Lectures take place on the first Thursday in the month in Wickham Bishops Village Hall, but note that the Lecture in May is on the second Thursday.
Members are asked to be seated by 10.55 am for any preliminary announcements prior to the lecture commencing at 11.00am. Tea & Coffee is on sale from 10.30am.
2018
Thursday 6th September 2018
Victoria and Albert, Art and Love
This lecture celebrates the 200th Anniversary of the births of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
Barbara Askew BA
Thursday 4 October 2018
‘Curiouser and Curiouser’ – the life and works of Lewis Carroll
This lecture explores the enigma of this paradoxical figure of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, ‘Lewis Carroll’, with particular reference to his most popular works, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking-Glass”.Click here for more details and the BIO
Roger Askew BA,MA
Thursday 1st November 2018
Art UK: Uncovering the Nation’s Hidden Oil Painting Collection
Art UK was set up to catalogue every oil painting in public ownership in the UK. This unique and ambitious project involved visiting 3,000 collections across the country and photographing over 212,000 paintings Click here for more details and the BIO
Mary Rose Rivett-Carnac
Thursday 6th December 2018
Jane Austen’s Christmas: Festive Season in the Geogian Era
Before the Victorians reinvented it, the traditional Christmas was a very different affair. Devoid of Father Christmas, Christmas trees and commercialisation, the emphasis was on gentility, tradition and sociability. Jane Austen set many scenes from her novels during the Christmas period Click here for more details and the BIO
Clare Walsh
2019
Thursday 3rd January 2019
A Portrait of Jewels following missing treasures through canvas
A lecture inspired by Andrew Prince’s visit to the National Portrait Gallery, and seeing all the Tudor and Stuart monarchs, in all their finery, and wondering where were and what are all the jewels that they wore. Click here for more details and the BIO
Andrew Prince
Thursday 7th February 2019
Treasures of the Livery Company Halls
The City of London is home to no fewer than forty Livery Company Halls.They all contain a wealth of treasures in art, sculpture, stained glass, silverware and furniture Click here for more details and the BIO
Paul Jagger
Thursday 7th March 2019
Silk Road: A Textile Journey
Wool, cotton and silk have each played a crucial role in the fortunes of Central Asia. The Silk Road stratified wealth, displayed religious and political entrenchments and changed the fortunes of this fascinating part of the world; a meeting place between Mohammed and Marx. Our next lecture by Chris Alexander is “The Silk Road” an exploration of the trade routes that brought the wonders of the East to Europe Click here for more details and the BIO
Chris Alexander
STUDY DAY / DAY OF SPECIAL INTEREST
Monday 1st April 2019
Design, Invention, Creation: The Multiple Lives of Leonardo Da Vinci
A study day in three one hour parts: Exploring the life, work, interests and legacy of a Renaissance icon. Speculations regarding the true life and meanings of Leonardo’s works have been rife for centuries; culminating in recent times with books such as the Da Vinci Code
Leslie Primo
Thursday 4 April 2019
Mad Men and Artists – How the Advertising Industry Exploited Fine Art
Fine art has provided advertisers and their agencies with a great deal of material to use in their creative campaigns. Tony describes some of the processes by which these advertisements have been created The April lecture is Tony Rawlins explaining how Art and Advertising have become linked in this fascinating exploration of our commercial times.Click here for more details and the BIO
Tony Rawlings
Thursday 9th May 2019
The Bayeux Tapestry – The World’s Oldest Comic Strip
Everyone is aware about “1066 and all that” without necessarily knowing the exact facts about this momentous event. This lecture will present in details the historical, cultural and artistic aspects of that unique masterpiece.Click here for more details and the BIO
Eveline Eaton
Thursday 6th June 2019
British Seaside Holiday: History, Architecture and Entertainment
This lecture takes a compelling look at how seaside holidays have evolved over the years, helping to shape our lives and memories. Old photographs reveal the fashions and the styles used in seaside architecture, which have constantly changed over the years Jackie Marsh-Hobbs will give us a lecture on “The British Seaside Holiday – it’s History, Architecture and Entertainment. I wonder if she will also dwell on the decline of this traditional holiday and trippers to the sea? Click here for more details and the BIO
Jackie Marsh-Hobbs
The AGM precedes this lecture at 10.00am
Thursday 4th July 2019
Ravilious, Bawden and the Great Bardfield Artists
Great Bardfield was a fascinating artistic community.In the years before and during the Second World War painters, printmakers and designers settled in the village, relishing the peace while remaining within easy reach of London. They captured the soon-to-change world of rural England through the Recording Britain project
For our last lecture of the 2018-19 season, we have local art to the fore. Jo Walton on Ravilous, Bawden and the Great Bardfield Artists. An exploration of the artistic community that existed so close to us in North Essex. click here for more details and the bio
Jo Walton
Cheese and Wine Party after the Lecture – members and guests invited
Note that the first lecture in the new season 2019-2020 will be on Thursday 3rd October 2019
A Tour of Big Ben
Big Ben is one of the most iconic buildings in the world – it identifies the UK and democracy in the Western world. But there is a lot more to this tower than the beautiful external gothic architecture
Tim Redmond