The PGECR Country House Group Conference 2024
The first annual conference of the PGECR Country House Group sponsored by Birkbeck University of London and The University for the Creative Arts (UCA) took place in the Keynes Library at Birckbeck Univerity on Friday, 1st March 2024. Speakers presented on a myriad of...
Visit to Restoration House and Huguenot Museum: 8th February 2024
A private visit to Rochester House and Vine House took place on Thursday 8th February with Dr Tessa Murdoch. Remarkable survivals of city mansions, both have been restored by Robert Tucker and his partner Jonathan Wilmot and furnished with 17th and 18th century...
Alumni private tour of Holbein: Tuesday 16th Jan 2024
One Tuesday 16th January the Attingham Society conducted a private visit to the exhibition 'Holbein at The Tudor Court' Park at The Queen's Gallery. This tour with Kate Heard, Senior Curator of Prints and Drawings and curator of the exhibition, showcased one of the...
Alice’s Wonderlands: rediscovering the forgotten world of Alice de Rothschild by Dr Mia Jackson
Alice de Rothschild, a member of the powerful European banking dynasty, was an avid art collector and creator of spectacular gardens at her residences in England and France. Yet her legacy has been overshadowed by the men of her family. Following new research related...
Dyrham Park and Imperial Imagination by Dr Rupert Goulding FSA
William Blathwayt (?1649-1717) constructed Dyrham Park between 1692 and 1704, a house and garden made to reflect his professional status, embodying his interconnected roles within political, military, and especially colonial administration. The house contained a rich...
A queer inheritance: an alternative history of the National Trust by Michael Hall
On the basis of a selection of country-house case studies, Michael Hall asks whether current approaches in queer history and contemporary understanding of LGBTQI+ identities offer new ways of analysing the way that the National Trust relates not only to ideas of...
Grinling Gibbons in the Country House and Royal Palace with Ada de Wit
This talk looks at Grinling Gibbons, one of the greatest artists of the English Baroque. Born in Rotterdam to English parents, he moved to England in 1667 and went on to have a spectacular career as a woodcarver and a sculptor, largely owing to his unprecedented...
‘What tone is salmon-coloured? Interpreting documentation in historic textile furnishing schemes’ by Annabel Westman
This talk concentrates on colour and design with some historic house case studies to illustrated and show how sometimes questions have been resolved by the original trimmings supplied - and a red herring is thrown in for good measure as well. Annabel is Director...
Queen Mary: First Royal Curator by Kathryn Jones
Queen Mary, consort of King George V, has often been dismissed in the past as a collector of fripperies and bibelots, yet not only did she add considerably and significantly to the Royal Collection, but visitors to the royal residences today see the works of art...
A Virtual Tour of Frederic Church’s OLANA: Masterwork of American Landscape and Design by Sean Sawyer
Sean Sawyer uses new 3D imaging technology to lead a virtual tour of Frederic Church's Olana, the master work of America's most acclaimed landscape artist of the 19th century. A National Historic Landmark, Olana overlooks the Hudson Valley and is the most intact...