Visit to Owlpen Manor, near Dursley, Gloucestershire
Visit to Killerton, Broadclyst, Devon
Illustrated Talk: “Mediterranean Spring”
Visit to Christ Church College, Oxford
Visit to Stratfield Saye House, near Reading
Visit to Lacock Abbey, near Chippenham
Visit to Tyntesfield, near Bristol
Visit to Rhondda Heritage Park, near Pontypridd
Visit to Salisbury for Michael Frayn Comedy or Cathedral and Other Attractions
Illustrated Talk: “the Royal Mews”
Visit to Compton Verney, Warwickshire
Visit to Llancaiach Fawr Manor, Nelson Treharris, South Wales
Illustrated Talk: “Harrods in Edwardian Times”
Visit to Sandford Orcas Manor, near Sherborne
Visit to Hereford Cathedral – and Seasonal Shopping
Visit to the Black Country Living Museum, Dudley
Christmas Lunch at Oake Manor Golf Club
Monday 1 October
Owlpen Manor, the Cotswolds home of Sir Nicholas and Lady Mander and their family, is an early medieval manor, dating from 1450-1616. It is untouched apart from minor 18th century improvements. It has a magnificent Tudor Great Hall, Jacobean solar/parlour wing, and an elegant Georgian parlour.
There are collections of furniture, textiles, pictures and portraits and a collection of Cotswold Arts and Crafts furniture. There is a grist mill and a cyder house, which is now a restaurant.
It has formal terraced gardens and magnificent yews of the 17th century. (The grounds are steep and uneven in places.)
Owlpen has its ghosts, including that of Queen Margaret of Anjou, wife of Henry VI, who stayed at Owlpen in May 1471, on her way to defeat at the Battle of Tewkesbury.
Friday 5 October
Built in 1778 and now owned by the National Trust, Killerton is furnished as a comfortable home. It also serves as a setting for the Paulise de Bush collection of 9,000 18th-20th century costumes. This year, quilted garments from the collection are being displayed in a special exhibition called “Quilty Secrets”.
The garden was created in the 1770s by John Veitch. With its herbaceous borders, colourful shrubs, magnificent trees and quaint summer house, known as the Bear's Hut, it is a delight at any season. There are circular walks in the surrounding parkland and woods.
Saturday 6 October
West Monkton Village Hall, Monkton Heathfield, 2.30pm
Julian Comerie, an illustrative photographer, will give us a brief look at an unpredictable, catastrophic natural phenomenon of 2,500 years ago, which destroyed a civilisation, and end with one of Nature's spectacles – a total eclipse of the sun.
We shall “visit” some classical sites of ancient Greece and Libya and examine some gorgeous Spring flowers which flourish in unspoilt countryside of the eastern Mediterranean.
Tuesday 9 October
Cardinal College was founded by Thomas Wolsey in 1527 on the site of the former St Frideswide Priory. It was retained by Henry VIII after Wolsey's fall as the basis of the new Oxford Cathedral and re-named Christ Church. We will have a guided tour of the College, exploring its treasures and architecture.
Wednesday 10 October
Stratfield Saye House has been the family home of the Dukes of Wellington since 1817. It is now occupied by Lord Douro and his family.
The first Duke chose Stratfield Saye for its proximity to London and Windsor. He abandoned plans to pull it down and build a “Waterloo Palace” in the north-east of the park and, instead, made additions and improvements to the existing house.
He introduced central heating (two of the original radiators can still be seen at the foot of the staircases) and elegant, sound-proofed water-closets in many of the rooms. Highlights of the house include fine French furniture, a newly opened China Room and unusual print rooms.
Monday 15 October
Lacock Abbey, owned by the National Trust, was founded in 1232 and converted into a country house in about 1540. Its fine medieval cloisters, sacristy, chapter house and monastic rooms have survived largely intact. There are many surrounding footpaths, including a recently opened route beside the Wilts & Berks Canal.
The visit will provide opportunities to explore the gardens and the cloisters belonging to the Abbey, visit the Fox Talbot Photographic Museum and enjoy the village which dates from the 13th century and is much loved by film-makers.
Wednesday 17 October
The National Trust saved Tyntesfield for the nation in 2002. The mansion is an extraordinary Gothic Revival extravaganza. It survives intact, with an unrivalled collection of Victorian decorative arts, an insight into life below stairs and a sumptuously decorated private chapel. Five further rooms have recently been opened to visitors. The surrounding 500 acres of land include formal gardens, parkland and a walled kitchen garden.
The visit will give the opportunity to see the conservation in action as part of the on-going project at Tyntesfield.
Tuesday 23 October
Rhondda Heritage Park is a living testament to the culture and character of the mining communities of the South Wales Valleys.
Exhibitions prior to a conducted tour will include three audio-visual shows, a tour of the surface buildings, a trip to “pit bottom” where we will experience the life of a miner, and, finally, a simulated coal-truck ride back to the surface.
Thursday 25 October
This visit to Salisbury offers a choice – the chance to explore Salisbury's historical heritage or to see an award-winning play by Michael Frayn at Salisbury Playhouse.
Salisbury's historical and architectural treasures include, of course, the Cathedral with its famous spire and, in Cathedral Close, the elegant early 18th century Mompesson House with its superb plasterwork.
Michael Frayn's “Alphabetical Order” won rave reviews and the Evening Standard "Best Comedy of the Year" award when first presented in 1975. It tells the story of a newspaper office that loses its identity when an overly efficient employee attempts to impose order on the chaotic environment. Forty stalls seats have been provisionally reserved for the matinee performance.
Saturday 27 October
West Monkton Village Hall, Monkton Heathfield, 2.30pm
Lady Mary Stewart-Wilson is the author the “The Royal Mews” (Bodley Head), a fascinating account of the people, carriages, horses, livery and events that make up this important part of the Royal Household.
The Royal Mews, at Buckingham Palace, is responsible for the horse-drawn and motor travel arrangements of the Queen and members of the Royal Family. The Mews “community” flourishes on customs and traditions handed down through nine reigns.
“The Royal Mews” will be available for sale at the meeting.
Tuesday 30 October
Compton Verney, an elegant country house designed by Robert Adam in the 1760s, was transformed into an art gallery of international standing after its acquisition by the Peter Moores Foundation in 1993.
It houses six permanent collections of paintings, forming the largest art gallery in Warwickshire. The 120 acres of “Capability” Brown landscaped parkland are of breathtaking beauty.
Thursday 1 November
A guided walk of Taunton town centre, following the Heritage Trail, will be led by the Blue Badge Guide, Jill Cooper. Starting at Castle Bow, by the Castle Hotel, we shall wander around the town hearing about the history and evolution of Taunton since Saxon times. We shall hear about the Bishop of Winchester in his castle, the Market Trustees, Sir Benjamin Hammet and many others who helped to create the Taunton we know today.
Wednesday 7 November
Llancaiach Fawr Manor is one of the finest examples of a semi-fortified manor house in Wales. It was built in the early 16th century and extensively refurbished in the 17th century to reflect the rise in status of the owners, the Prichard family.
The manor is now open to the public, and visitors are invited to step back in time and sample the sights, sounds and smells of 1645. These are brought to life by the “servants” of Colonel Prichard. They greet you at the door of the manor and take you on a tour of the house, acting in period and character for the whole of the tour.
Saturday 17 November
West Monkton Village Hall, Monkton Heathfield, 2.30pm
Yvonne Bell has spent many hours delving into the archives of Harrods, the famous department store in Knightsbridge, London, which opened its doors in 1849. Mrs Bell's study of early catalogues has yielded a fascinating insight into the shopping habits of wealthy Edwardians. There will be a table displaying Harrods ephemera.
Tuesday 20 November
Sandford Orcas Manor is an example of a small Tudor manor house built in the 1550s on the site of a medieval house. It has been owned by the present Medlycott family for 250 years and is virtually unaltered.
We shall see the great hall with its fine Jacobean screen, enormous fireplace and mullion windows, corkscrew staircases, parlour, great chamber and gatehouse chamber. There are items of Jacobean and Queen Anne furniture.
The garden has herbaceous borders, topiary trees and shrubs. There is also a medieval church.
Monday 3 December
The prime purpose of this visit is to explore Hereford's wonderful Cathedral, but there will also be time for some seasonal shopping.
After the Norman Conquest, Hereford became one of the nine secular cathedrals used to assist William in his rule, but it had no monastic community and was largely left untouched at the time of the Reformation. The present building was probably started in 1080 and has aspects that demonstrate all three phases of the Gothic period of architecture.
There will be a guided tour in the afternoon, highlighting the interesting features of the Cathedral, and some may wish to visit the historic Mappa Mundi.
Saturday 8 December
West Monkton Village Hall, Monkton Heathfield, 2.30pm
The Taunton Suzuki Group will entertain us with a selection of music, some of it in seasonal mood, of course. During the interval, traditional Christmas afternoon tea will be served at tables by the ladies of the Catering Committee.
The Suzuki Group was formed 30 years ago by its present Director, Mary Trewin, on the occasion of the opening of the Brewhouse Theatre. Hundreds of children have studied with the Group and many have won places in national, regional and local orchestras. Many have entered the music profession; others continue to enjoy music alongside their chosen careers.
Thursday 12 December
Historic buildings from around the Black Country have been brought here and reconstructed on the site “to create a tribute to the traditional skills and enterprise of the people that once lived in the heart of industrial Britain”. There are shops, houses and a school.
Visitors can ride on a tramcar, trolleybus or fairground swingboat; watch sweet-making, glass-cutting and metal-working – and visit a mine.
Friday 14 December
Members are warmly invited to attend the Quantock Centre's annual seasonal lunch, to be held at Oake Manor Golf Club, near Bradford-on-Tone. The clubhouse and restaurant have fine views of the Quantock, Brendon and Blackdown Hills.