18th Nov 2024
14:00-15:30
Event now fully booked |
Talk: H H Martyn & Son: Gloucestershire's Fabulous Industrialists
St Matthew’s Church, Cheltenham | Much of Gloucestershire's industrial heritage is directly attributable to the skill, ingenuity and inspiration of a gifted man and his son. So few people are aware of the Martyn family and what they gave to... (Read more) |
14th Oct 2024
14:00-15:30 |
Talk: The Masons, The Mercers and The Mariner: 17th century Trading Tokens of the Cotswolds
St Matthew’s Church, Cheltenham | Talk by Neela Mann: A coin without a story is just a piece of metal. But a coin with a story becomes history in your hands. This light-hearted talk shows where research on 17th century... (Read more) |
27th Sep 2024 - 29th Sep 2024
All Day |
Yorkshire study tour
| Friends’ September Study Tour to Yorkshire: We are looking forward to this trip. Friday 27 September - departure time confirmed : 9 am from Royal Well Renishaw Hall, near Sheffield: group entrance and guided tour... (Read more) |
23rd Sep 2024
14:00-15:30 |
Talk: Behind Everest - Ruth Mallory’s Story
St Matthew’s Church, Cheltenham | It is 100 years since George Mallory died on Everest. His wife Ruth was Arts and Crafts royalty so her life covers both the Third Pole (as Edward Wilson called it) and the Women’s Guild... (Read more) |
14th Aug 2024
08:00-18:30 |
Visit to Shrewsbury: cancelled
Shrewsbury, Shrewsbury | PLEASE NOTE THIS EVENT IS CANCELLED Unfortunately August has proved a difficult month for bookings for our proposed trip to Shrewsbury and, even after advertising to other groups, we have too few participants to make... (Read more) |
30th Jul 2024
11:00-15:30 |
Visit to Stroudwater Textile Trust Mills Nailsworth
| We have a unique opportunity to visit two of Stroudwater Textile Trust's sites, Dunkirk Mill Museum and Gigg Mill Weaving Shed. This is a self-travel event and we would suggest, where possible, attendees car share... (Read more) |
15th Jul 2024
19:00-20:30 |
Talk: William Morris and William de Morgan with Julian Orbach
St Luke’s Hall, Cheltenham | In this talk Julian Orbach will explore the relationships between William Morris and William de Morgan and their wider Arts & Crafts circle. Author and Lecturer, Julian Orbach, is a graduate in History and Italian... (Read more) |
24th Jun 2024
10:15-11:30
Event now fully booked |
Midsummer Morning walk "Booze, Balloons and Burials" led by Neela Mann
Honeybourne Gate, Cheltenham | This walk shows a little of the development of the lower town area - a story which is usually forgotten in the history of the town of Cheltenham. It will take about an hour. We... (Read more) |
24th Jun 2024
14:15-15:30
Event now fully booked |
Midsummer Afternoon walk "Booze, Balloons and Burials" led by Neela Mann
Honeybourne Gate, Cheltenham | This walk shows a little of the development of the lower town area - a story which is usually forgotten in the history of the town of Cheltenham. It will take about an hour. We... (Read more) |
3rd Jun 2024
14:00-15:30 |
Talk: 400 years of Stroudwater Textiles
St Matthew’s Church, Cheltenham | At the height of its prosperity, the Stroud area had over a hundred mills. The area became famous for its dyeing; especially the scarlet that was used for military uniforms. Exports went all round the... (Read more) |
13th May 2024
14:00-15:30 |
Talk & Tea: William Morris's Strawberry Thief and a Strawberry Tea
St Matthew’s Church, Cheltenham | Speaker Emma Ferry, whom Friends may remember from our very enjoyable Wine Tasting and Art Appreciation event last December, will describe one of William Morris's most popular textile designs, 'Strawberry Thief', while we enjoy scones... (Read more) |
15th Apr 2024
14:00-15:30 |
Talk: Views of Cheltenham 1786-1850: topographical prints of a Regency town
St Matthew’s Church, Cheltenham | Between 1786 and the 1850s, many hundreds of topographical prints of Cheltenham were published for sale to the town's residents and visitors. Our speaker, Dr Steven Blake, will look at a selection of these and... (Read more) |
18th Mar 2024
18:30-20:00 |
Talk: A Potted History of GCHQ – and showcasing the Future
Park Campus, Cheltenham | (Read more) |
19th Feb 2024
14:00-15:30 |
Afternoon talk: Final Journey- the Untold Story of Funeral Trains
St Matthew’s Church, Cheltenham | Nicolas Wheatley's talk reveals the previously untold story of why and how trains have been used to transport the dead, enabling their burial in a place of significance to the bereaved. Profusely illustrated with many... (Read more) |
5th Feb 2024
08:45-17:00 |
Visit to Ledbury: The Master's House and St Michael & All Angels Church
The Master’s House, Ledbury | Day tour by coach: We will be visiting two significant buildings in the picturesque medieval market town Ledbury: The Master's House and the Anglican Church St Michael and All Angels. The Master's House is grade... (Read more) |
15th Jan 2024
14:00-15:30 |
Afternoon talk: 2 Willow Road - the 1939 modernist home of architect Ernő Goldfinger
St Matthew’s Church, Cheltenham | 2 Willow Road is the middle house of a terrace of three in Hampstead which was designed by architect Ernő Goldfinger, a key member of the Modernist movement, for himself and his family. It was... (Read more) |
12th Dec 2023
18:00-20:00 |
An evening of Wine Tasting and Art Appreciation: A timeless fusion
The Grape Escape, Cheltenham Gloucestershire | Wine, a beverage that has transcended eras and cultures, has long been a muse for artists, but also symbolic of society throughout history. From the earliest cave paintings to contemporary masterpieces, wine has left... (Read more) |
13th Nov 2023
14:00-15:30 |
Afternoon talk: Ledbury’s Rediscovered Masterpiece - ’The Last Supper' by Titian
St Matthew’s Church, Cheltenham | Peter Tattersall will relate the remarkable tale of the 12ft wide painting which, dirty, dark and brown, was underrated until in 2018 it piqued the curiosity of an art historian who was working on another... (Read more) |
17th Oct 2023
08:10-18:00 |
Salisbury Cathedral Tour
Salisbury, Salisbury | (Read more) |
16th Oct 2023
14:00-15:30 |
Afternoon talk: William Hill Knight: Architect - the man and his work
St Matthew’s Church, Cheltenham | William Hill Knight designed the Synagogue at the age of 22 and went on to design some 20 or more buildings in Cheltenham including Dean Close, the old Grammar School, St Marks, St James, Devonshire... (Read more) |
18th Sep 2023
14:00-15:30 |
Afternoon talk: Snow Widows - Scott’s Fatal Antarctic Expedition by the Women Left Behind
St Matthew’s Church, Cheltenham | Now for the first time, and with unprecedented access to family archives, Katherine MacInnes retells the story of the race for the South Pole from the perspective of the women whose lives would be forever... (Read more) |
17th Jul 2023 - 18th Jul 2023
14:00-15:30 |
Afternoon talk: A Visit to every English and Welsh Cathedral
St Matthew’s Church, Cheltenham | What would happen if you visited every Anglican Cathedral in England? And then throw in all the Catholic ones too for good measure? And whilst you are about it, do the Welsh ones too? You’d... (Read more) |
26th Jun 2023
14:00-22:30 |
Afternoon talk: Johannes Vermeer – Master of Light
St Matthew’s Church, Cheltenham | The Baroque painter Johannes Vermeer (1632-75) is best known for capturing life between middle-class walls during the Dutch Golden Age. Specialising in domestic interior scenes, his work is synonymous with a distinctive sense of quiescence,... (Read more) |
18th Jun 2023 - 20th Jun 2023
All Day |
Study tour to Liverpool
| Liverpool and Port Sunlight 18th – 20th June 2023 3 day/2 night tour This is a new date for this tour owing to Eurovision taking place in Liverpool in May. After the huge success of... (Read more) |
17th May 2023
09:10-17:00 |
Harvington Hall & Spetchley Park Gardens
Harvington Hall, Kidderminster | Harvington Hall, `House of Secrets` We depart Cheltenham this morning to the Worcestershire countryside to visit this fascinating and special house, rich in history of devotion and Catholic persecution. There are no less than seven... (Read more) |
