be given a talk on Ada Lovelace by local historian Roger Price, followed by a tour of some parts of the house.  At the end of the tour you have the option of joining us for lunch at the Duke of Wellington pub, which is just up the road from the Towers.

The cost of the visit is £18.00 a head (lunch is an optional extra) and full details and the Booking Form can be found by following this link -  HORSLEY

This last visit of the year is designed to combine a cultural tour of Winchester Cathedral with the fun
of a visit to Winchester Christmas Market, the largest of its kind in the UK and very like the famous
Christmas Markets on the Continent.
We will travel to Winchester by coach where we will be dropped off in the City Centre very close to
the Cathedral. We will enjoy a coffee break in the Cathedral Café before meeting in the Cathedral,
where a Guided Tour has been booked.
Afterwards you will have plenty of time to explore the Christmas Market, which is next door and then
to visit the busy city centre where you can enjoy lunch in one of the many cafes or restaurants.

Further details are here WINCHESTER

and the Booking Form is here  BOOKING

Having been on the waiting list for some years we have been very fortunate in being offered a special interest morning tour of Longford Castle, the home of The Earl of Radnor.  Longford Castle is renowned for its collections including works by Holbein, Poussin, Gainsborough and Reynolds along with oriental porcelain, Brussels tapestries and exceptional furniture. 

Unfortunately, there are no facilities for morning coffee at the castle but after the tour we will have a Ploughman’s Buffet (included in the cost) at the nearby Radnor Arms before returning to Leatherhead.

 COST £64 (includes coach, admission, guided tour, lunch and gratuities).

The Booking Form can be found by following this link,  LONGFORD

Join us for a 90 minute behind the scenes tour of the grounds exclusively led by a Blue Badge Guide.  We will learn how Wimbledon’s distinctive grass is cared for and how the site is improved and developed each year. We will see facilities provided for the press, broadcasters and of course, the world’s best tennis players together with visiting Centre Court and courts 1 and 18.

Following our guided tour there will be time for lunch at your own expense which can be taken in the Wingfield Café.

Full details and the booking form can be found by following this LINK

Join us on a visit to Trinity House, which overlooks the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. Trinity House is a splendid late 18th century grade 1 Georgian building in Trinity Square, near to Tower Hill tube station. It is dedicated to safeguarding shipping and seafarers, most especially the country’s lighthouses. There are two tours, each led by a City of London Guide.

All travel costs and lunch is at your own expense.

The Booking form can be found by following this link:    TRINITY HOUSE

After meeting at Waterloo Station (at 1025am) we will embark a Thames Clipper Uber Boat to Greenwich.  This journey gives a wonderful view of the sights along the River Thames.  There are facilities for hot and cold drinks and snacks on board.

At Greenwich, we start with a guided tour of the Cutty Sark.  There will then be time for lunch in one of the many cafes at Greenwich after which we will visit the recently restored Painted Hall in The Old Naval College.

You may then, either stay on at Greenwich to visit one of the other museums or return on the Uber boat to the Embankment and home.

Full details and the Expression of Interest form can be found by following this link: GREENWICH

Join us for an exclusive visit to Polesden Lacey where we will be given a talk by the General Manager, Katherine Mills whilst enjoying a cup of tea or coffee. We will then be taken around the house to see areas not normally open to the public, and view artefacts not
normally on display.

Travel will be independent and we will meet in the covered area by the coffee shop/toilets
at 10.15.  For full details and the Booking Form please follow THIS LINK

June Robinson is working with Success Tours to organize a two- day tour to Blenheim Palace.  This will be a wonderful opportunity to tour the Palace while it is ‘dressed’ for Christmas and to follow the Festive Lights Trail which is considered one of the best Christmas displays in the country.  There will also be visits to Hughenden Manor and Basildon Park

Stuart Harvey on Thursday 3 November 2022 from 10.15am for 10.30am start on Zoom 

Following the popularity of Stuart Harvey’s Virtual Tour of Rome last Spring, we have invited him back to take us on a virtual tour of his most popular destination, The Borghese Gallery in Rome, where he will show us some wonderful treasures.

Stuart is a qualified Tourist Guide of Rome and the Vatican, and an Accredited Lecturer for The Arts Society. He lives in Rome, but he grew up in Ashtead and still has family living locally.

The Borghese Gallery houses what is arguably one of the greatest collections of art in the world. In the early 1600s Cardinal Scipio Borghese, the nephew of Pope Paul V, amassed an incredible collection of ancient sculptures and renaissance art, including works by Titian, Botticelli and Raphael. Scipio added to this by commissioning statues from Bernini and buying up works by Caravaggio, Domenichino and other contemporary artists of the day. The Borghese Gallery is set in the Villa Borghese gardens, until a century ago the private gardens of the Borghese family, and today one of the most beautiful public parks in Rome.

This is a Zoom-only event. On receipt of the £5 fee for the use of your computer, you will receive the logon registration. For details of how to register for the talk, please 

click here

Guests and friends are also very welcome. The cost is £5. For further details please contact Paula Reglar at : theartssocietyleatherhead@gmail.com 

Our two hours private tour will provide an opportunity to venture inside the home of The Worshipful Company of Cutlers. It is one of the most ancient livery companies as Henry V granted it a Royal Charter in 1416, shortly after the Battle of Agincourt, possibly as a thank you for arms supplied for the battle. It was a trade guild whose members’ produced items with a cutting edge, such as swords, knives and surgical instruments. Our tour will take us into the Court Room and the Livery Hall with its Victorian hammer beam roof whilst also providing the opportunity to see the company’s collection of silver, artefacts, historical swords and cutlery. 

The Registration of Interest Form can be found by following this link.

Details of the London Walks with Ian Swankie are now available in the Documents section of this website.

Follow this LINK and you will find the form toRegister your Interest to take part in this event.

Details to be published when available

The visit to Arundel Castle and Hardham has been rescheduled from 2020 and wil take place on 20 April 2022

All the details are in the document store and can be found by following this link.

https://www.theartssocietyleatherhead.org.uk/DocumentStore/Arts%20Society%20Visit%20to%20Arundel%202022.pdf

At this stage we are inviting Registrations of Interest - plese contact Chris Evans on 01372 372169 or e.mail your request to chrisjevans1@outlook.com

A Virtual Walk through the City of Rome with Stuart Harvey on Wednesday 23 February 2022 from 10.15am for 10.30am start on Zoom 

Stuart Harvey is a qualified Tourist Guide of Rome and the Vatican, and an Accredited Lecturer for The Arts Society. He lives in Rome, but he grew up in Ashtead and still has family living locally.
He will lead us on a 90 minute virtual tour of Squares and Fountains of Rome, with a short intermission halfway for coffee and questions.
Unlike the virtual trips we did to Lisbon and Rome, our guide will not be walking around Rome with a camera. There is too much background noise, people getting in the way, and there are too many small alleyways in Rome.  The presentation uses a lot of video clips (as well as still photos) to recreate the linear sense of walking around the centre of Rome from monument to monument, and all filmed last February on nice sunny days with very few people around.

This is a Zoom-only event. It is free to paid-up members. To register for the talk, please 

click here

Guests and friends are also very welcome. The cost is £5. For further details please contact Crys Rushton at : theartssocietyleatherhead@gmail.com  .

Back by popular demand: enjoy an exclusive visit to Claremont Fan Court
School, Esher, an 18th century Palladian mansion. We will be given a guided tour
by the school’s historian and hear about the history of the site historically known
as ‘Clermont’. Sir John Vanbrugh, the Restoration playwright and architect of
Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard, built the original house (which stood in front
of the present building) for his own use in 1708. We will hear the history of
Claremont, bought by the future king George IV as a wedding present for
Princess Charlotte and her husband Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, & of Queen
Victoria’s frequent visits both as a child and later as an adult.

We will then visit Christ Church on Esher Common (completed in 1853) and enjoy a short concert. For this we must be seated by 1pm as the concert is broadcast live. After lunch we will have a guided visit to the grade 1 listed St George’s Church .

Please note this visit is limited to 20 places.

This tour starts at 11.15am.   We will travel independently to London to visit Spencer House, which is close to Buckingham Palace, where we will have a guided tour of the house. Spencer House was built between 1755 and 1766 by the first Earl Spencer, an ancestor of Diana, and is one of London's most magnificent 18th century aristocratic private palaces.  The house was restored to its full splendour after a 10-year restoration programme by RIT Capital Partners Plc under the Chairmanship of Lord Rothschild.

(Image courtesy of Spencer House)

A 5 day, 4 night visit to Mid Wales.

Join us for an exclusive ASL visit to the historic five acres garden surrounding a Tudor and William & Mary house. We will travel independently and will meet at the garden at 4,30pm for a talk given by Oliver Caroe, who will provide a biography of the family and how the house was shaped by four generations of Caroe architects. After tea/ coffee and biscuits you will be free to explore the 2* gardens at your leisure. The garden featured in the BBC production of Howards End in 2017 and in the film Christopher Robin in 2018.

Highlights of the British Museum Virtual Tour

Thursday 22 April

Dr Aaron Hunter will be taking us through the highlights of this vast treasure house, looking at some of the oldest objects and what might be the most valuable. The museum allows us to journey through the human story from Ancient Egypt to classical Greece and Rome. Finally, we will explore the story of ancient Britain and the significance of the Sutton Hoo Treasure Hoard, featured in the recent Netflix film “The Dig.”

Aaron is one of the select few Blue Badge guides who have permission to guide before the British Museum opens or after it closes. He has recently qualified as an Art Society accredited lecturer.
 

On the 1,600th anniversary of the founding of Venice, let us transport you there on our magic Zoom carpet. Our guide, Luisella Romeo, will lead us with her camera, on a live tour of Dorsoduro, one of the richest “sestieri” (districts) in terms of art and architecture. During our virtual walk we will see the Salute Church, the great Gesuati dome, and view the Palladian Redentore Church, across the canal on the island of Giudecca. We will pass by the oldest gondola yard on our way to the Accademia Bridge for a final view of the Grand Canal.

Luisella Romeo is an experienced Venice guide who qualified in 2000. She will walk around Venice with a camera. This walk is booked 'weather permitting'.

Due to the ongoing coronavirus situation this holiday has been postponed until September 2021.

In the morning we travel by coach to Charleston, which was the home and country place for the writers, painters and intellectuals known as the Bloomsbury group.  The interior was painted by the artists Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell, and together their collection forms a unique example of their decorative style. 

In the afternoon we will see the home of the 20th photographer Lee Miller and the surrealist artist Roland Penrose. It contains a Lee Miller collection (we are having a talk on Lee by their son in June) and contemporary art treasures, including works by Picasso, Max Ernst, and Miro.

CANCELLED DUE TO CORONAVIRUS

We will travel by coach and have an exclusive guided morning visit to the historic Elizabethan Borde Hill Mansion House and an afternoon guided tour of Borde Hill Gardens. Borde Hill is a beautiful Grade II English Heritage listed garden set within 200 acres of scenic parkland near Haywards Heath in Sussex. Renowned as a plantsman’s paradise, the Garden boasts rare shrubs and champion trees, stunning herbaceous borders, a large lily pool and subtropical dells with palms and banana trees. The Tudor house was acquired by Colonel Robert Stephenson Clarke in 1893, who was the first owner to plant the gardens and woodlands. In 1965 it became a registered charity and opened to the public.

CANCELLED DUE TO CORONAVIRUS

This private visit is rarely available and has been facilitated because of the kind permission of the PwC partnership. Embankment Place, designed by architect Terry Farrell in the 1980s and refurbished in 2014, stands on a bend in the Thames immediately above Charing Cross Station with dramatic views towards Westminster and the ever changing City skyline. Our evening tour will provide an introduction and curated tour of the art on display at Embankment Place. The tours will be led by Rachel Dickson and Emma Russell of Dickson Russell Art Management.  They will provide an insight into artworks acquired since the 1980s from mainly British artists who attended London art schools, or have worked in the capital, including established painters Jason Brooks, Maggi Hambling and Patrick Hughes.

CANCELLED DUE TO CORONAVIRUS

Come and join us on this exciting visit to Portugal staying in the VILA GALÉ, Ericeira, a coastal town situated on the rugged Atlantic coast and about an hour from Lisbon. We have reserved sea view bedrooms. Amongst our excursions we shall visit the highly ornate 15th century Jerónimos Monastery, the walled town of Óbidos, Queluz Royal Palace & Gardens (pictured), Evora – a UNESCO town with an open air museum and we will visit Lisbon for a day. We have included a local wine tasting tour and a free day for you to have a relaxing time in Ericeira. We can offer an optional extra of a boat trip in Lisbon.

Click here for Itinerary

Click here for Booking Form

CANCELLED DUE TO CORONAVIRUS

It would be difficult to find two greater contrasts during a single day than between the extravagant Victorian revivalism and opulence of Arundel Castle and the simplicity and mysticism of the beautiful 12th Century wall paintings of St Botolph’s Church, Hardham. We will travel by coach. We will have privileged access in the course of an early morning guided tour to the immense castle, originally founded in 1067 but entirely remodelled in Rococo and Gothic style in the 19th Century by successive Dukes of Norfolk. In the afternoon we will visit the early Norman Church of St Botolph’s Church in Hardham the interior walls of which are entirely covered by a unique series of frescoes depicting scenes from Old and New Testaments and the Apocalypse which disappeared from view for much of the following 600 years, only to be rediscovered in 1866 when a covering layer of white paint was removed.

CANCELLED DUE TO CORONAVIRUS

This walk, guided by Ali Clarke from Surrey Hills Arts will follow a section of the Greensand Way in the beautiful Hurtwood. Ali will take us to two of the sculptural seating artworks from the 'Inspiring Views' project. In addition to specially created seating, ‘Inspiring Views’ includes sound pieces and poetry inspired by the view: https://www.surreyhills.org/discover/arts-culture-views/

We will see 'Perspectives' by Giles Miller and 'Contour' by Russell Jakubowski and will also hear the specially commissioned poetry and sound tracks at each piece. The walk is approximately 3.5 miles long on fairly rough terrain but no steep hills. The cost will be £5 per person which will be donated to Surrey Hills Arts projects. There is an optional lunch afterwards.   

The current owner Kay Buckman will lead a walk for members into Grove Wood, Chalk Lane in Epsom to see the lovely snowdrops and the historic Durdans stables. This includes the famous indoor riding school built for Lord Rosebery. We will meet at the Rubbing House pub at 1.30 pm (independent travel).  The Durdans Stables is the most outstanding in Epsom from an equestrian history and architectural perspective.  Its equestrian history starts with Amato, the first Derby winner (in 1838). There are three listed buildings at the Durdans still in use, along with the listed iron entrance gates and four famous horses’ graves.

More details and the booking form can be found here

Our post-Christmas Sunday lunch is developing into a Leatherhead Arts Society tradition. Once again, we will be visiting Betchworth Park Golf Club for lunch on Sunday 26 January.  This is an opportunity to meet and socialise with other members of our Arts Society.  

 The lunch, which will be a three-course carvery meal, will be at Betchworth Park Golf Club Reigate Road Dorking RH4 1NZ.

The Booking Form for this lunch can be found in the Documents Section of this website or by clicking HERE.

Report on the visit to Chevening House and Ightham Mote

It was amazing to see a 14th century medieval moated manor house (Ightham Mote) before lunch and a 17th century Inigo Jones English Palladian manor house (Chevening) after eating. Chevening was gifted to the nation in 1967 and by convention is now the country residence of the Foreign Secretary. Chevening surpassed all expectation in terms of its architectural heritage and the quality and diversity of its collection of furnishings and paintings. We were privileged to be one of only eight groups this year to be shown around for 2.5 hours by Colonel Mathewson OBE, Secretary to the Board of Trustees.
 
We sat around the conference table, as the Prime Minister and of his cabinet had done a mere two weeks before, in the magnificent first floor Tapestry Room to admire the unique collection of early 18th century wall hangings which were woven by Huguenot craftsman who had settled in Brandenburg near Berlin. We later admired the Pitt bedrooms - Pitt the Elder (The Earl of Chatham) and Pitt the Younger were two of our greatest Prime Ministers. 
 
Finally, we were treated to a sumptuous "afternoon tea" in the comfort of an equally quintessential English Drawing Room. And then at the end of the day the sun came out and we saw the large lake where Boris Johnson is known to have enjoyed rowing on when he was Foreign Secretary. A brilliant visit organised by Chris Evans.

Huw Jenkins

 Report on the holiday to Sicily September 2019
 
Twenty-five members enjoyed a hot, sunny week’s holiday in western Sicily visiting sites and making new friends. Our lovely hotel was very well situated in a charming small seaside town with a good choice of restaurants nearby. Our excellent guide for the week was very knowledgeable and charming. Highlights of the week included some amazing 12th century Norman mosaics and Cathedrals (the Normans arrived in Sicily at about the same time as they invaded England in 1066), a splendid Greek amphitheatre, various Doric temples, swimming, delicious not-to-be-forgotten ice creams and an amazing Sicilian feast with 10 antipasti dishes!
Our leader, Gilly Coombes, did a great job in ensuring we all made the most of an interesting visit with time to relax.

An afternoon visit to Grim's Dyke, the former home of Sir W S Gilbert (of Gilbert and Sullivan fame) now a hotel in Harrow. First of all there will be a guided tour of the grounds and we will learn about the history of the house and its connection with Sir W Gilbert.  We will then have a cream tea and listen to some excerpts from Gilbert and Sullivan Operettas performed by singers from Grim's Duke Opera.

Great Dixter, near Rye, was the family home of the late Christopher Lloyd, the well-known gardener and gardening writer who devoted his lifetime to creating one of the most experimental, exciting and constantly-changing gardens of our time. Our guided morning tour of the highlights of the house includes one of the largest surviving timber-framed halls in the country,  and the 20th century Lutyens designed romantic recreation of a medieval manor house. However, it is the garden which gives Great Dixter its unique atmosphere with its lush and exuberant planting and in the afternoon we will have a guided tour.   

Visit Review

Thirty members enjoyed a visit to Christ’s Hospital School, a hugely impressive collection of buildings set in 1200 acres of lush Sussex countryside.

It was hard to believe that it was originally established to give poor children from central London food, clothing and an education. It remains primarily a boarding school.  Over 70% of the children receive bursaries or sponsorship.  Our guides on the day were some of the senior pupils dressed in the traditional uniform - blue coat and yellow stockings - dating back to 16th Century.  In a wide ranging tour we were told that some of the buildings were brought over to Horsham brick by brick from Newgate Street not far from St Paul’s Cathedral when the school moved out of London in 1902.  We were able to question our guides who were charming and articulate about school life and customs.  The school boasts many famous former pupils including Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Augustus Pugin and Barnes Wallace.  

In the late afternoon we were served sandwiches, cakes and tea in the huge dining hall dominated by the 1680’s Anthony Verrio painting of the King granting a Royal Charter to Christ's Hospital.  After tea, we visited the museum where there are many memorabilia and artefacts reflecting 460 years of fascinating history. 

Huw Jenkins

Staying at Llandudno Bay Hotel, East Parade, The Promenade, Llandudno, LL30 1BE, phone 01492.555400 www.llandudnobayhotel.com -   dinner, bed and breakfast.

The cost will be £950 per person.  NO SINGLE ROOM SUPPLEMENT  Cost includes all coach travel (with Hardings), dinner bed and breakfast at hotel, all entrance charges, cream tea at Gwydir Castle and all gratuities. 

When broadcaster Bamber Gascoigne inherited West Horsley Place in 2014 it was clear that the cost of restoration of this dilapidated building was going be in the region of £10million. A charitable Trust was set up; The Mary Roxburghe Trust (named after his Aunt). We will have a guided tour of this grade 1 listed mansion (maximum 20), and learn of its history, the majority of which dates back to the 15th century. It has seen many kings and dignitary visitors. Indeed, Henry VIII seized the property for a short period. In September 2018 it was used as part of the film set for ITV’s ‘Vanity Fair’. We will not visit the new Grange Opera House.

Our City visit this year is an exclusive visit to The Mansion House which has been the Official residence and office of the Lord Mayor of the City of London for over 250 years. In the morning over 30 of us will have a 1 hour tour which will give us an insight into the history of this Grade 1 building and a chance to learn more about the Lord Mayor. After an independent lunch 20 of us can do an arts tour (1.5 hours), led by a City of London guide. We will see  a remarkable collection of 17th  century Dutch and Flemish paintings (the Harold Samuel Art Collection), including works by Frank Hals and Nicolaes  Maes, which was bequeathed to the City of London in 1987.

This guided walk explores Southwark and the riverside quarter known as Bankside – the City’s Playground. All the activities banned in the City of London took place in this area, on the south side of the river. So, it is the site of theatres, inns, taverns, breweries, bear pits, prisons and dirty industries such as foundries and power stations. Along with much of London’s riverside, the area has been transformed in recent years but much of the original atmosphere and charm remains. We finish at the twisting brick temple of modern art, Tate Modern which we can visit. Ian Swankie is an official City of London Guide and gave us an excellent talk last year.

Claremont Fan Court School

Click here for full report

By popular demand we are having a return visit to Betchworth Golf Club, which will be organised by Sarah Sheridan. This is purely a sociable lunch and a chance to meet other members. Independent travel.

After supper in the Cellarium Restaurant at Westminster Abbey we assemble in the cloisters for a welcome by a member of the Purcell Club.  We will then move into the Abbey and take seats in the Nave for the commencement of the tour when the first piece of sacred music is sung.

The speaker describes the history and architecture of the Abbey, moving from one location of interest to the next.  At various points there is a pause for members of the Purcell Club to sing suitable musical items.

The Purcell Club is a male voice choir formed predominantly from members of Westminster Abbey Old Choristers’ Association. The singers give their services in order to put on these tours and all the profits from ticket sales go to support the Abbey and a range of small charities.

Dates: Sunday 16 – Saturday 22 September 2018 Duration: 7days / 6 nights – moving around the country with 3 hotel stops to reduce the amount of daily travel Approx Cost: (based on 21 travelling) £929 per person based on shared twin / double room (NB cost may be subject to change if air fares and/or taxes are increased)

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Stories about broadcaster Bamber Gascoigne inheriting West Horsley Place hit the national papers four years ago and since then many of us have been curious to see inside this local mansion. There will be a tour of the grade 1 listed mansion, the majority of which dates to the 15th century and was so desirable it was seized by Henry V111.   We will also see some of the house's 300 acres on part of which a 700 seat opera house has been built. Bamber Gascoigne gave a talk last year at the Leatherhead theatre and it was a sell-out. Maximum 20

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2018 marks 100 years since Parliament passed a law which allowed some women, and all men, to vote for the first time. A major exhibition, Voice & Vote: Women's Place in Parliament is being staged in Westminster Hall. Featuring a range of amazing interactive features, the exhibition will cover the campaign for votes for women and the representation of women in the House of Commons and the House of Lords. We will also be able to see the ‘New Dawn’ window by Mary Branson during our self-guided visit. We will travel independently.

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An exclusive visit to the enchanting historic 15th century timber-framed house, with magnificent gardens, in the picturesque award-winning downland village of Bramber, West Sussex ... a place of fascination and mystery.Still a lived-in home, there are fine panelled rooms, including the unique Elizabethan trompe l'oeil  painted Room. St Mary's has intriguing literary connections ... Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, and the Sherlock Holmes story The Musgrave Ritual.

There are five acres of beautiful gardens, with an exceptional example of the prehistoric Ginkgo Biloba 'living fossil' tree, amusing animal topiary, and 'Secret' Garden with original Victorian fruit wall and pineapple pits, beautiful rose garden, terracotta garden, King's Garden, unusual circular English Poetry Garden, landscape water garden and Rural Museum.

Following lunch at The Old Tollgate Hotel in Bramber, we will we will have a guided tour of Lancing College Chapel. The foundation stone was laid 1868 and built by resident masons of Sussex sandstone. The 70 foot foundations hold the chapel on its spectacularly eminent site. The crypt was used by the school until the upper chapel was consecrated in 1911.  However, this remarkable building intended by the Founder as a symbol of faith and a challenge to materialism remains incomplete. 

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City Visit: private evening tour of The College Arms followed by supper.

We have planned a whole day visit to the little known gem - Royal Holloway College (part of London University) at Egham.  We will have a guided tour of the spectacular building – based on the Chateau of Chambord on the Loire – a sandwich lunch in the famous Picture Gallery, a talk on the art collection which includes some famous works and free time in the Gallery. 

Why not join us on our trip to the Isle of Wight next May?  We have put together an interesting and varied programme, including some old favourites – Osborne and Carisbrooke Castle, some hidden gems such as Nunwell House and some pure fun – Butterfly World and the Steam Railway.

The holiday will be led by Sarah Sheridan.

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City Visit: private evening tour of The College Arms followed by supper.

The Arts Society Leatherhead are organising a performance of an iconic film, “Loving Vincent,” that has recently been released. We have arranged for Eveline Eaton, an accredited lecturer with The Arts Society, to give a talk before the film on 7 January to celebrate the year in the 50th anniversary of The Arts Society. We hope you can join us and support The Leatherhead Theatre. 

Vincent van Gogh is the world’s most famous painter, not only famous for his paintings, but also for his tortured life. ‘Loving Vincent’, the world’s first fully hand-painted animated film explores Vincent’s life and work by bringing to life some of his most inspirational paintings to tell his story.

Tickets are £15 and you have to book with The Leatherhead Theatre (01372 365141) or https://www.theleatherheadtheatre.com/lovingvincent  Tickets are available to members and non-members.  

 For the 4th successive year we are celebrating Christmas by Candlelight in the beautiful surroundings of the medieval Church of St Mary and St Nicholas, Leatherhead. The concert will feature music by the Brandenburg Singers and Brass Ensemble, and will include some readings and many old favourites, and some newer carols. Following the concert we will, in the Parish Church Hall, have wine, soft drinks and mince pies. Tickets are £15 each, which includes a donation to the Friends of Leatherhead Parish Church.

 800 years ago the French King had taken Reigate Castle and was besieging Dover Castle and Windsor Castle; Dover Castle has always been a key to English history. Discover the old Roman lighthouse, enjoy views of the English channels from the old Admiralty look out, enter the WW2 underground hospital and also see where the save Dunkirk operation was planned. The highlight of the day is a guided tour of Henry 11’s Tower, which is only available for groups. You get tea and cake (or a £5 guide book) which makes the tour good value. The grounds take a lot of walking, wear comfortable shoes and be prepared for some steep slopes, though there is a land train within the Castle grounds.

Something that is just to be sociable and have fun - no culture involved! Join us for lunch on Sunday 15th October at Betchworth Park Golf Club Reigate Road Dorking. A chance to chat to other The Arts Society Leatherhead members. This will be a three-course meal, the main course being a carver. It is not necessary to select your food in advance but please say if you require a vegetarian meal. Coffee/tea is included. No coach transport is provided for this event. No drinks are included apart from tea/coffee and tap water. COST £24 per person (includes meal coffee/tea and gratuity) 

Istria is the heart-shaped peninsula of Croatia.  The area offers some of the most stunning scenery with Roman remains, history and art, and the shimmering waters of the Adriatic are never far away.  Inland is an area of rare beauty, characterized by medieval hilltop settlements and stone-built villages.  Our tour includes highlights such as Pula's Amphitheatre, Rovinj with its cobbled piazzas and shuttered houses, Porec's Basilica and Mosaics and the historic hilltop town of Motovun, which looks as if it has been left over from another century.

Come and see your favourite stories brought to life at The Royal School of Needlework's "Stories in Stitch” exhibition at Hampton Court Palace. There will be a 2 hour tour including a 30 minute seated presentation, probably by Dr Susan Kay-Williams, the Chief Executive of The Royal School of Needlework; Susan is an experienced NADFAS lecturer. We will see items specially brought out from the Collection.   There will be the chance to see stitchers at work. 

We will arrive at Hampton Court in time for you to purchase lunch before the tour starts at 2.00 pm.  The Tiltyard Restaurant serves a selection of hot and cold food.  You may also enjoy three of the public gardens surrounding the restaurant. Entry into Hampton Court Palace itself is NOT included.

COST £36 per person (includes coach travel, Curator's Tour of Stories in Stitch  Exhibition and gratuities) 

Hampstead has been home to the rich and the famous for generations. Sample the atmosphere as you wander the streets. Our walk will include visits to two National Trust houses: the glorious art and garden of Fenton House (pictured below) and the ultra-modernist Erno Goldfinger’s 2 Willow Walk. We will also visit the famous bathing pools of Hampstead Heath. Rona Roach will be leading the walk; please book your place at the May meeting. There is no charge for the walk but please only book a place for the walk (maximum 18) if you are certain to go.
 

LeDFAS UK tour to Norwich 22 to 27 June 2017  

After a very popular trip to Ulster in May, Sarah Sheridan is leading a UK tour based in Norwich. The varied programme includes the recently refurbished Euston Hall, Hindringham Hall (opening specially for our group), Langham Glass, Sandringham, Houghton Hall and a lot more. There will also be a day with a ride on the Bure Valley Railway and a boat trip on The Broads. Sarah will be taking bookings at the back of the hall at the September meeting.

We are having a special day visit to Knebworth House in Hertfordshire, home to the Lytton family since 1490. The house was originally a red-brick late Gothic manor House built round a central court as an open square. In the 19th century the house was transformed into the present Tudor Gothic structure. Its most famous resident was Edward Bulwer-Lytton, the Victorian author, dramatist and statesman, who embellished the gardens in a formal Italianate fashion. Much of the interior was redesigned by Sir Edwin Lutyens, who LeDFAS had a talk on in 2015.  A herb garden, with an interlaced quincunx design, was drawn by Gertrude Jekyll in 1907, although not planted until 1982.

We will have a guided tour of the house and time to explore the 28 acres of formal gardens. We can also see the British Raj Exhibition which was put together to mark the centenary of the great Delhi Durbar of 1877.

The cost for the day will include tea/coffee on arrival and a soup/sandwich lunch.

We will take a guided tour of Two Temple Place, one of London’s architectural gems, a late-Victorian mansion built by William Waldorf Astor on the Embankment – just across the river from London Waterloo station. After the tour there will be the opportunity to view the exhibition Sussex Modernism: Retreat and Rebellion. This major exhibition examines why radical artists and writers were drawn to the rolling hills, seaside resorts, and quaint villages of Sussex in the first half of the 20th century and how, in the communities they created, artistic innovation ran hand in-hand with political, sexual and domestic experimentation. The exhibition will focus on many of the venues and locations visited by some LeDFAS members during recent years.

Friday 10th March 2017 

The Menuhin Hall, Stoke d’Abernon, Cobham KT11 3QQ

 From Troy to Mycenae: In Search of Homer’s Heroes  

Lecturer – Louise Schofield

We have all heard of the recent revamp to the Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth Dockyard, now come and see the improvements to this now stunning exhibition for yourself!  In the morning we will have a headset tour of the museum, with a live guide; this will last about an hour. After time to buy lunch and explore the museum at leisure we will enjoy a special workshop "Lost and Found: The Archaeology of the Mary Rose" during which we will learn the archaeological story from seabed to showcase - this promises to be fascinating and is only available to groups. 

 This is another City visit arranged by our ex-Chairman Michael Bramwell. Our private tour will be led by Charles Henty, the “Secondary of London and Under-Sheriff”, whose job it is to run London’s Central Criminal Court. Charles will reveal the history of the Old Bailey, where our most infamous criminals have been tried, and until 1868, executed. The present building was built in 1907; we will see the Grand baroque entrance hall, the cells, Dead Man’s Walk and the Courts, including the Dock. The building stands on the site of the notorious old Newgate Prison and the original Roman West Gate into the City.  In 1973 the Provisional IRA exploded a car bomb outside the court, and we may see signs of this.

 LeDFAS will make a donation to the Sheriffs and Recorders Fund that makes payments to ex- prisoners, and their families, to help them stop re-offending

 We will travel to London by train and bus, and will have coffee beforehand. There will an optional supper nearby after the one and a half hour tour.  

Christmas Carol Concert: Friday 20 December 
 
On 20 December Leatherhead Decorative and Fine Arts Society celebrates Christmas by Candlelight in the beautiful surroundings of the medieval Church of St Mary and St Nicholas, Leatherhead. The concert will feature music by the Brandenburg Singers and Brass Ensemble, led by Bob Porter, and will include some readings and many old favourites, and some newer carols. Following the concert we will, in the Parish Church Hall, have wine, soft drinks and mince pies. Tickets are £15 each, which includes a donation to the Friends of Leatherhead Parish Church.

NADFAS East Surrey special interest morning on Capability Brown on 11 November

To Lancelot Capability Brown, all landscapes had ‘capabilities’ and such was his popularity that many of those now mature landscapes still delight us today. This special interest morning could be interesting for those who go on the July Gatton Park walk, or who are interested in knowing more about England’s greatest gardener on the 300th anniversary of his birth. 

 Following on two successful Glyndebourne visits in 2014 and 2015, we are applying for tickets for Mozart‘s Don Giovanni, a revival of the successful 2010 production directed by Jonathan Kent.  The opera swings between comedy and tragedy. Michael Bramwell will be selling tickets at the April meeting, bring your cheque book. Tickets will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

Royal Festival Hall Concert: Edvard Grieg: Peer Gynt and story- telling music
Sunday 23 October 2016

We are joining up again with the LCA to hear a concert by Edvard Grieg and Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky.

We have reserved group discounted seats. There will be independent travel; the Festival Hall is a short walk from Waterloo Station.

A number of you went to the RFH in June. We are joining up again with the LCA to hear “Something Wonderful.” Leading West End artists and the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra celebrate a great song-writing partnership. Be swept away by this enchanted evening of back-to-back classics by Rodgers and Hammerstein. We have reserved group discounted seats at £26 in the Front Stalls. There will be independent travel; the Festival Hall is a short walk from Waterloo Station.

Street artists from London’s East End as well as international artists leave an ever changing kaleidoscope of energy and creativity on the walls of Shoreditch. Our guide is an excellent and knowledgeable guide who will take us on a fascinating 2 hour tour around Shoreditch Street Art; we see Banksy and a lot more. The tour shows you the difference between street art and graffiti and what street art is legal? Interestingly more opportunities now exist for street artists to get a show in a gallery. Bring your camera!

August 2016 is the 300th anniversary of the birth of the famous English landscape architect, Lancelot (Capability) Brown. Gatton Park, near Reigate, is famous for the work done by ‘Capability’ Brown. He replaced the formal landscape with informal plantings which accentuated the rolling landscape of the park. You can see quite clearly what the architect intended on our guided afternoon walking tour around Gatton Park, followed by tea. 

A special day trip to Lewes which included guided tours around Lewes Castle and Anne of Cleves House, and time to wander around the medieval streets and alleyways of Lewes.

Bought by Sir Guy Carleton, later Baron Dorchester, in 1787, it is still occupied by his direct descendants. Originally a farmhouse, it has been continually extended and altered. It is surrounded by parkland and woods with a large and informal garden.