On 7th July from at 6.00 – 8.00pm

ING Bank

8-10 Moorgate, London EC2R 6DA

We are fortunate in being able to offer our members a private visit to the ING Bank art collection. This is a unique blend of paintings and applied art, featuring modern British artists such as Stanley Spencer, LS Lowry, John Minton, and Duncan Grant. You’ll also find 18th and 19th century watercolours by Samuel Palmer and John Sell Cotman, as well as a unique selection of historical portraits that trace the history of Baring Brothers, the merchant bank that ING acquired in 1995.

The tour will be guided by the Art and Archive manager, and we can then wander through the iconic building, enjoy all of the art and the view with a glass of wine. It is an opportunity to see a fascinating and varied collection of art when the building is closed.

The cost of the visit is £20.00 (£25.00 non-members) per person. ING Bank have agreed that if we make a donation to their chosen charities, Cyclists Fighting Cancer or The Childhood Trust, they will match the donation. This is a very generous offer.

The nearest stations are Bank (use Exit 1) and Moorgate (use Exit 2). Please meet in the reception of the ING Bank just before 6 pm For further information please contact our Visits Organiser, Tamara Rabin, at visitstashh@gmail.com or on 07791 211 524.

For a booking form please click here

President’s visit with Dr Julius Bryant on 5th May 2026 at 11 am

Our President, Dr Julius Bryant has arranged a visit to the V&A for us to see selections from the national collection of the art of John Constable (1776-1837). The visit will begin with a tour led by the V&A’s Constable expert, Dr Katherine Martin, of her exhibition exploring how Constable and virtuoso printmaker David Lucas collaborated to produce English Landscape (1830-32), a remarkable series of 22 mezzotint prints that capture the drama and depth of Constable’s paintings in rich, tonal detail and helped to secure his artistic legacy.

We will then step into the V&A’s permanent galleries devoted to Constable, Turner and their contemporaries to see Hampstead Heath and Hampstead through Constable’s eyes, with Dr Julius Bryant leading us.  We will then enjoy an exclusive visit to the V&A’s study room for paintings, prints, drawings and watercolours to see more views by Constable of the heath and village.

 Julius developed his personal interest in Constable and the heath when he was curator at Kenwood, from borrowing paintings by Constable for an exhibition in 1986 to finally acquiring for Kenwood a breathtaking oil painting of the heath by the artist in 2003, shortly before he moved to the V&A to be head of the department responsible for paintings, prints and drawings. 

Please meet inside the main entrance (Cromwell Road) by 10.50 am where the visit will start.  South Kensington Station is close to the Museum. The visit will be from 11am to approximately 1pm.  

I have arranged lunch at Lina Stores 15 Exhibition Road for a limited number of people.  Places will be on first come first served basis.  You are of course free to book a table at Lina Stores yourselves. 

The visit is limited to 15 members so book early.

The cost of the lecture is £35 per person 

ALL PROFITS FROM THIS LECTURE WILL BE PAID TO MAGIC LANTERN

For a booking form, or if you would just like to donate to Magic Lantern, please click here

Your Committee have arranged for something a bit different in March. We will be visiting Grandey’s Place, a philanthropic venture created to help sustain and nurture the UK’s Heritage Crafts, many of which are under threat of extinction and crafts people often struggle to find suitable accommodation. Grandey’s Place was created to change that and offers craftspeople space in light filled studios set within the tranquil Hertfordshire countryside.

We will learn about the exceptional and endangered Heritage Crafts and discover how artisans and makers not only create new and beautiful objects but also breathe life into the old.

We can expect to meet half a dozen craftspeople working in specialisms that may include globemaking, stained glass, costume making for Oscar winning designers, heritage knitwear and many other crafts. There will be an opportunity to purchase their work.

We will make our own way to Grandey’s Place and detailed directions will be provided to participants. Car sharing can be arranged between members and there is adequate parking.

On arrival we can purchase coffee and home-made cakes to sustain us on our tour, and, if there is enough demand, lunch can be arranged at a nearby highly recommended gastro pub.

PLEASE TELL TAMARA IF YOU WANT LUNCH WHEN BOOKING

The cost of the outing is £25 plus your own cost of coffee, cakes and lunch. Priority is to members, but non-members can join if there is space at £35 a head

For further information please contact our Visits Organiser, Tamara Rabin, at visitstashh@gmail.com 

For a booking form, please click here

Wednesday 10th December at 3 pm 
in Camden Town

Courtesy of Laura Harris

Following the great success of the tea visit with Dr James Fox in July, we are following this up with a further tea event at the home of Laura Harris, our Chairman. The speaker will be Dr Diane Silverthorne, the art historian, whose special subjects are the art and culture of Vienna around 1900, as well as European art and design in the long Nineteenth and twentieth centuries.  She will be speaking to us about this fascinating period when Vienna was a hotbed of progressive ideas in art, architecture, music and design and produced artists including Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele. She was recently a guest on Melvyn Bragg’s In Our Time discussing the Vienna Secession. 

Diane has previously held posts at Birkbeck, University of London and Central St Martins. She has given lecture series and published widely on the art, design and music of the period, most recently for the V & A Academy and The Course. Her recent publications include a contribution to Schoenberg in Context for Cambridge University Press and on the sculptor, Anna Mahler, daughter of Gustav Mahler. She also writes on art, music and modernism, including her edited volume Music, Art and Performancefrom Liszt to Riot Grrrl (Bloomsbury)

The cost will be £30 to include tea and cakes afterwards. Maximum numbers will be 30 so respond in good time to avoid disappointment. For payment details, please click here

The venue is 5 minutes from Camden Town underground station, full address details will be given to those booking. As parking is restricted, please use public transport unless you have mobility issues, when residents’ parking may be used. Laura will need your registration number in advance to book you in. If you want to a place booked, please inform Laura on tashhchair@gmail.com in good time, giving your car registration number.  Parking places are restricted and not guaranteed so only apply if you have mobility problems.  

For further information please contact our Visits Organiser, Tamara Rabin, at visitstashh@gmail.com or on 07791 211524

The cost for this visit is £30.00 per person (non-refundable). 

We are fortunate enough to have arranged for Lucrezia Walker to take us on a tour of the much improved National Gallery. Join us to experience the refurbished National Gallery and enjoy the rehang of one of the world’s finest collections of Western Europe are from the first masters of oil paint to the Impressionist celebrations of everyday life in 19th Century.

This will be in the company of Lucrezia who, is an expert guide, and she will take us from 1400s to 1900s via the galleries highlight paintings. The numbers on the tour will be limited to 15. Lucrezia is an art historian specialising in 19th- and early-20th-century French art. Lucrezia Walker lectures regularly for the National Gallery. She is Adjunct Professor at the University of North Carolina London Program where she teaches the undergraduate Art History course. She was lay canon for the Visual Arts at St Paul’s Cathedral 2010-14.

The cost of the visit is £30.00 (£35.00non-members) per person. Meeting arrangements to follow

There is a Locatelli Restaurant at the National Gallery. Look on the website on https://locatelliatnationalgallery.co.uk/ If enough people are interested, I will book a table for us to have lunch.

For further information please contact our Visits Organiser, Tamara Rabin, at visitstashh@gmail.com or on 07791 211 524.

for a booking form please click here.

Visit to the State Rooms in Speaker’s House Westminster

5th August at 11.30am

After several fruitless attempts we have finally been able to secure 14 places for a visit to Speakers House. We will be part of a general tour, but I am trying to agree a separate guide. See where the Speaker of the House of Commons lives and conducts official business outside the Chamber. This guided tour offers you the unique opportunity to see inside the incredible rooms and get up close to some of the magnificent artworks, including portraits of Speakers through the years. Your official guide will share some lesser-known historical facts about the role of the Speaker - a role that has existed since 1377. You'll also see some surprising objects along the way and learn their origins and relationship to Parliament. You will discover the history and traditions of the role of the Speaker and see the magnificent artworks on display including a unique set of 46 portraits of Speakers through the years.

This 75-minute fully accessible tour includes the Grand Staircase, the Crimson Drawing Room, the State Dining Room, and the State Bedroom. PLEASE NOTE there will be no seating in Speaker’s House for the duration of the tour.

This tour will be very popular so members can express interest, but will not be allocated a place until the cost of the visit has been received by our Treasurer in full and it will be on a first come first received basis. It will be very popular so please do not be disappointed if you fail to secure a place.

You will be given details of where to meet and what security may be required by the Palace of Westminster.shortly before the visit.

The tour starts at 11.30 and we must meet by 11.10 at the latest or entry will be refused.

The cost of the visit is £32.00 per person. For further information please contact our Visits Organiser, Tamara Rabin, at visitstashh@gmail.com or on 07791 211 524. For a booking form please click here.

My love affair with Stanley Spencer by Dr James Fox

This time your committee has arranged something very special.  We are having a talk by Dr James Fox, an art historian and BAFTA nominated broadcaster. James specialises in 20th-century art and is currently Director of Studies in History of Art at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. James is most notable for presenting documentaries on the history of art for BBC Four and we are very fortunate that he has agreed to come and talk to us. 

Since a childhood visit to Spencer's village of Cookham, James Fox has been captivated by the eccentric artist's work. In this talk James will describe how his obsession started and later developed. He will tell the dramatic story of Spencer's life, analyse his greatest pictures, and argue that this idiosyncratic figure is actually one of the most important artists of the modern era. 

James is also known for his in-depth exploration of the cultural history of colour. His book, "The World According to Colour: A Cultural History," examines how humanity has understood and utilized colours throughout history, showing how they reflect cultural values and have shaped our perceptions and imagination. 

Another special – Instead of Kenwood House, Gordon and Frances Rustin have kindly offered to host the talk at their home at 15 Wellgarth Road NW11 7JP and tea and cakes are offered.  Please come and join us at on 24th July 2025 at 3.00 pm for the lecture by James Fox followed by tea and cake.    

We will be making a charge of £25.00 to include tea and cake 

There are only spaces for 35 guests so please respond in good time to avoid disappointment. 

15 Wellgarth Road is a 10 minute walk from Golders Green.  The 268 and H2 buses serve it as well and there is a stop near the end of Wellgarth Road. There is free parking nearby

For full booking and joining instructions, please click here

We have arranged a private guided tour of the West Side of Highgate Cemetery only open to guided tours.  From its earliest days, the architecture of Highgate Cemetery was a source of wonder and delight. As well as fulfilling a practical purpose, its buildings and landscape had to tempt families away from burial in their local churchyards by providing a dignified and prestigious environment. An example are the catacombs inspired by the rise of interest in Egyptology and the afterlife.

Gordon our guide is a fount of knowledge and as, I know from experience, an engaging guide. 

Highgate Cemetery has no parking and the nearby roads for residents only between 10 and 12am.  I have added a link to the information that the cemetery sends so you can decide how best to get there.  

Lunch is not offered this time due to the location of the cemetery 

The cost of the visit is £25.00 (£30.00non-members) per person.  We meet outside the West Entrance at 10.45 am

See directions on this link provided by the Cemetery: 

https://highgatecemetery.org/uploads/Highgate_Cemetery_Location_Map.pdf

For further information please contact our Visits Organiser, Tamara Rabin, at visitstashh@gmail.com or on 07791 211 524.

For a booking form, please click here

Private visit to the Woolf Collection of Jade in SW1. 

Wednesday 5th March at 11 am

We are offering you a unique opportunity for a private visit to the Woolf Collection of jades.  Jade was regarded as the most precious material in ancient China, and symbolised purity, moral integrity, prosperity, success, and good fortune. It also had connotations of immortality. Prized for its durability and magical qualities, the stone was laboriously worked and polished into all manner of objects from burial objects to jewellery to desk ornaments.

The Woolf collection of jades is a private collection of mainly 18th century, superb quality jades, one of the most prolific periods of production in the history of Chinese jade.  Carol Michaelson, a curator of Chinese jade in the British Museum will give a general introduction about jade, and its place in Chinese culture and take you on a guided tour of this superb collection of jade objects. This is a wonderful opportunity to see an iconic collection so book early.

As our lunches are popular, I will be booking lunch at a suitable place nearby so please let me know if you want to join.  Details of the address and lunch venue will be given nearer the date. 

The cost of the visit is £25.00 per person (lunch extra).  For further information please contact our Visits Organiser, Tamara Rabin, at visitstashh@gmail.com or on 07791 211 524.

Pleasures of the Table

A Zoom opportunity to see works depicting food at the Getty Museum, Los Angeles

Thursday 5th December 2024 at 3.30 pm

We have been very fortunate in establishing contact with Lee Rubinstein, Director of Development at the Getty who has already given us two amazing Zoom tours. I am happy to say that Lee is prepared to get up at 6 am LA time, yet again, to talk to us about Food. Clearly something we all know about but it is so much more than sustenance, especially in art. It can be a feast for the eyes. Lee will show us some paintings in the Getty Collection and we will explore how provisions have been portrayed in art through the centuries. There will be some interesting insights into the symbolism of food, and we will look at serving dishes and vessels and how they have been portrayed in art, especially in still life paintings.

This is an opportunity to see some wonderful works concentrating on food, many of which will probably be new to TASHH members

The tour is at 3.30 pm on Thursday 5th December 2024 and will last approximately one and a quarter hours. The cost of the visit is £15.00 (£20 non members) per person

You will receive a link to join the tour nearer the time
For further information and a booking form please click here

Sir Anthony Caro (1924 - 2013) played a pivotal role in the development of twentieth century sculpture. After studying sculpture at the Royal Academy Schools in London, he worked as assistant to Henry Moore. He came to public attention with a show at the Whitechapel Gallery in 1963, where he exhibited large abstract sculptures brightly painted and standing directly on the ground so that they engage the spectator on a one-to-one basis. This was a radical departure from the way sculpture had hitherto been seen and paved the way for future developments in three-dimensional art.

We have been fortunate in securing a private view of Sir Anthony Caro’s own studio where you will have the chance of seeing some of his works and where he created them.  This is a wonderful opportunity to see the studio where one of the most important British sculptors worked.

The cost of this visit is £30.00 We are limited to 15 guests so book early to avoid disappointment. 

The address is The Anthony Caro Centre 38a Georgiana Street NW1 0EB. Directions on Booking Form.

For a booking form please click here

​

We offered our members some very popular Zoom tours during lockdown and after, so we have arranged another virtual tour when we will return to Rome and spend time in the wonderful Borghese Gallery. This houses one of the great collections of art in the world. In the early 1600s Cardinal Scipione Borghese, nephew of Pope Paul V amassed an incredible collection of ancient sculptures and renaissance art, including works by Titian, Botticelli and Raphael as well as sculptures from Bernini and Canova. It is housed in the Villa Borghese set in a wonderful garden.

We will be led around the Gallery by Stuart Harvey who led us on a wonderful Zoom tour of the Vatican last year. Stuart has worked in educational tourism for over 30 years, leading tours all over Europe. Originally from London, he has lived in Rome for 22 years. He is a London Blue Badge Tourist Guide and also a qualified “Guida Turistica did Roma”. During Covid he began online lecturing and became an accredited Arts Society lecturer in 2021.

So why don’t you sit back and enjoy another trip to Rome without leaving your sofa. You will remember that Stuart undertakes his tours when the galleries are empty so it will only be us in the Gallery
The tour is Tuesday 3rd September at 10.30 am.

The cost of the visit is £ 15.00 per person
You will receive a link to join the tour nearer the time

For a booking form, please click here

We are offering you a unique chance to see behind the scenes at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden inthe company of an expert guide and will gain unique insight into the many secrets and spaces of the Royal Opera House. We will have a chance to see the areas that are normally off-limits to the public, including rehearsal studios, costumes and production workshops and will be able to delve deep into the history of the Royal Opera House including how this came to be the third theatre on the same site. We will have the chance to witness first-hand the inner workings of one of the world's most renowned theatres. The ballet school will be shut but we may be given a rare opportunity to see the studio and maybe even take a photograph. It should be a fascinating visit. Book early to avoid disappointment as there are only 20 places.

We will offer lunch at the Piazza Restaurant high in the roof of the Royal Opera House. There is a two-course meal for £24 excluding drinks and VAT. Please confirm if you want to come as the table needs to be booked.

The cost of the visit is £25.00 (£30.00 non-members) per person. We meet outside the Ground Floor Cloakroom at 11.10 am

The nearest station is Covent Garden It is served by the Piccadilly line. For directions and a booking form, please click here

Since 1673, Chelsea Physic Garden has been evolving with the world around it. Today, as a four-acre green space in the heart of London, the Garden contributes to the city’s biodiversity and provides a place for people to connect with nature. 

Sitting on the Thames Embankment, and sheltered by high walls, Chelsea Physic Garden is one of the oldest and most respected botanic gardens in Europe. It is the oldest in London, and only surpassed in age, in England, by Oxford Botanic Garden.

Founded in 1673 by The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London for its apprentices to study medicinal plants and their uses, it became one of the most important centres of botany and plant exchange in the world. Chelsea Physic Garden’s plant collection is unique in being the only botanic garden collection focused on medicinal, herbal and useful plants.

Lunch is available from the attached menu at the Chelsea Physic Garden café where a table will be booked 

 The cost of the visit is £15.00 (£18.00 non-members) per person.  We meet in the Garden shop at 11.20 am

The nearest convenient station is Victoria Tube.  Take the bus 170 from the station and see directions please click here for booking form

Lunch Menu

Nibbles

Bread and butter 216kcal 4 Grilled Domat olives 56kcal 3.95 Pecorino truffle mixed nuts 318kcal 4 

Plates

Salad of endive, pear, walnuts, Cashel Blue dressing 228kcal (V) 11 

Baby gem lettuce, roasted garlic dressing, capers, lemon (VG) 288kcal 9 / 354kcal 13 add grilled chicken or prawns 198kcal 5 / 55kcal 6.50 

Chicken liver mousse, quince jelly, pickled shallots, London sourdough 594kcal 10 Risotto of peas, broad beans and mint 506kcal (VG) 16.50
Seared seabass fillet, red mustard leaf, radish, green herb dressing 349kcal 27 8oz Flat Iron, brown butter, chestnut mushrooms, roasted wine tomatoes 432kcal 30 Smoked salmon, horseradish cream, grilled sourdough, pickles 226kcal 15 Aged beef burger, caramelised red onion chutney, spicy aioli 540kcal 16.50 

Sides

One for 5, two for 9
Grilled tenderstem, lemon, chilli 32kcal (VG) Roasted carrots, London honey 110kcal (V) Herbed potatoes 99kcal (VG)
Green salad 86kcal (VG) 

Desserts

Rhubarb panna cotta 356kcal (VG) 10
Pink Lady apple pie, caramel and cinnamon ice cream 461kcal (V) 10 Paxton and Whitfield cheese, chutney and crackers 286kcal (V) 16 

The story of the Charterhouse begins in 1348 during the Black Death, when the land was used as a burial ground for victims of plague. In 1371, the Charterhouse was built – a Carthusian monastery, which flourished throughout the later medieval and early Tudor period.

Thomas Sutton’s will provided for up to 80 Brothers: ‘either decrepit or old captaynes either at sea or at land, maimed or disabled soldiers, merchants fallen on hard times, those ruined by shipwreck of other calamity’ as well as Charterhouse school. James I retained his connection with the Charterhouse, becoming the first Royal Governor of Thomas Sutton’s foundation.

We have arranged a tour led by one of the Brothers and this will give a true insight into the work of the Charterhouse. It will be given from the perspective of the Brother allocated to us – no two tours are the same. It will provide an in-depth look at the long history of the site and the lifestyle of the Brothers through the centuries and are a unique opportunity to learn more about the nuances of this fascinating historical gem hidden in the heart of London.

There are only 20 places so book soon for this special tour which will be followed by coffee and biscuits and a chance to reflect.

The cost of the visit is £25.00 (£30.00 non-members) per person. We meet outside the Museum and Chapel entrance at 10.50 am

The nearest station is Barbican. It is served by Hammersmith, Circle and Metropolitan lines. 

For a booking form (which also includes directions), please click here

The visit to the British Library in September was oversubscribed so TASHH has arranged a second fascinating guided tour for our members.  We will be visiting the British Library and will learn about its history, its collection and its architecture during a tour of the public areas of the Library. We will visit the Viewing Gallery and book handling room where you can see some of the Reading Rooms and find out how books are stored, accessed and delivered. We will then be introduced to some of the most iconic items held within the British Library collections. Find out more about the King’s Library (George III’s library) and the Klencke Atlas, the second-largest atlas in the world. We will also visit the Sir John Ritblat Gallery, where over 200 of the library’s greatest treasures are displayed.

 There are three cafes and a restaurant in the Library building where we can go and  have lunch if we want

There are only 15 places so book early. 

 The cost of the visit is £22.00 (£24.00 non-members) per person.  

We will meet by the Information Desk in the British Library.  Directions from Kings Cross underground along Euston Road are shown on the Booking form:

For further information please contact our Visits Organiser, Tamara Rabin, at visitstashh@gmail.com or on 07791 211 524

Evening event by the Purcell Club at Westminster Abbey Dean's Yard, London SW1P 3PA 

on Saturday 16th December 2023 at 6.45 pm 

SOMETHING VERY SPECIAL FOR TASHH MEMBERS limited to 25 places.

 After waiting over four years for a slot, we have been fortunate in securing a booking with the Purcell Club to give us a musical tour of Westminster Abbey on 16th December at 6.45 pm.  The Club only gives a few performances each year when the Abbey is closed to the public with only the Purcell Club and their guests allowed access.

 The Purcell Club is a male voice choir formed predominantly from members of the Westminster Abbey Old Choristers’ Association.  The Club’s profits from ticket sales go to support the Abbey and a range of small charities.  

 We will be given access to the Cloisters at 6.45 pm and will then take our seats in the Nave for a welcome and the start of the tour when the first piece of sacred music is sung.

We then go from location to location within the Abbey where our guides describe its history and architecture. At various points in the tour there is a pause and members of the Purcell Club sing suitable musical items ranging from 16th to 21st Century.

We will visit several important and historical locations and will see the Quire, Sacrarium, High Altar, Cosmati Pavement (unique and rarely accessible to the public), St Edward the Confessor’s Shrine, Henry VII’s Chapel and Poets’ Corner.  

On our return to the Nave, we will hear a short piece played by one of the Abbey’s organists giving a rare opportunity to hear the Abbey’s magnificent organ. The tour ends with the choir singing round the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior as the lights dim.  An unforgettable and extremely moving experience. 

 We have arranged an optional meal in the Abbey café, which must be booked and paid for in advance.  Details are attached.

The cost of the visit is £45.00 (£52.00 non-members) per person.

For further information and a booking form, please click here

For the Cellarium Cafe  menu choices please click here

Highlights of the Victoria & Albert Museum led by Julius Bryant

Wednesday 22nd November at 11 am

Our President, Julius Bryant, has enjoyed a glittering career at the Victoria & Albert Museum and on his retirement last year was appointed Keeper Emeritus of the Museum.  Julius has kindly agreed to lead a tour of his favourite great spaces at the Museum, and the forgotten corners that are often overlooked.  This tour will be a taster for the next President’s Lecture when Julius will talk about some of his favourite objects in the Collection. Please note that the route will include some stairs. 

 We at TASHH appreciate the contribution Julius makes, and are very grateful to him for the opportunity to explore the V&A with someone so closely connected with it; he helped shape the Museum as it is today and knows and loves it. I am sure this will be a fascinating visit, so book early. 

 There are many cafes in the Museum and locally, where we could meet for coffee/lunch afterwards. 

 The cost of the visit is £20 (£25 non-members) per person.  

We will meet outside the main entrance to the Museum in Cromwell Road SW7 2RL at 10.50 am

The nearest station is South Kensington.  Go down the tunnel pointing to the V&A, leave the exit and follow the map with directions below 

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/South+Kensington,+London+SW7+2ND/51.4960496,-0.1719641/@51.4946276,-0.1739646,16.43z/data=!4m9!4m8!1m5!1m1!1s0x48760542834e40ef:0xba0b276b9de87204!2m2!1d-0.1743669!2d51.4941082!1m0!3e2

 For further information please contact our Visits Organiser, Tamara Rabin, at visitstashh@gmail.com or on 07791 211 524

For a booking form, please click here 

Virtual Tour of Vatican and Sistine Chapel   

Wednesday 4th October at 11 am on Zoom

Following the success and popularity of our Zoom tours during lockdown, TASHH has arranged a virtual tour of the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel recommended by member Janice Blackstaffe. 

 Professional Rome tourist guide Stuart Harvey will lead you on an unforgettable virtual tour of the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel. He will focus on the highlights of the papal collection including classical Roman statues and mosaics, renaissance tapestries, the papal rooms frescoed by Raphael, culminating in the Sistine Chapel, the private chapel of the Pope, and the spectacular frescoes of the Creation and Last Judgement by Michelangelo.

 Stuart has worked in educational tourism for over 30 years, leading tours all over Europe. Originally from London, he has lived in Rome for 22 years. He is a London Blue Badge Tourist Guide and also a qualified “Guida Turistica di Roma”. During Covid he began online lecturing and became an accredited Arts Society lecturer in 2021.

 So why don’t you sit back and enjoy a trip to Rome without leaving your sofa.

The tour is Wednesday 4th October at 11 am.

The cost of the visit is £18.00 per person £20.00 for non-members

You will receive a link to join the tour nearer the time

For a booking form, pleasse click here

TASSH has been fortunate in securing the services of Alexandra Epps who will be taking us for a fascinating stroll in the square mile of the City of London to explore the beautiful stained glass to be found within some of the historic churches of Sir Christopher Wren. We will discover unique stained glass stories of people, time and place and above all radiant, visual beauty. This is a wonderful experience, and you will certainly enjoy this tour as it is something unique. You will find it well worthwhile, and Alexandra has suggested you should bring binoculars if you have them 

 Alexandra is an official Guide and Lecturer at Tate Modern, Tate Britain and Guildhall Art Gallery. She is a qualified Guide to the City of London, offering lectures and walks about many aspects of the arts for societies, corporations, and private individuals. She is a Member of the City of London Guide Lecturers Association and co-author of the book Lord Mayor's Portraits 1983-2014 (2015).              

Alexandra’s background is in design, having practised as a graphic designer and running her own design consultancy for many years. She is a graduate of the Central Saint Martins School of Art and the London College of Printing.

 The cost of the visit is £32.00 (£36.00 non members) per person.  

We will meet outside the Guildhall Art Gallery in Guildhall Yard EC2V 5AE at 10.30 for a prompt 10.45 start. The nearest stations are St Paul’s and Bank 

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/St.+Paul's+tube+station,+London/London+EC2V+5AE/@51.5146262,-0.0974832,17.41z/data=!4m15!4m14!1m5!1m1!1s0x487604ab2d6aedff:   - From St Paul’s station 

 https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Bank+Station,+Underground+Ltd,+Bank%2FMonument+Complex,+Princes+St,+London+EC3V+3LA/EC2V+5AE,+London/@51.5142664,-0.0932687,17z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x487603549718414d:0x5688c8191d584d60!2m2!1d-0.0889145!2d51.513388!1m5!1m1!1s0x48761caace78ff75:0xa3112553d549f59c!2m2!1d-0.0919316!2d51.515274!3e2  - From Bank station 

For a booking from, please click here

TASHH has arranged another fascinating guided tour for our members.   The Foundling Museum explores the history of the Foundling Hospital, the UK’s first children’s charity and first public art gallery. Established in 1739 by philanthropist Thomas Coram, and continuing today as the children’s charity Coram, the Hospital was set up as an institution ‘for the maintenance and education of exposed and deserted young children’. Instrumental in helping Coram realise his vision were the artist William Hogarth, who encouraged leading artists of the day to donate work, and the composer George Frederick Handel, who gave annual benefit concerts of his “Messiah” Discover their collection, displays and historic archives, all enjoyed within beautiful 18th-century interiors. Explore the intriguing story behind this important London institution and the ways in which artists and children have inspired each other for over 275 years.

There are many coffee bars and cafes in the area if we want to have lunch

 The cost of the visit is £18.00 (£20.00 non members) per person.  

We will meet outside the entrance to the Foundling Museum 40 Brunswick Square WC1N 1AZ at 10.50 am

The nearest station is Russell Square.  See the map below for directions

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Russell+Square+tube+station,+London/Brunswick+Square,+London+WC1N+1AZ/@51.5243761,-0.1251744,17z/am=t/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!

For a bookinmg form please click here

For further information please contact our Visits Organiser, Tamara Rabin, at visitstashh@gmail.com or on 07791 211 524

TASHH has arranged a curator-led tour of the Islamic Gallery at the Victoria and Albert Museum.  This holds over 19,000 items from the Middle East and North Africa, ranging from the early Islamic period (the 7th century) to the early 20th century. These vibrant collections include holdings of metalwork, ceramics, architectural woodwork and textiles, in particular from Iran, and also from Turkey, Egypt, Iraq, Syria and the countries of North Africa. Highlights include the Ardabil Carpet, the world's oldest dated carpet and one of the largest, most beautiful and historically important.

We are very fortunate in having Ms Chiara De Nicolais  BA, MA, assistant curator at the Middle East department at the Victoria & Albert Museum as our guide.   She graduated in classics from the University of Milan and in Islamic art and architecture from SOAS. She spent ten years in the commercial sector at Christie's and then Sotheby's as a specialist, she consulted for various dealers and private collectors before joining the Victoria & Albert Museum.

The cost of the visit is £20 per person.  As the numbers are so limited this visit is not open to non-members 

THERE ARE ONLY 13 PLACES SO BOOK SOON 

We will meet outside the main entrance to the Museum in Cromwell Road SW7 2RL at 10.50 am

The nearest station is South Kensington.  Go down the tunnel pointing to the V&A, leave the exit and follow the map with directions below 

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/South+Kensington,+London+SW7+2ND/51.4960496,-0.1719641/@51.4946276,-0.1739646,16.43z/data=!4m9!4m8!1m5!1m1!1s0x48760542834e40ef:0xba0b276b9de87204!2m2!1d-0.1743669!2d51.4941082!1m0!3e2

For a booking form please click here

Backstage Tour of The Theatre Royal Drury Lane 

Thursday 23rdFebruary 2023 at 10.30 am 

Nestled in the heart of Covent Garden, the iconic Theatre Royal Drury Lane has survived tragedy, fire, bankruptcy and even murder.

Come on a private tour that will take you on a magical journey through the theatrical history of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, a Grade 1 listed building.  This is the fourth theatre that has occupied this site since 1663  and it is the oldest theatre in the world that has remained on the same site.  

Immerse yourself in the birthplace of musicals, modern pantomime and moving scenery in this beautifully renovated theatre 

If we want lunch afterwards, there are numerous restaurants in the area where we can meet and eat  

The cost of the visit is £22 (£28 for non-members) per person 

We will meet outside the Theatre Royal Catherine St, London WC2B 5JF

The nearest station is Covent Garden on the Piccadilly Line.  Map with directions to the Theatre Royal can be found on:

https://streetmap.co.uk/map?x=530529&y=181002&z=0&sv=WC2B+5JF&st=2&pc=WC2B+5JF&mapp=map&searchp=ids 

For further information please contactour Visits Organiser, Tamara Rabin, at visitstashh@gmail.comor on 07791 211 524

For a booking form, pleasa click here

Tour of St Bartholomew’s Hospital 

Wednesday January 25th at 11 am 

Discover more about this much-loved London hospital, whose history dates back nearly 900 years! It was founded by King Henry I’s courtier Rahere in 1123, who is buried in the nearby St Bartholomew the Great Church.

Nothing remains of Rahere’s buildings but there’s still much to impress. On this tour you’ll visit the medieval St Bartholomew the Less church, admire the 18th buildings by James Gibbs and the new Maggie’s Centre, and walk up the elegant stairs to the Great Hall, which were decorated by one of Britain’s greatest painters, William Hogarth. And there’s even a strong Sherlock Holmes connection…

The cost of the visit is £15 (£20 for non-members) per person 

We will meet outside the Henry VIII Gatehouse (pictured above) St Bartholomew’s Hospital, West Smithfield, EC1A 7BE.

The nearest station is St Paul’s on the Central Lane.  Map with directions to St Bartholomew’s Hospital from St Paul’s station: https://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?x=531900&y=181580&z=0&sv=EC1A+7BE&st=2&pc=EC1A+7BE&mapp=map&searchp=ids

For further information please contact our Visits Organiser, Tamara Rabin, at visitstashh@gmail.com or on 07791 211 524

For a booking form, please click here

A Zoom opportunity to see works by women artists at the Getty Museum, Los Angeles 

Wednesday 7th December 2022 at 15.30 

We were lucky enough in April to have had an excellent Zoom tour of the works recovered by the Monuments Men and on display at the Getty Museum.  We were taken on our tour by our wonderful guide, Lee Rubinstein.  Lee has very kindly offered to do another tour for TASHH, again by Zoom and again involving her getting up before 8 am to fit in with the time the difference between Los Angeles and London.  We will again be travelling to Los Angeles by Zoom to be guided by Lee around the collection of works by women artists 

While the Getty isn’t particularly known for its female artists, a deeper look has yielded roughly 25 surprises including painters, sculptors and photographers. Some of the names are familiar such as Artemisia Gentileschi, Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun and Dorothea Lange, but how about Anna Children Atkins or Luisa Roldan? We will take a look at their lives and works in the Getty Collection.

We are very fortunate that Lee, our charming and knowledgeable guide will again be rising at the crack of dawn to lead us, despite the fact she is now busier than ever as the National Director of Development for the National Docent Symposium Council.

 This is an opportunity to see some wonderful works concentrating on works by women artists, some of whom will probably be new to TASHH members 

The tour is at 3.30 pm on Wednesday 7th December 2022 and will last approximately one and a quarter hours.

The cost of the visit is £10.00 per person £15.00 for non-member

For further information please contact our Visits Organiser, Tamara Rabin, at tamara@therabins.co.uk, or on 07791 211 524

If you wish to atttend please click here for a booking form

Many of us will have visited the Wallace Collection. However, a tour with a knowledgeable guide will throw a different perspective on this much-loved institution and greatly extend your knowledge and understanding of the many wonderful exhibits, including art, porcelain and important pieces of furniture. 

We have arranged a private guided tour of the collection, which is housed inHertford House in Manchester Square, the former townhouse of the Seymour family, Marquesses of Hertford. It is named after Sir Richard Wallace, who built the extensive collection, along with the Marquesses of Hertford, in the 18th and 19th centuries. 

 There is a nice café located on the ground floor and, if there is enough demand, we will try and book seats in the café.  We need to know if you want to come as soon as possible so that we can try and reserve tables. No promises, though it may not be possible, and we will have to take pot luck.

 The cost of the visit is £15 per person.(£22.50 for non-members)

We will meet outside Hertford House,Manchester Square, London W1U 3BN,at10.45 am on 25thOctober 2022.   The nearest stations are Baker Street and Bond Street and the Wallace Collection is served by a number of buses.

Map showing the location of the Wallace Collection

https://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?x=528254&y=181438&z=0&sv=W1U3BN&st=2&pc=W1U+3BN&mapp=map&searchp=ids

The cost for this guided tour is £ 15 per person(£22.50 for non-members ) (non-refundable).

For a booking form please click here

From its conception Spencer House was recognized as one of the most sumptuous private residences ever built in London and it is of unique importance in the history of English architecture.   It has one of the finest neo classical interiors in Europe.   It is the ancestral home of Princess Diana, the late Princess of Wales, a member of the Spencer family

We are offering you a guided tour of this iconic building and the opportunity to visit a really important house which is one of the few great London houses that has remained intact. We will also learn the history of the family that lived here

We can pre-order guidebooks at £6 per book. If you wish to order one, please add £6 to your order. 

Since Spencer House give a concession for those over 60, the cost will be adjusted as below

 The cost of the visit is £18 per person over 60 and £22 for under 60s. (£22/£28 for non-members)

We will meet outside Spencer House 27 St James's Place, London SW1A 1NR    at 11.50 am on 11th July 

The nearest station is Green Park, about 4 minutes walk away.

Map with directions to Spencer House:

https://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?x=529201&y=180142&z=0&sv=SW1A+1NR&st=2&pc=SW1A+1NR&mapp=map&searchp=ids

 For further information please contact our Visits Organiser, Tamara Rabin, at visitstashh@gmail.com. For a booking form please click here

Constable is one our most revered English artists.  We are giving you an opportunity to walk in Constable’s footsteps to see where he lived, worked and painted his wonderful landscapes. You will even see where he is buried.  Estelle Lovatt an art historian and Constable enthusiast will lead the walk and tell us about Constable’s life, his wife and his family.    Estelle will tell us about his dislike of Turner and his relationship with the Royal Academy and describe how he developed his love of painting en plein air.  She will bring alive everything you wanted to know about Constable.  

There are only 10 placeson this walk, and you are advised to book early.  Estelle will take us on a gentle two-hour walk starting at Whitestone Pond and finishing at the Church of St John in Hampstead during which she will show us hidden areas of Hampstead and where Constable got his inspiration 

The cost of the visit is £25 per person (£30for non-members)

We will meet at Whitestone Pond at 9.50 am on 8thJune 

For further information please contactour Visits Organiser, Tamara Rabin, at visitstashh@gmail.com or on 07791 211 524

For a booking form, please clck here

Wednesday 6th April 2022 at 4pm

We at TASHH are offering you something a little different in April.  We are travelling to Los Angeles by Zoom to see some treasures at the Getty Museum.  We will be seeing some of the items stolen by the Nazis from wealthy Jewish families before and during the Second World War and recovered by some brave and knowledgeable soldiers, part of an Allied organization and  known as the Monument Men, as immortalised in the 2014 film of the same name 

The Getty Museum is an architect designed museum in wonderful grounds housing a fabulous and diverse collection including treasures from all over the world and spanning many different disciplines

Our tour is being led by Lee Rubenstein, a guide at the Getty Museum who has kindly offered to start the tour at 8 am Los Angeles time so that we can enjoy the visit at 4 pm. 

   This is an opportunity to see some wonderful works being part of an iconic collection and with a fascinating, if troubling, history 

The tour is at 4 pm on Wednesday 6th April 2022 and will last approximately one and a quarter hours.

The cost of the visit is £10.00 per person £15.00 for non-members

You will receive a link to join the tour nearer the time

For a booking form, please click here

Whilst travel is limited, we at TASHH like to take our members all over the world so they can enjoy beautiful art from the comfort of their own homes whilst travel is limited.    Our February tour will be another visit to the United States but this time to Florida where we will have a Zoom tour of the iconic Dali Museum in St Petersburg.  

Founded with the works collected by A. Reynolds and Eleanor Morse, the Museum has made significant additions to its collection over the years, celebrating the life and art of Salvador Dali, one of the most influential and innovative artists in art history. It is housed in a stunning building designed by Yann Weymouth and contains a helical staircase reflecting Dali’s obsession with spirals 

The tour, entitled “  From Melting Watches to Post Atomic Still Lifes “ will be led by Peter Tush, the Curator of Education.  Peter will share highlights from the Collection in order to provide some answers, touching on Dali’s remarkable life, his world of dreams and his mind-bending illusions 

   This is an opportunity to see a wonderful collection of works by this unique artist, collected by two enthusiasts and generously donated to the public so that we can all enjoy them.

The tour is at 3 pm on Wednesday 23rd February 2022 and will last approximately one and a quarter hours.

The cost of the visit is £10.00 per person £15.00 for non-members

You will receive a link to join the tour nearer the time

For a booking form, please click here 

Last year we had the pleasure of being taken on a virtual walk around the Venetian quarter of Cannareggio. We are fortunate that our wonderful guide Luisella has now agreed to take us on a virtual tour of the Doge’s Palace. It is very difficult to secure tickets to this magnificent building due to the huge queues any time of the day at all times of the year. A Zoom tour is an ideal way to enjoy one of the landmarks of Venice.

This is a wonderful opportunity to see this iconic building from your home. The tour will last approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes.

The cost of the visit is £15 per person
You will receive a link to join the tour nearer the time

For further information please contact our Visits Organiser, Tamara Rabin, at tamara@therabins.co.uk, or on 07791 211 524

For a booking form please click here

Earlier this year we had a successful visit to Stockholm to see the Vasa warship.  We are now going back to the city, but this time to the National Museum to see an exhibition devoted to the work of one of Sweden’s best-known artists, Anders Zorn.  

Anders Zorn, who comes from Dalarna in southern Sweden, burst onto the art scene in 1880. His early works were watercolours, but he moved on to painting in oils. He travelled extensively and was often hired to paint society portraits, particularly in the USA which he visited several times. In his later years he painted an idealised image of Dalarna as he grew older.

The National Museum have agreed to offer us a virtual guided visit to the works of Anders Zorn. This is a wonderful opportunity for a private on-line tour of the work of this Scandinavian artist. It will last approximately 1 hour.

The cost of the visit is £10 per member / £15 per non-member

You will receive a Microsoft Teams link to join the tour nearer the time

Click on the link and select ‘open in my browser’, then put in your name

For further information please contact our Visits Organiser, Tamara Rabin, at tamara@therabins.co.uk, or on 07791 211 524

The cost for this visit to the National Museum Stockholm is £10/£15 per person (non-refundable). If you can, please pay by making a bank transfer to the TASHH bank account, Sort Code: 20-36-16, Account number: 40475416, giving as reference Zorn, and telling our treasurer Janice at pjb.jbb@btinternet.com that you have done so. If you wish to pay by cheque, please complete this tear-off slip and send it, together with your cheque payable to TASHH, to Janice Blackstaffe, at 8 Oak Tree Gardens, St Albans, Herts, AL1 3DE

Name(s)..........................................................................................……………………

We are again crossing the Atlantic, this time in order to visit the Clark Institute located in Williamstown, Massachusetts. In 1950 Sterling and Francine Clark chartered the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute to become the home of their extensive art collection. Opened to the public in 1955, the Clark has built upon this extraordinary group of works to become one of the most beloved and respected art museums in the world, known for its intimate galleries and stunning natural environment. It is one of the few institutions in the United States that combines a public art museum with research and academic programs.

The visit will take place on Zoom on Thursday 28th October 2021 at 2:30 pm. It will last approximately 1 hour. The cost of the visit is £10 per member / £15 per guest

You will receive a link to join the Zoom tour nearer the time. For further information please contact our Visits Organiser, Tamara Rabin, at tamara@therabins.co.uk, or on 07791 211 524

For a flyer and booking form please click here

The Frick Collection has temporarily moved from its elegant town house on East 70th Street, New York to the modernist Breuer Building on Madison Avenue where it will remain for two years during renovation of its real home.  

After our very successful trip to the Frick Collection in February, TASHH has been fortunate in persuading our wonderful guide, Vincent Tolentino, to show us more of the treasures that form the Frick Collection giving us another opportunity to enjoy more the distinguished collection again, but in a very modern setting.    The Frick Collection was started by coal and coke millionaire Henry Frick. 

This is a unique opportunity for a private Zoom guided tour of this collection at a time when foreign travel is still severely restricted

The visit will take place on Zoom on Tuesday 14th September 2021 at 2:30 pm. It will last approximately 1 hour.

The cost of the visit is £10 per member / £15 per guest

You will receive a link to join the Zoom tour nearer the time

For further information please contact our Visits Organiser, Tamara Rabin, at tamara@therabins.co.uk, or on 07791 211 524

For a booking form please click here

Please note that if you pay by making a bank transfer please put as reference 'Frick M’

Zoom live walking tour of Venice

Wednesday 23rd June at 4pm.

Venice is hot and normally very crowded in the summer but we at TASHH have arranged a walking tour in the cool of the late afternoon when the tourists have gone to change and have their cocktails. We are going to Cannaregio, the northernmost of the six historic sestieri or districts of Venice. The canal running through the area was the main route to the city before railways. The area along the Grand Canal to the Rialto Bridge had grand palazzos but Cannaregio was largely a working-class area.  It was the gated Jewish ghetto for 270 years until Napoleon conquered the Venetian Republic in 1797 and opened the gates allowing the citizens to live where they wanted. The area boasts the Ca d’Oro Palace and numerous craft shops in Strada Nova and is a very popular area away from the centre

This is a unique opportunity for a private live Zoom guided walk around Cannaregio with a Venetian tourist guide,Luisella, Romeo, who is keen to share the delights of Cannaregio with you.  The visit will take place on Zoom on Wednesday 23rd June 2021 at 4pm, to avoid the worst of the heat and crowds.  It will last approximately 1 hour.

The cost of the visit is £10.00 per member / £15.00 per visitor (subject to availability)

You will receive a link to join the Zoom tour nearer the time.

For further information please contact our Visits Organiser, Tamara Rabin, at tamara@therabins.co.uk, or on 07791 211 524

For a booking form, please click here

We at TASHH have negotiated a wonderful opportunity to go to Stockholm to see the Vasa warship. The ship is housed in the Vasa maritime museum close to the city harbour. The Vasa is the only almost fully intact 17th century

ship that has ever been salvaged. A visit is one of the highlights of any visit to Stockholm.

The Vasa was launched on 10th August 1628, but disaster struck immediately as the ship had 64 cannons and was top heavy. It sank in Stockholm harbour almost as soon as it had set sail, and lay there until it was salvaged in the 1950s and found to be in surprisingly good condition. The reason that the Vasa was so well-preserved was that the water of the harbour was heavily polluted until the late 20th century. The highly toxic and hostile environment in which it lay meant that even the toughest microorganisms that break down wood had difficulty surviving.

This is a unique private Zoom guided tour of the Vasa at a time when foreign travel is not possible, and without the cost of staying in one of Europe’s most expensive cities.

The visit will take place on Zoom on Wednesday 9th June 2021 at 11am. It will last approximately 1 hour. The cost of the visit is £5 for members / £7.50 for visitors (subject to availability)

Nearer the time you will receive a Zoom link to join the tour.

For further information please contact our Visits Organiser, Tamara Rabin, at tamara@therabins.co.uk or on 07791 211 524

For a booking from please click here

We are offering our members the opportunity to visit the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Austria, which is one of the most important museums in the world. It is located in an elegant building in the centre of Vienna and was opened in 1891 by Emperor Franz Josef. It contains an incomparable collection of paintings, many of which were owned by the Hapsburgs. We will be shown works by Breughel, Caravaggio, Rubens, Rembrandt and Arcimboldo amongst others, without needing to leave our homes.

The visit will take place on Zoom on Wednesday 26th May 2021 at 11am. It will last approximately 11⁄2 hours. The cost of the visit is £10 for members / £15 for visitors (subject to availability)

You will receive a link to join the Zoom tour nearer the time
For further information please contact our Visits Organiser, Tamara Rabin, at tamara@therabins.co.uk, or on 07791 211 524

For a bookig form please click here

We are going to explore Soho where we are familiar with its glamour, theatres and restaurants. However, there is a small part of it that has had an altogether darker reputation. Soho for centuries was the place where the rich went to have illicit fun. This virtual walk will introduce you to some of the famous characters and personalities that have shaped the last 350 years of Soho history. We will meet Casanova’s mistress, the King of Porn, the creator of Communism and the inventor of television amongst others who you may find surprising.

We will be led on this virtual walk exploring Soho by Pepe Martinez, an experienced London Blue Badge guide, who has lived in the capital all his life. This promises to be a fascinating insight into the real Soho.

The visit will take place on Zoom on Wednesday 12th May 2021 at 11am. It will last approximately 1 hour. The cost of the visit is £12 for members / £18 for visitors (subject to availability)
Nearer the time you will receive a link to join the Zoom walk.

For further information please contact our Visits Organiser, Tamara Rabin, at tamara@therabins.co.uk, or on 07791 211

For a booking form please click here

We have already visited museums in Boston and New York and are now returning to the USA, but this time to Washington DC. You are invited to join us for a private Zoom tour of Hillwood, the former home of Marjorie Merriweather Post who inherited the Postum Cereal Company from her father and expanded it into General Foods.  She was at one time the richest woman in the USA and invested much of her fortune in pre–Russian Revolutionary art and objets, including treasures by Fabergé, paintings, French decorative art and 18thcentury furniture.  Her collection can now be seen at Hillwood, her former home in the hills close to Washington DC, which has been a museum since her death in 1973.  

This is a unique opportunity for a private Zoom guided tour of Hillwood at a time when foreign travel is prohibited. We at TASHH will continue to take our members around the world, despite being restricted from travel.

The visit will take place on Zoom on Wednesday 28thApril 2021 at 2:30pm.  It will last approximately 1 hour.

The cost of the visit is £12.50pp for members/ £18.75 for visitors (subject to availability)

You will receive a link to join the Zoom tour nearer the time.

Further information please contact our Visits Organiser, Tamara Rabin, at tamara@therabins.co.uk, or  07791 211 524

For a booking form, please click here

 We have been to the USA and we are now taking a trip to the Netherlands. You are invited to join us for a private Zoom virtual tour of the Mauritshuis which is located in the heart of The Hague. The Mauritshuis displays the very best of 17th-century Dutch painting. This compact, yet world-famous collection, contains masterpieces such as Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Anatomy Lesson of Dr.Nicolaes Tulp by Rembrandt, and The Goldfinch by Fabritius on permanent display in the intimate museum rooms of the seventeenth-century monument. More than two hundred masterpieces by Dutch and Flemish masters have their place in the classic interior that exudes a pleasant atmosphere through its silk wall coverings, sparkling chandeliers and monumental ceiling paintings. 

This is a unique opportunity for a private Zoom guided tour of the Museum at a time when foreign travel is not possible and we are all currently restricted from making any visits. 

The visit will take place on Zoom on Thursday 25th March 2021 at 10:45am. The visit will last approximately 1 hour to be followed by questions. 

The cost of the visit is £10 pp 

You will receive a link to join the Zoom tour nearer the time. 

 For further information please contact our Visits Organiser, Tamara Rabin, at tamara@therabins.co.uk or on 07791 211 524.

For a Booking Form or Bank Transfer details, please click here

Wednesday 10th February 2021 at 2:30pm

We cannot leave the United Kingdom at present but we can transport you to the USA, so come with us on a trip to Manhattan. You are invited to join us for a private Zoom virtual tour of the Frick Collection in New York. The Frick Collection was started by coal and coke millionaire Henry Frick and is housed in his former home. It has been open since 1931 and is internationally recognized for its distinguished Old Master paintings and outstanding examples of European sculpture and decorative arts.

This is a unique opportunity for a private Zoom guided tour of the Museum at a time when foreign travel is not possible and we are all currently restricted from making any visits.

The visit will take place on Zoom on Wednesday 9th February 2021 at 2:30 pm. It will last approximately 1hour.

The cost of the visit is £10pp

You will receive a link to join the Zoom tour nearer the time.

Places are limited. To reserve your place before sending your cheque, or paying by bank transfer, please contact our Visits Organiser, Tamara Rabin, at tamara@therabins.co.uk or on 07791 211 524.

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The cost for this visit to the Frick is £10 per person (non-refundable). Please complete this tear-off slip, make cheques payable to TASHH, and send to the TASHH Treasurer, Janice Blackstaffe, at 8 Oak Tree Gardens, St Albans, Herts,AL1 3DE (or you can pay by a bank transfer to the TASHH bank account Sort Code: 20-36-16

Account number: 40475416, telling Janice at pjb.jbb@btinternet.com that you have done so).

Name(s)......................................................................................................

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Tel:..............................................................

Come with us on a trip to Boston. We cannot leave the United Kingdom but we can transport you to the USA. You are invited to join us for a private Zoom virtual tour of the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum in Boston. The museum was built by Isabella Stuart Gardner in 1903 and is housed in a building designed to emulate a 15thcentury Venetian palace. It houses a wonderful collection of decorative art and important paintings. The Museum came to international fame in 1990 when 13 paintings worth at least $500 million were stolen and  never recovered.

This is a unique opportunity for a private Zoom guided tour of the Museum at a time when foreign travel is not possible and we are all currently restricted from making any visits. It is also the chance to see a unique building with a fascinating history and superb artwork.

The visit will take place on Zoom on Thursday 14th January 2021 at 2:30 pm. It will last approximately 1 hour.

The cost of the visit is £10pp.

You will receive a link to join the Zoom tour nearer the time.

To reserve your place before sending your cheque, or paying by bank transfer, please contact our Visits Organiser, Tamara Rabin, at tamara@therabins.co.uk or on 07791 211 524.

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The cost for this visit to ISGM is £10 per person (non-refundable). Please complete this tear-off slip, make cheques payable

to TASHH, and send to the TASHH Treasurer, Janice Blackstaffe, at 8 Oak Tree Gardens, St Albans, Herts, AL1 3DE (or you can pay by a bank transfer transfer to the TASHH bank account, Sort Code: 20-36-16, Account number: 40475416, telling Janice at pjb.jbb@btinternet.com that you have done so).

Name(s)......................................................................................................

Email..........................................................................................

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We cannot go to Northumberland so this is an opportunity for you to come and join us for a virtual visit to Alnwick Castle, (pronounced “Annick”), which dates from 1096 and  has been home to the Percy family, Dukes of Northumberland, for 700 years. It is one of the largest inhabited castles in England, second only to Windsor Castle.  It has been used as settings for Harry Potter films and you will recognize it as Hogwarts School.  It has also featured in the series Downton Abbey.  The castle houses some wonderful decorative art as well as a history of the Percy family’s achievements. 

This is a unique opportunity for a private guided Zoom tour of the Castle at a time when we are all currently restricted from making any visits.  It is also the chance to see a fascinating historic building too far distant for a day’s visiting from London.

The visit will take place on Zoom on Wednesday 9th December 2020 at 11am and will last approximately 1 hour. The cost of this visit is £5 pp.

Nearer the time you will receive a link to join the Zoom tour.

For further information, please contact our Visits Organiser, Tamara Rabin, at tamara@therabins.co.uk or on 07791 211 524

For a booking form, please click here

You are invited to a private virtual guided tour of the Sir John Soane Museum at 12 Lincolns Inn Fields WC2 3BP at 11am on 24th November 2020. 

Sir John Soane created the Museum in the 18th century.  He was a leading classical architect and an avid collector.  It is a unique and eclectic collection showing one man’s interests and is largely unchanged since Sir John Soane’s death in 1837.

The Tour will last approximately an hour.  It will be led by Jonathan Stern, one of the very experienced Museum guides. The cost of this visit is £10 pp. 

For further information please contact our Visits Organiser, Tamara Rabin, at tamara@therabins.co.uk or on  07791 211 524.  

 Nearer the time you will receive a link to join the Zoom tour.

For a booking form please click here

Details TBD

Details TBD

Come and join us at the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, popularly known as the Neasden Temple, at 105 - 119 Brentfield Road, NW10 8LD. The Temple is a traditional place of Hindu worship designed and constructed entirely according to ancient Vedic architectural texts – using no structural steel whatsoever. It is a masterpiece of exquisite Indian design and workmanship in the heart of London.

We will start our visit with a short film about the construction of the Temple and then we attend a short prayer service and see the inside of the prayer hall. There will then be an opportunity to ask questions and we end our visit with a fascinating exhibition about the history of the Hindu religion and learn some surprising facts! The visit will take about two hours. Afterwards we can have lunch at Shayana, an Indian vegetarian restaurant on the same site where you will be offered a buffet at £14 per head, excluding drinks. We meet at 10:45am in the car park opposite the Temple. There is ample free parking in the car park and buses 206 & 244 pass near the Temple. You can see the location by accessing this link:

https://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=520651&y=184608&z=0&sv=NW10+8LD&st=2&pc=NW10+8L D&mapp=map.srf&searchp=ids.srf

To reserve your place contact our Visits Organiser, Tamara Rabin, on tamara@therabins.co.uk. Please indicate if you want to join us for lunch.

For a booking form, please click here

Immerse yourself in a kaleidoscope of images and iconic brands at The Museum of Brands, which is located at 111-117 Lancaster Road W11 1QT, and is 2 minutes from Portobello Road. The nearest tube station is Ladbroke Grove, a short walk away.

Decade by decade the museum charts advertising from the Victorian times, through austerity Britain, to the Swinging 60s. Discover over 12,000 original items from motorcars, music and television, to sweets and household goods. Whether or not you are a lover of nostalgia packaging design, or interested in the history of our throwaway society, visit the lifestyle of our parents’ generation, remembering that the items on display were once part of their everyday life.

Come and join us for a guided visit to The Museum of Brands. The visit will take place on Tuesday February 4th 2020 at 11am and will last approximately 11⁄2 hours. The visit will cost £16 per person (non-refundable).

for a booking form, please click here

Places are limited so in the first instance this visit is only open to full and wait list members.
For further information please contact Michael Franklin mikepfrank@btinternet.com or on 07836 541383

With its prime location on the south bank of the River Thames, looking out across London Bridge, Southwark Cathedral is one of central London’s oldest churches. Its official name is the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St. Saviour and St. Mary Overie. It stands at the oldest crossing-point of the River Thames at what was for many centuries the only entrance to the City of London situated across the river. The first written reference is the mention of a 'minster' in the Domesday Book of 1086. In 1106 the church was 're-founded' by two Norman knights as a priory. At the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539 the church became the property of King Henry VIII who rented it to the congregation. It was re-named St Saviour's, and In 2000 major extensions designed by Richard Griffiths were added north of the Cathedral; these provide meeting and conference rooms, a library, the Education Centre, the Shop and Refectory.

Now Southwark Cathedral is once again (as in monastic days) a centre for a pattern of daily worship within the English Cathedral music tradition. It continues to serve the people of its parish and the diocese, to be a centre of teaching, of worship, prayer and pilgrimage and offers an open and inclusive welcome to all.

Come and join us for a guided visit to this historic cathedral in the heart of London The visit will take place on

Tuesday January 7th 2020 at 11am and will last approximately 11⁄2 hours. The visit will cost £15 per person. There is the option of a group lunch after the tour in a nearby Italian restaurant.
For further information please contact Michael Franklin mikepfrank@btinternet.com or on 07836 541383

For a booking form please click here

10:30am - 12

Come and join us for a visit to this historic Georgian building that was the London home of the first Duke of Wellington. It has changed very little since the Duke‘s great victory at Waterloo in 1815. It houses a wonderful art collection as well as memorabilia of the Duke’s military and political career.

We will also visit the Wellington Arch, in an imposing position close to Apsley House. This was built as the original entrance to Buckingham Palace and later became a victory arch proclaiming the Duke’s victory over Napoleon. It is crowned with a statue of the Angel of Peace. We can enjoy spectacular views over London from the top of the arch as well as an exhibition about the Duke’s military history

The visit will take place on 23rd October 2019 at 10:30am and will last approximately 1ó hours. Apsley House, 149 Piccadilly W17NT is close to Hyde Park Corner tube station and the 13 bus route. We will meet in time for a 10:30am start outside the main gate of Apsley House where we will be joined by a guide and taken into the House. You can see a location map by accessing this link:

https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5034717,-0.1472934,17z

Places are limited. To reserve your place before sending your cheque, or paying by bank transfer, please contact our Visits Organiser, Tamara Rabin, at tamara@therabins.co.uk or on +44 7791 211 524.

To download a booking form, please click here

1:30pm  - 3:30pm

8:30am to 5pm

Come and join us for a guided one-hour walk around Kew Gardens.  Our guide will focus on different plants from Kew’s living collection, the largest and most diverse in the world growing out in the landscape and within their glasshouses.  There will also be the opportunity of seeing Dale Chihuly’s unique and dazzling art installations situated across the grounds, including the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art.   There we can experience for ourselves Chihuly’s drawings and Rotolo series. For those of you who were at our December 2018 lecture by Scott Anderson on Chihuly this visit will remind us of his fascinating talk.  

Walking will be involved requiring a moderate standard of fitness.  Also please wear strong shoes and all weather clothing!! 

Please note that you must make your own travel arrangements to Kew Gardens.  

The meeting point is outside the Victoria Gate entrance (TW9 3JR).  Participants are requested to be at the Victoria Gate entrance at 10:45 am so that the tour can start promptly at 11:15 am.

Kew Gardens station is a 5 minute walk from the Victoria Gate (TW9 3JR).   Kew Gardens Station is served by the District Line (Richmond branch) and London Overground (Richmond branch). 

Numbers are limited.  The charge is £26 (non-refundable) inclusiveof entry to the gardens. If you are a 2019 paid up member of Kew the charge will be £15 (non-refundable). Remember to bring your 2019 Kew pass with you, otherwise Kew will charge you a full entrance fee.

  TO RESERVE YOUR PLACE before sending your cheque or paying by bank transfer please 

contact:  lindagreen99@btinternet.com  (020 8731 9208)  to see if there are places available.  

Payment instructions (by cheque or EFT) will then be provided.

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The cost for this Kew visit:  £26 (non refundable) or £15 if a Kew Gardens member (non refundable). Please make out cheque to TASHHand send to Linda Green 109 Hampstead Way, NW11 7LR

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For a printable verson of the flyer, please click here

1:30 - 4:00pm

Click here for a printable version of the flyer

Come and join us for a walk around historic Bloomsbury. We will visit Nicholas Hawksmoor’s church, St George’s Bloomsbury, and the former leper colony of St Giles in the Fields. We will learn about the relevant social and cultural history of this diverse area in the 18thcentury.

This gentle walk will take place on 17thMay and will last approximately 2½ hours and include a break. We will meet our guide, Karen Chester, at 1.30pm at the top of Museum Street on the corner of Great Russell Street, opposite the British Museum. The walk will end at about 4 pm near Tottenham Court Road Station.

For further information contact Tamara Rabin: tamara@therabins.co.uk; 07791 211 524

To reserve your place beforesending your cheque, or paying by bank transfer, please contact Janice Blackstaffe: pjb.jbb@btinternet.com; 07718 901 122

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The cost for this Bloomsbury walkwill be £25 per person(non-refundable). Please make your cheque out to TASHHand send to: 

Janice Blackstaffe, 72 Brim Hill, London N2 0HQ

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Thursday 21st March 2019 at 10:30

Responsible for protecting and promoting British interests worldwide, the FCO was created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office. 

The FCO occupies a building which originally provided premises for four separate government departments: the Foreign Office, the India Office, the Colonial Office, and the Home Office. Construction on the building, which was designed by George Gilbert Scott, began in 1861 and was finished in 1868. 

Among the more famous rooms is the Locarno Suite, as it was here, in 1925, that the Foreign Office played host to the signing of the Locarno Treaties aimed at reducing tension in Europe. The ceremony took place in a suite of rooms that had been designed for banqueting. During the Second World War, the Locarno Suite's fine furnishings were removed or covered up, and it became home to a foreign office code-breaking department. 

Numbers for this visit are limited, so do book early to avoid disappointment.

The cost for this visit to The FCO is £20 per person (non-refundable). Please make cheques out to TASHH and send them to: Gordon Rickard, 11 Dunstan Road, London NW11 8AG. Tel: 020 8455 7620; 07813 650085. 

If you don’t have a printer, please provide the details below in a covering note with your cheque. 

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For a printable version of this text/flyer please click here

10th January 2019 at 10:30

Please join us for our first visit of 2019 when we tour The Reform Club.

The Reform Club was founded in 1836, in Pall Mall, in the centre of what is often called London's Clubland. Designed by the leading architect of the day, Charles Barry, the Club is as impressive now as when it opened in 1841. Membership was restricted to those who pledged support for the Great Reform Act of 1832, and the many MPs and Whig peers among the early members developed the Club as the political headquarters of the Liberal Party.

The Reform Club is no longer associated with any particular political party, and now serves a purely social function. Today’s Reformers are men and women drawn from many backgrounds and a wide field of professional life.

We will meet just inside the main entrance in Pall Mall. Coffee and biscuits will be served.

The tour will last approximately an hour and a half.
Numbers for this visit are limited to 20, so please book early to avoid disappointment.

The cost for this visit to The Reform Club is £25 per person (non-refundable). Please make cheques out to TASHH and send them to: Gordon Rickard, 11 Dunstan Road, London NW11 8AG. Tel: 020 8455 7620; 07813 650085.

Please click here for a booking form

Please join us for a guided tour of Drapers’ Hall in the heart of the City of London. It is home to the Worshipful Company of Drapers, ranked third of the Great Twelve historic Livery Companies founded over 600 years ago. It is lavishly furnished and contains many important paintings including Royal portraits and 12 Hogarth prints telling the story of The Idle and Industrious Apprentice. It also houses a collection of silver and two Gobelins silk tapestries, dating from the reign of Louis XV of France.

On our arrival at 10.30am we will have tea or coffee and biscuits and at 11.00am, we will be taken on a guided tour of all the rooms including the Court dining room, Court Room, Livery Hall, Livery Hall Corridor, Drawing Room and the silver display.
The meeting point for this tour is outside the main entrance of Drapers’ Hall, Throgmorton Avenue, London EC2N 2DQ at 10.25am. The nearest tube stations are Bank and Moorgate, both on the Northern Line.

For further information, please contact Ruth Judes: 020 8444 8666; ruthjudes@gmail.com

The cost for this visit to The Drapers’ Hall will be £15 per person (non-refundable) including refreshments on arrival. Please make cheques out to TASHH and send them to: Ruth Judes, 2 Hampstead Heights, London N2 0PX.

Please click here for a booking form

Please join us for a guided tour of the Sir John Soane Museum at 12 Lincolns Inn Fields WC2 3BP. The Museum was created in the 18th century by Sir John Soane, a leading classical architect and an avid collector. Soane amassed an extraordinary collection of antiquities, furniture, sculptures, architectural models and drawings, and paintings including works by Hogarth, Turner and Canaletto. It is truly world-class, spanning continents and millennia and is a unique and eclectic collection of one man’s interests. It is largely unchanged since Sir John Soane’s death in 1837. The tour includes the private apartments which are rarely available to the public. 

We will meet outside the museum for the tour which will last approximately an hour and a half. Numbers are limited to 15 so please send in your application early to avoid disappointment.

The cost for this visit to the Sir John Soane Museum will be £25 per person (non-refundable). Please make cheques out to TASHH and send them to: Gordon Rickard, 11 Dunstan Road, London NW11 8AG. Tel: 020 8455 7620 

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For a printable booking form please click here

The Collection encompasses everyday objects used in the Foundling Hospital, books, documents and records, musical scores and librettos, photographs and oral history recordings, as well as significant works of art, clocks, furniture and interiors many of which were created especially for the Hospital and donated by their makers.

Some of the most moving objects are the identifying tokens left by mothers with their babies in the Hospital’s earliest years. Deeply touching too is the Foundling Voices collection – testimonies of former pupils of the Foundling Hospital School in the twentieth century, the last generation of children to grow up there.

Among the artists who supported the Foundling Hospital were William Hogarth, and the composer George Frederic Handel. The Collection includes paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures created and donated by Hogarth and others, as well as the Gerald Coke Handel Collection.   For those who wish there is also an internationally important library and archive relating to Handel and his musical contemporaries which our members can visit (unguided) and this is included in the price as well.

The meeting point is outside the Foundling Museum at 40 Brunswick Square, London WC1N 1AZat 9.55am.  The maximum number for this guided tour is 20, so book early to avoid disappointment.

For further information please contact Linda Green: 020 8731 9208; lindagreen99@btinternet.com

For a booking from please click here

Come and join us for a day out on the banks of the Thames in lovely Berkshire.

After a short coach ride from Charter Way, the cultural part of the day will be a Talk and conducted Walk when we learn about the genius that was Stanley Spencer. We will be taken by one of the gallery’s experts around the heart of Cookham village and to the river path to see the settings of many of Spencer's most famous works and which provided inspiration for many of his pictures. The guide will provide illuminating information and anecdotes for our enjoyment, and will carry a large display file so that we can appreciate the comparison between the scene today and the version that Spencer painted.

The sociable side of our visit will take the form of a two – course lunch at the renowned Ferry in an idyllic setting on the banks of the River Thames.

For further information contact Gordon Rickard at Gordon@therickards.co.uk

For a booking form please click here

Monday 25th June 2018 6:30 - 8:30 pm

Join us at the Highgate home of Pauline and Ray Treen, for a special viewing of their extensive collection of modern and contemporary British art. In aid of Magic Lantern, this is a unique opportunity to see an impressive private collection which includes paintings by Bridget Riley, Joseph Herman, Terry Frost, Alan Davie, Allen Jones, Ivon Hitchens, David Bomberg and Kyffin Williams. Also on display will be some sculpture, ceramics and customdesigned contemporary furniture. Pauline and Ray will introduce the collection and will be on hand to answer questions.

As we anticipate high demand this event is initially open to members only. Final details, including the location of the Private View, will be sent on receipt of your RSVP.

For further information please contact Vivienne Prevezer: vivprevezer@hotmail.com

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Suggested minimum donation is £25 per person (non-refundable). Please make cheques out to TASHH and send to Janice Blackstaffe, 72 Brim Hill, London N2 0HQ

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Join us for an all-day visit to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, led by Dr James Taylor, author, expert in Maritime art and former curator at the NMM. We will view the historic buildings that make up this UNESCO World Heritage Site, before visiting the Inigo Jones-designed Queen’s House. After lunch we will tour the main Museum galleries including the Great Map and Podium displays, and the  Nation gallery featuring JMW Turner’s The Battle of Trafalgar. 

For a booking form, please click here

In 1666 there were over 100 churches in the Square Mile. Then in September of that year the Great Fire destroyed 87 of them. This is the story of a city rising like a Phoenix from the ashes, the story of an astronomer who became a master architect, and the craftsmen and artisans who came from all over Europe to rebuild the City of London and its churches.

 We will start our tour with our City of London guide, Emma Krais, in the shadow of the historical centre piece, St Paul’s Cathedral. Along the way we will aim to visit 10 churches (5 bearing the name of St Mary!) before finishing at a church on the site of an ancient subterranean river. We will ‘meet’ the people who were part of the history of these churches and hear their stories.

The meeting point is under the Portico outside Starbucks on Paternoster Row opposite the St Paul’s steps. Please come suitably attired. The maximum number for this tour is 20, so book early to avoid disappointment. Please click here for a booking form

A morning tour led by Karen Chester

Booking details to follow

The Guildhall Art Gallery is home to the City of London’s art collections. The works range from early portraits to Pre-Raphaelite paintings and there are also scenes of London and London life by artists from the 17th century to the modern day. Highlights include the largest painting in the UK, the ‘greenest picture in the world’, the Heritage Gallery featuring fascinating documents from centuries-old archives, and London’s Roman amphitheatre, which can be viewed ‘in situ’ in the bowels of the Gallery.

Our guide will be Karen Chester who conducted our tour of Mansion House earlier this year. Places are limited so early booking is essential.

For a booking form, please click here

Henry Moore Studios & Gardens in rural Hertfordshire is the best place in the world to appreciate the work of sculptor Henry Moore. Moore’s former estate is much as it was during the artist’s lifetime and provides the perfect backdrop for his work. You will experience Moore’s family home Hoglands, explore his studios, see his tapestries in the Aisled Barn and admire the gardens created by his wife Irina.

The tour will also include entry to the special exhibition, Becoming Henry Moore, providing a rare opportunity to see Moore’s early sculptures and drawings alongside works by artists who inspired or worked alongside him.

Refreshments will be provided, as well as a buffet lunch at The Hoops Inn, Moore’s village pub located across the road on the village green. 

For a booking form, please click here

Following our very successful visit in 2015 we have another opportunity to visit this wonderful centre, completed in 1985, which is the religious,social and cultural meeting place for the Ismaili Muslims of Great Britain.
The tour will commence at 2pm. However there is a highly recommended free concert in the courtyard at 1.00pm which we hope will enhance the tour even more.

The cost of the tour will be £10pp (non refundable)

As there are only 25 places early booking is essential. For further details please contact Vivienne Prevezer Tel. 0208 3460022 Email vivprevezer@hotmail.com 

For a booking form please click here

Blythe House is a listed building located at 23 Blythe Road, West Kensington, London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Originally built as the headquarters of the Post Office Savings Bank, it is now used as a store and archive by the Victoria and Albert, Science and British Museums.

During this tour Helen Wolfe textiles collection manager at the British museum will take us on a tour behind the scenes. We will be looking at the way the museum stores and preserves its collection of historical textiles and ceremonial outfits.

We only have 15 places for this unique opportunity so it only open to members at the moment and will be on a strictly first come basis!

Please click here for a booking form

The foundation of Western civilisation were laid by the ancient societies which flourished in Mesopotamia, a land known as the Fertile Crescent through which flow the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. This area saw some of the earliest experiments in agriculture and irrigation, the invention of writing, birth of mathematics and development of writing.

Linda who was born in Iraq , will take us on a guided tour of the gallery. Many members will also know Linda as our special interest day co-ordinator.

Please click here for a booking form

The Estorick Collection of modern Italian Art is housed in a grade ll listed Georgian building in Islington. It opened in 1998 having been restored with help from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The Collection is known internationally for its core of Futurists works, as well as figurative art and sculpture dating from 1890 to the 1950s

Please reply to Vivienne Prevezer by 15th July as no bookings can be taken after this date

Early booking is advised as there are limited places available

Members £10; Non-members £12  Non refundable. for a booking form please click here

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Led by award winning guide Stephen Burstin this 2.5 hour tour will take us through the narrow alleyways and backstreets of these two districts of London's famous East End. We will hear incredible stories of its people and places, the struggles of impoverished immigrants and the conditions they lived in, explore the inside of Bevis Marks, the oldest synagogue in Britain, and hear about the lives of Petticoat Lane market traders.

We will meet at the entrance of Aldgate station at 10.15 am prompt!

Please note that this is a walking tour and suitable footwear is advisable

Please reply to Janice Blackstafffe ( Vivienne Prevezer is on extended leave) by 19th May as no bookings can be taken after this date.

For a booking form please click here

The Wallace Collection displays the wonderful works of art collected in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by the first four Marquesses of Hertford and Sir Richard Wallace, the son of the 4th Marquess. It was bequeathed to the British nation by Sir Richard's widow, Lady Wallace, in 1897.  Displayed at Hertford House, one of the family's London properties in the nineteenth century, the Wallace Collection presents its outstanding collections in a sumptuous but approachable manner which is an essential part of its charm.

         We will have a 75 minute guided tour of the highlights of the Wallace Collection by their expert guides, starting at 2pm. The visit will be in separate groups of 20 persons each. 

Please download a booking form from here

 The Ismaili Centres are symbolic markers of the permanent presence and core values of Shia Ismaili Muslim communities around the world. Incorporating spaces for social and cultural gatherings, intellectual engagement and reflection, as well as spiritual contemplation, they are bridges of friendship and understanding, and serve to enhance relationships among faith communities, government and civil society.

In 1951, a religious, cultural and social centre was established by the Ismaili community at Kensington Court. In 1979, Lord Soames, the then Lord President of the Council, laid the foundation stone of the current centre in the presence of their spiritual leader, His Highness the Aga Khan. Designed by Hugh Casson, the Ismaili Centre, London was opened by Margaret Thatcher in 1985 before the Aga Khan, government leaders, diplomats and leaders of the Ismaili community from around the world.

We will meet at the Centre, 1-7 Cromwell Gardens, London SW7 2SL at 2pm. There are only 20 places available so please return your booking form and cheque as soon as possible. Cheques will be destroyed if you are not successful unless you enclose a stamped, addressed envelope.  You can find the booking form under the 'Documents' tab on the 'About us' page.

In the heart of the English countryside on the Hampshire/Berkshire border is the elegant but intimate Stratfield Saye House, home to the Dukes of Wellington since 1817. After the Battle of Waterloo a grateful nation voted a substantial sum of money to enable the First Duke to buy a house and estate worthy of a great national hero. He chose Stratfield Saye with the intention of building a huge palace in the grounds, but unfortunately the money was not available so he set about making the existing house convenient and comfortable, with pleasing results. The house today is lived in by Lord Douro and his family, the eldest son and heir of the 8th Duke of Wellington. Whilst the 1st Duke’s wonderful collection of pictures are at Apsley House, Statfield Saye contains fascinating collection of paintings and furniture purchased by the Great Duke with many mementos of his occupation of his modest home. The tour of the house will be conducted in small guided groups. It will include all the major ground floor rooms and some of the upstairs bedrooms. There will also be plenty of time to explore the gardens and museum. The cost includes: transport by coachfrom Charter Way, Finchley N3 (approx. 2 hours), all entrance fees, morning coffee and biscuits, and a light lunch (there are no picnic facilities other than the coach park which is a 10 minute walk). This visit is taking place during the bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 and also ties in with the lecture the week before on Art and the Napoleonic Wars.

A Booking form is available on the documents tab of the 'About US' page

A second opportunity to indulge your interest in the Iron Duke, after the previous week's lecture on Art in the Napoleonic War

Start Time: 10:30 Cost: £20 per person (this includes entrance fee which ranges from £14.50-£16.50) Further Contact Details: Vivienne Prevezer Email: vivprevezer@hotmail.com Tel: 02083460022 Early booking is essential Please download a booking from from the Documents tab on the 'About Us' page

We will meet at 10.30am for coffee and biscuits (incl. in price), followed by a guided tour of the museum at 11am. This includes their current exhibition ‘Hatch, Match and Despatch’. The tour is approx. 1 hour long allowing plenty of time to visit the nearby Turner exhibition at the National Maritime Museum. For further information please contact Vivienne Prevezer, 9 Chessington Avenue, London, N3 3DS. Email: vivprevezer@hotmail.com // Tel: 07939-129-412. Bookings will be confirmed via email You can download a booking form from the Documents tab on the About Us Page

Two Temple Place, known for many years as “Astor House”, is a building situated near Victoria Embankment.[1] It is both an architectural gem and a veritable treasure house of exquisite works by the likes of William Silver Frith, (1850–1924), Sir George Frampton RA, Nathaniel Hitch (1845–1938) and Thomas Nicholls (1825–1900).

This visit follows our lecture by Stephen Kershaw on the new Ashmolean Museum and its Classical Collection, and the Leonardo da Vinci Study day given by Caroline Brooke. The first part of the visit will be the Guided Highlights of the Ashmolean Tour from 11:00am to 12:00 noon, in three separate groups of 15 persons each. We then will have the chance to see their outstanding collection of Italian Renaissance drawings (including those by Leonardo and Raphael) in specially arranged viewings. Because the drawings are all in the same room we will have three separate viewings one for each group, at 12:15-12:45pm, 2:15 – 2:45pm and 3:00 – 3:30pm. The coach will leave from Charter Way, London NW11 at 9.00 a.m. and from Oxford at 4:00pm. We expect to be home by 5.45 p.m. Coffee on arrival and lunch will be on a self pay basis and can be taken at either the Ashmolean Dining Room or the Ashmolean Café. To avoid overwhelming the dining room we will have lunch in small groups. Alternatively there are many other places to eat in Oxford near to the museum or you can bring a packed lunch.

Tate Britain is an art gallery situated on Millbank in London, and part of the Tate gallery network in Britain, with Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is the oldest gallery in the network, opening in 1897. It houses a substantial collection of the works of J. M. W. Turner. It is housed in the Tate's original premises on Millbank on the site of Millbank Prison. The front part of the building was designed by Sidney R. J. Smith with a classical portico and dome behind. Construction, undertaken by Higgs and Hill,[3] commenced in 1893. The gallery opened on 21 July 1897 as the National Gallery of British Art, but became commonly known as the Tate Gallery, after its founder Sir Henry Tate. There have been several extensions over the years. The central sculpture gallery was designed by John Russell Pope. The gallery housed and displayed both British and Modern collections, but was renamed "Tate Britain" in March 2000, before the launch of Tate Modern, since which time it has been dedicated to the display of historical and contemporary British art only. Tate Britain includes the Clore Gallery of 1987, designed by James Stirling, which houses work by J. M. W. Turner, Clore Gallery housing works by J. M. W. Turner Crises during its existence include flood damage to work from the River Thames and bomb damage during World War II, though most of the collection was in safe storage elsewhere, and a large Stanley Spencer painting, deemed too big to move, had a protective brick wall built in front of it.