Friends tour to Cornwall 2025

12 Feb 2026

The Minack Theatre, Penzance. Photo: Tim Lewy Unexpectedly glorious weather accompanied the Friends on their tour of Cornwall. Stopping off at Tewkesbury, many amongst the group enjoyed an informative and lively talk around the Abbey before our first stop-over in...

Wedgwood and Flaxman: a talk by Sir Tristram Hunt

12 Feb 2026

Talk by Sir Tristram Hunt, Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum: Wedgwood and Flaxman Flaxman worked as a designer and modeller for Wedgwood, who rated him above all his other designers. With Wedgwood’s financial help, Flaxman spent seven years in Rome where his...

LS Lowry: Two paintings in York Art Gallery

12 Feb 2026

Our speaker for Artwork of the Month, January 2026, was Jane Eddleston, a member of the Visitor Team at York Art Gallery. In her talk Jane reflected on the two paintings by L. S. Lowry in the Gallery’s collection, both currently on display in the Burton Gallery,...

Overnight visit to Stourbridge

4 Feb 2026

Leaving the Memorial Gardens at 8am, we will travel by coach to Calke Abbey. This remarkable house has been sensitively conserved by the National Trust. It has a wonderful display of Gilray cartoons and a large natural history collection. After a self-funded lunch at...

Talk on the Fulleylove Stained-Glass Window, St Lawrence Church, York

4 Feb 2026

Our speaker, Alison Gilchrist, is an accredited stained-glass conservator at Barley Studio, York. In late 2025 the Barley Studio were honoured to work on this very special memorial window from St Lawrence’s Church, York. Designed by the Arts and Crafts artist, Joan...

Talk: Flaxman as Sculptor and Illustrator

4 Feb 2026

A talk by Sir Nicholas Penny FBA, FSA, Director of the National Gallery 2008-2015. Flaxman as Sculptor and Illustrator. This lecture by Sir Nicholas, together with one by Sir Tristram Hunt in October, has been organised in connection with the exhibition, John Flaxman:...

Tour of the Borthwick Institute for Archives

4 Feb 2026

The Borthwick is one of the biggest archive repositories outside London. Since 2005 it has been based in a purpose- built building made possible by a grant of £4.4 million by the Heritage Lottery Fund. In this tour, Gary Brannan, the Keeper of Archives and Special...

Tour of Birdsall House, Malton

3 Feb 2026

Leaving Memorial Gardens at 1pm, we will travel by coach to Birdsall House, near Malton for a 2-hour guided tour by a member of the Willoughby family. Set in beautiful parkland, the original Tudor house was enlarged in the mid eighteenth century and later extended by...

Coach trip to Skipton

3 Feb 2026

We will leave Memorial Gardens by coach at 9am to travel to Skipton. Here we will first visit the newly refurbished Craven Museum, which was shortlisted for the Art Fund Museum of the year in 2024. Here we will have coffee and a short talk by the Curator, before...

Walking tour: Art and Architecture in Beverley

3 Feb 2026

We will start our tour at 11am in the medieval Guildhall, with its fine 18th century courtroom, local history museum, and collection of paintings by the Beverley artists Fred and Mary Elwell. The Guildhall was remodelled in the 17th and 18th centuries and the Court...