Tiverton for horse-drawn barge trip
Avington Park, near Winchester
Talk: “Wild flowers of East Devon coast”
The Linnean Society of London and the Madejski Fine Rooms, Burlington House
The Peat Moors Visitor Centre, Westhay
The Jurassic Coast, West Dorset and East Devon
Talk: “Life in late Georgian Somerset”
The Sir Harold Hillier gardens and arboretum, Romsey
Talk: “The making of modern Hong Kong”
Brown and Forrest Smokery, Hambridge
The Whitechapel Bell Foundry, London
Talk: “Gunpowder, Treason and Plot”
Sir John Soane's Museum and the Hunterian Museum, London
The Taunton Telephone Exchange
Somerset College of Arts and Technology
Christmas Lunch at Taunton Vale Golf Club
The Science Museum, near Swindon: making of the modern world
Christmas tea party with seasonal entertainment
Monday 3 October 2005
From early in the 19th century and for more than 130 years, horse-drawn tub-boats carried limestone along the Grand Western Canal from quarries at Lowdwells to Tiverton Wharf where it was fired into lime for farming and house-building.
Relax as the horse pulls a traditionally painted barge and experience a gentle journey that will take you back in time as you travel through some of the most beautiful Devon countryside in early Autumn. This quiet and unspoilt waterway is a haven for wildlife.
Thursday 6 October 2005
William Cobbett wrote of Avington that it was “one of the prettiest places in the County”. That is no less true today.
Avington Park, where Charles II and George IV both stayed at various times, was enlarged in 1670 by the addition of two wings and a classical portico surmounted by three statues. The state rooms on view include the Ballroom with its magnificent ceiling, the Red Drawing Room and the Library. Most of the paths on the estate are gravelled.
St Mary's Church, among the most perfect Georgian churches in Hampshire, is in the grounds nearby and can be visited. The original barrel organ in the church is in excellent condition and it is possible that we will be able to listen to it.
Saturday 8 October 2005
West Monkton Village Hall, Monkton Heathfield, 2.30pm
The speaker, David Allen, is a botanist who has spent more than 20 years in international agricultural research and written two major books and many articles. Born and brought up in East Devon, he had a keen interest in natural history and was principal recorder for the “Atlas of the Devon Flora”.
He is deeply involved with conservation of the Blackdown Hills and leads nature walks.
Wednesday 12 October 2005 Burlington House
The Linnean Society of London, founded in 1788, is the oldest scientific society in the world devoted to biology. It lays special emphasis on the taxonomic identification of plants and animals.
We shall see the original collections used by Carl Linnaeus (1707-78) to formulate his binomial classification scheme, which is the basis for modern scientific nomenclature for plants and animals. We shall also see Sir James Edward Smith's herbarium and insects. The library covers literature of biology from 1483.
Last year, the Royal Academy at Burlington House opened to the public a splendid suite of Fine Rooms which had been hidden behind closed doors for more than two centuries. These historic rooms have been brought back to their former glory as an example of “town palace” architecture. They are dedicated to the Academy's magnificent collection of art, including works by Turner, Constable, Reynolds and Hockney.
Friday 14 October 2005
Here we travel back to prehistoric times and learn how the lake village people lived. There is a replica of an Iron Age roundhouse. Two roundhouses from Glastonbury Lake Village, wetland walkways and the famous sweet track – a wooden causeway built across the Somerset Levels some 6,000 years ago – are reconstructed.
Peat cutting is also displayed, with examples of local craft and tools of the trade.
Wednesday 19 October 2005
This is England's first Natural World Heritage site. We shall be joined by Jill Cooper, a Blue Badge Tourist Guide. She has planned a programme to tell us all about this historic area as we travel along the coastal route through Seaton, Lyme Regis and Abbotsbury to Weymouth.
The day will give a greater insight and added dimension to places many of us think we know. The coastline represents 185 million years of earth history and had been ranked with the Great Barrier Reef and the Grand Canyon.
Saturday 22 October 2005
West Monkton Village Hall, Monkton Heathfield, 2.30pm
David Worthy will present the fascinating story of some of the well-known and not-so-well-known families who lived in Somerset during the Georgian era. He will speak about their lives, the people they met and the places they visited.
Monday 24 October 2005
The National Trust saved Tyntesfield for the nation in 2002. The mansion is an extraordinary Gothic Revival extravaganza near Bristol. It survives intact with an unrivalled collection of Victorian decorative arts, an insight into life below stairs and a sumptuously decorated private chapel. The surrounding 500 acres of land include formal gardens, parkland and a walked kitchen garden.
Visitors will have an opportunity to see conservation in action as part of the on-going project at Tyntesfield. Quantock Centre members are asked to take their National Trust membership cards.
Wednesday 26 October 2005
These 166-acre gardens and arboretum near Romsey, Hampshire, were begun in 1953 and contain the largest collection of different hardy plants in the British Isles. At the time of the visit there should be a riot of Autumnal colours.
Wednesday 2 November 2005
Meet at the church at 2.30pm.
St Andrew's Parish Church, on a hill overlooking the village of Halse, has a range of interesting architectural and other features, ranging from the Norman period to the 16th century. Later features include carved bench-ends created by a local school of artists and craftsmen. There will be an opportunity to hear something about the church.
Saturday 5 November 2005
West Monkton Village Hall, Monkton Heathfield, 2.30pm
The speaker will be Richard Denton-Cox, a member of the Quantock Centre. He was a pupil at Taunton School before studying for a degree in civil engineering at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Much of his working life was spent abroad, including 25 years in Hong Kong where the building of the new Container Port was one of his major projects.
Wednesday 9 November 2005
Meet at 11.45am.
This is a small family business which started by smoking eel. Now they smoke all kinds of fish, meat, poultry, cheese and even garlic. Products are on sale in the shop. There are other outlets that can be visited.
We shall visit the Smokery in small groups. Access is suitable for disabled people.
Saturday 12 November 2005
The Whitechapel Bell Foundry is one of only two bell foundries still working in Britain. It is also believed to be probably the oldest business still operating on the same site (from around 1570), although the actual date the company was founded is not certain. We will have a guided tour of the foundry and an opportunity to visit the shop and museum. The Whitechapel Art Gallery is nearby and is well worth a visit in its own right.
Thursday 17 November 2005
The tour will start at 2.00pm
The Somerset Metrology Services (SMS) Laboratory provides a service for the Somerset County Council Trading Standards Department. By monitoring equipment, it checks that Weights and Measures legislation is enforced throughout the county. Enforcement is achieved by giving advice on how to comply with current legislation, investigation of complaints and prosecution of offenders where necessary.
Saturday 19 November 2005
West Monkton Village Hall, Monkton Heathfield, 2.30pm
The speaker, Anne Bowring, was not able to give us her talk on the actual 400th anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot, but it is, of course, still timely. With reference to various National Trust houses, she will tell the story of the conspiracy by a desperate band of Roman Catholics in the reign of James I to avenge the harsh treatment to which the Catholics were subjected.
Tuesday 22 November 2005
10.30am-4pm
Dramatically sited, a castle has existed on the site since at least Norman times. The present building was remodelled between 1868 and 1872 by Antony Salvin.
The study day will include a guided tour of the castle and a talk on the furniture and other artefacts in the collection. There will be a lecture about the Dunster Historic Landscape, followed by a short walk.
Friday 25 November 2005
This Christmas Fayre is the Midland's most prestigious Victorian-themed street market, with the finest Christmas crafts, gifts, food and entertainment in the heart of historic Worcester.
Tuesday 29 November 2005
This visit will be to two of the most unusual and fascinating museums in London. Both are situated in Lincoln's Inn Fields.
Sir John Soane (1753-1837) was one of England's greatest architects. He bought No 12 Lincoln's Inn Fields as his family home. Twenty years later, he moved into No 13 where he designed a sequence of rooms which demonstrated how an architect could combine light, space and decoration to create the “poetry of architecture”. Here, he displayed his collection of paintings, sculpture, architectural models and many other varied artefacts.
John Hunter is regarded as the father of modern surgery. On his death in 1793, he left his diverse collection of more than 14,000 objects of curiosity to the Royal College of Surgeons. These include human and animal specimens, instruments and paintings. Every organ is there, thanks to his frenzied obsession to collect rare body parts, including some from Captain Cook's first voyage to Australia.
Saturday 3 December 2005
West Monkton Village Hall, Monkton Heathfield, 2.30pm
The speaker, Ted Pitman, is very knowledgeable on fungi. He will describe many different varieties and advise on those which are edible.
Tuesday 6 December 2005
Chavenage, an historic Elizabethan house, contains much of interest for the discerning visitor. The house has associations with Oliver Cromwell and contains 16th and 17th century oak furniture and tapestries. A member of the Lowsley-Williams family will conduct us around their much-loved and lived-in family home.
Wednesday 7 December 2005
Start at 2.00pm.
BT Taunton Toneside is the main processor centre for Taunton and the surrounding area. It contains much of the equipment needed to make telephone connections throughout the country and around the world. Although it is a large building, very few people work there.
Friday 9 December 2005
Start at 9am.
This visit will give members an opportunity to see the completely new and contemporary College – The Atrium.
Wednesday 14 December 2005
12.00noon for 12.30pm.
The Quantock Centre's annual seasonal lunch.
Friday 16 December 2005
The Science Museum at Wroughton, near Swindon, contains many exhibits that are too big for the Science Museum at South Kensington – some so large that they are housed in former RAF hangars.
The variety of exhibits is enormous, ranging from all forms of transport, farming, science and medical equipment to domestic appliances and other objects you may have used yourself in the not-too-distant past.
Saturday 17 December 2005
West Monkton Village Hall, Monkton Heathfield, 2.30pm
The hall will be set with tables and chairs, not in the usual “theatre style”. The afternoon will start in festive mood with a concert by the Minehead Handbell Ringers. They will present a selection of seasonal music and readings, with audience participation.
This will be followed by traditional Christmas afternoon tea.