CULTURAL EXPEDITIONS SPECIAL INTERESTS
Bristol 1904 Arts: Cultural Expeditions
Convenor: Dr. Paul Main
These single day coach expeditions aim to cover the fine and applied arts that our Society cherishes. They are designed so that the participants can enjoy each others’ company as well being enriched by history, architecture, art, music and our wonderful countryside. Previous expeditions have been:
- Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, ‘Degas to Picasso: creating Modernism in France’ exhibition; a wonderful collection being shown in the UK for the first time. Then a guided walk to the Snakes Head Fritillaries in Magdalene College’s water meadows, via the Covered Market, the Schools Quad, the Sheldonian and the Radcliffe.
- Cardiff: National Museum of Wales and Cardiff Castle: ‘From Gwen John and John Piper to a 12-sided Norman keep’. Guided tours of the Impressionist Collection and the Highlights of Art at the museum. At Cardiff Castle a guided tour of the beautiful rooms decorated by the art-architect William Burges (Castell Coch) for the 3rd Marquess of Bute. A meander through the Edwardian Arcades brought us to dinner at Cote.
- The Spirit of England and the Spirit of Brideshead: ‘Elgar’s Birthplace and Madresfield Court; Evelyn Waugh’s Inspiration’. Highlights were the talk from Elgar expert Dr John Harcup on Elgar’s Humour at Elgar’s birthplace and the stories about the family at the wonderful Madresfield Court.
- Bath a World Heritage City: ‘built for pleasure and relaxation, a wellbeing destination since Roman times’. At the Holburne Museum a guided tour of the highlights of the collection and a self-guided tour of the special exhibition on Gainsborough and the Theatre. A brilliant walking tour of Georgian architecture led by Dr Amy Frost, Senior Curator of the Bath Preservation Trust. Tea at the Francis Hotel.
- Gems of Glorious Gloucestershire: the National Arboretum at Westonbirt and the historic Elizabethan Chavenage House. On guided tours we learnt about the great Victorian Plant Hunters and the Picturesque Movement. At Chavenage House; well known to Poldark fans, we had lunch, tea and two excellent guided tours from the delightful resident family.
- Roman day: At Cirencester’s Corinium Museum after the Collections Officer’s introduction we self-guided around the museum’s collections of ancient statues and mosaic floors. During lunch at the 300 year old ‘The Fleece Inn’, we had a lecture about life in Roman Corinium. At Chedworth Villa Sensorenius and his ‘wife’ Octavia gave us a guided tour around the fascinating site followed by a National Trust cream tea.
- Blue Plaques and Green Plaques walking tour. This was done to both celebrate and to learn about the many famous personalities in the Clifton and surrounding areas of Bristol. This covered artists, architects, writers, scientists and even included reference to one of our own founders and benefactors: James Fuller Eberle (known to us by his nickname: Bongie - what his grand-daughter used to call him).
The expeditions beyond Bristol consist of usually about 30 members and are normally by coach with morning coffee, lunch and tea included, returning to Bristol by about 6pm.
