VISITS

Now that the restrictions due to the Coronavirus pandemic have been lifted, we expect to be able to reinstate the two one-day visits that we had to cancel in the 2019-20 programme.

The Vyne and Sandham Memorial Chapel

Wednesday 27 April 2022

Coach departs: 9.15am Cost: TBA

Our first destination will be The Vyne, near Basingstoke. After a coffee break, we will have a guided tour of the House; described by Simon Jenkins as the loveliest mansion in Hampshire, the House embraces Tudor, Early Palladian, Georgian Gothick and Victorian Revival styles.

After a break for lunch, we will be taken by coach to Sandham Memorial Chapel at Burghclere (towards Newbury). The Chapel is perhaps the greatest work of Stanley Spencer who decorated its walls with paintings reflecting his experiences in the Great War in Salonika, part of the Macedonian front. We will have a talk on the Chapel and its paintings, and there will be time for tea before we depart.

Please note that the cost of the meals and refreshments are not included in the ticket price.

Audley End

Tuesday 14 June 2022

Coach departs: 9am Cost: TBA

Audley End is a magnificent Jacobean House which includes parts designed by both Vanbrugh and Adam. It is one of the so-called prodigy houses, built for glamour and for show. It has two libraries and a chapel, boasts fine paintings and furniture and enjoys grounds laid out by Capability Brown. After coffee on arrival we will have a guided tour of the house. The remainder of our time will be free for us to visit the gardens and revisit the house, and to have lunch.