Date/Time
Date(s) - 11th Feb 2026
14:00-15:30
Location
St Matthew's Church
Categories
Due to unforseen circumstances, our talk by Lucy Abel Smith on the Fresh Air Sculpture Exhibition has been re-scheduled for 17th June. If you have booked for Lucy’s talk we will be in touch with you shortly.
We are grateful to our replacement speaker for 11th February, Dr Emma Ferry, who has kindly stepped in at short notice.
‘The Other Miss Faulkner’: Lucy Orrinsmith and The Drawing Room
‘There is no doubt that much good decorative household work might be done by ladies, who are so often gifted with accuracy of perception at first sight, and refined judgment as to graceful effects’ (Orrinsmith 1877: 9)
The ‘Art at Home’ Series, published by Macmillan between 1876 and 1883, was a successful collection of domestic advice manuals aimed explicitly at a lower middle-class readership. Mrs Lucy Orrinsmith (née Faulkner), was commissioned to write The Drawing Room: its decoration and furniture for the Series; a book that appears in almost every study of nineteenth century interior design. This illustrated talk will recover the hidden history of Mrs Orrinsmith, discuss her work for William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and explain her involvement with the ‘Art at Home’ Series.
PLEASE NOTE THIS TALK IS ON A WEDNESDAY.
Location: St Matthews Church, 44 Clarence St, Cheltenham GL50 3PL
Cost per person including tea/coffee and cake: FoTW members £11, non-members £13
Non-members welcome.
If you have any questions about the event or booking please phone Alison on 01242 519413 or Sue Reeves on 01242 675497 or email events@friendsofthewilson.org.uk.
Please book using one of the following options:
- On-line bookings with a debit or credit card can be made using the form below.
- Bank transfer – please email events@friendsofthewilson.org.uk to let us know you have sent your transfer so that we can send you a booking confirmation. Bank transfers should be made to Friends of The Wilson Sort Code 30-91-87 Account 00005816. The reference must include your surname plus as much of the event title as will fit, for example SMITH ORRINSMITH.
- Cheque – please complete a booking form (download here ) and post it with your cheque. Please make cheques payable to Friends of The Wilson and send with a SAE or clearly written email address to Mrs Alison Pascoe, 77 Naunton Lane, Cheltenham, GL53 7AZ.
Places are not confirmed until payment is received.
Terms & Conditions: You are undertaking this event at your own risk.
If you have any problems with our booking system please email events@friendsofthewilson.org.uk and we will be happy to help.