Further details on these and additional trips will be given via this website, on the notice board and at meetings
Friday 23 February
BEHIND THE SCENES AT CHICHESTER FESTIVAL THEATRE
This approximately 60-minute guided tour is a brilliant way to explore how theatre is made! You will discover the Theatre’s backstage space, how they create their shows and experience their famous Festival Theatre stage. You’ll hear about the Theatre’s beginnings and what makes this building so special and come away with oodles of insider knowledge about what happens behind the scenes.
Meet in the theatre foyer at 2:45 for a 3pm start.
Tickets £11 on sale at our January & February lecture meetings.
Thursday 18 April
CHAMPS HILL
Summer 2024 Art Exhibition – Painting the Green: flowers, grasses, shrubs & trees
This major exhibition features depictions of flora from Champs Hill’s Modern and Contemporary British Collection, and introduces major new acquisitions of works by Winifred Nicholson, Ivon Hitchens, Anne Redpath, Mary Fedden, Elizabeth Blackadder and Olwyn Bowey. Great favourites from recent exhibitions include work by Andrew Gifford, Freddie Gore and William Bowyer.
Meet in the car park at 10:15 for a short walk up to the house for a 10:30 start.
Tickets £12.50 on sale at our February & March lecture meetings.
This price includes entrance to the gardens, and also tea or coffee.
Tuesday 4 June
WATTS GALLERY AND ARTISTS VILLAGE
This is a Coach trip.
Monday 24 June
PHILIP JACKSON’S STUDIO
Including a talk by the sculptor.
This is a self-drive visit.
Wednesday 24 July
STRATFIELD-SAYE HOUSE – Fully Booked – Waiting List in operation
Home of the Dukes of Wellington since 1817
This is a Coach trip.
Wednesday 25 September
HAMMERWOOD PARK
This is a self-drive visit to Hammerwood Park (house and gardens).
Located 3 1/2 miles east of East Grinstead, Hammerwood Park was built in 1792 by Benjamin Henry Latrobe (1764-1820), architect of the White House and US Capitol Building in Washington D.C., and many others (including Ashdown House, near Forest Row).
One of the first examples of Greek Revival architecture in the United Kingdom, the house was converted into flats in the 1960s and purchased by Led Zeppelin. Rescued from dereliction by the Pinnegar family in 1982, Hammerwood remains one of Britain’s best-kept secrets; an architectural gem, and a family home.
Hammerwood Park
Hammerwood
East Grinstead
East Sussex
RH19 3QE
(Click on the map for directions)
£16 per person, including the guided tour of the house and refreshments (abundant tea/coffee/soft drinks and a generous slice of cake).
Tickets will be on sale at our July and September lectures.
The guided tour of the house starts promptly at 2pm:
Meet in the car park outside the house at 1.45pm
Wednesday 13th November
PALLANT GALLERY, CHICHESTER
Guided Tour of the Dora Carrington Exhibition
Discover free-spirited Dora Carrington in the first major exhibition of her work for 30 years.
Uniting over 100 works by Carrington (1893-1932) and her peers, this landmark exhibition repositions this fascinating artist in the history of Modern British art and celebrates her defiant bohemian way of life. The exhibition showcases her significant relationships, including those with Bloomsbury Group figures such as her lifelong companion, writer Lyttton Strachey.
This is a self-drive visit, for an 11am start.
Tickets on sale at our September & October meetings.