Check this page for the latest updates on Trips and Visits organised by the Friends of the RWA.
Booking Forms are now available for the visit, on May 4th, to Winterbourne House and Garden and the wonderful Barber Institute of Fine Art (see below).
The July visit to the Watts Gallery and Artists Village near Guildford has been postponed to 2024. Instead we are offering, a combined trip to Cheltenham and Sezincote House and Gardens.
In September, in response to requests and suggestions. we will be spending a day exploring Exeter. The pre-Christmas visit to Oxford or London is now almost a tradition, which we aim to sustain.
If you have suggestions for visits, or even better, if you might be interested in joining the Trips and Visits Committee we’d love to hear from you. What we can offer depends on the capacity of a small group of people; we are keen to expand, and very welcoming.
Contact: pat.triggs@blueyonder.co.uk.
The Wilson Art Gallery and Sezincote House
Thursday 20 July 2023
FRWA Members: £43. Non-members:£48
Spend a morning in the Wilson Art Gallery with its outstanding Arts and Crafts collection and Dutch paintings. Take time to stroll along the nearby beautiful Regency Promenade and its elegant shops. Decide where to have lunch before being taken for an afternoon visit to the amazing Indian inspired Sezincote House and Garden. (entry and tour included)
The Wilson Art Gallery
Named after Edward Wilson, the Antarctic explorer, the Wilson Gallery’s collection of work in the Arts and Crafts style is designated outstanding and of national importance. The collection includes furniture, textiles, ceramics, carving, silver and jewellery. Also on display is an excellent collection of Dutch paintings from the 17th to the 19th centuries. You could take coffee or lunch in the Gallery Cafe or in one of the many cafes and restaurants nearby. The Regency Promenade is just a short walk from the gallery.
A curator guided tour of the Wilson Gallery can be booked in advance as an optional extra at £10 per person.
Sezincote House
Charles Cockerell inherited the Sezincote estate from his brother in 1798. Both had been in the service of the East India Company. Charles employed his architect brother, Samuel, to build him a house in the Indian manner. The house was substantially complete by 1807 in time for a visit from the Prince of Wales, who, the story goes, took inspiration from it for the Brighton Pavilion. The mixture of Hindu and Muslim detail follows the architecture of Akbar, the Mogul Emperor of the sixteenth century, It is thought that Sezincote is the only Mogul-style building surviving in Europe. The garden design in part is attributed to Humphrey Repton. It holds many interesting features: an Orangery, a grotto, a Thornery, pools, and the Indian Bridge with its Brahmin bulls. Afternoon tea is available in the Orangery.
Booking reference: TV/0723
Contact for booking or queries: Lucy Koshiw, 12 East Shrubbery, Bristol BS6 6SX
Email:koshiwlucy@gmail.comLandline: 0117 9143687 Mobile: 07813 818084
Residential Visit – Autumn art in Yorkshire
Tuesday 10 to Saturday 14 October 2023
We invite you to join us on the FRWA’s residential coach trip to West Yorkshire.
From our base in the picturesque former spa town of Ilkley, we are planning visits to
- Yorkshire Sculpture Park: Open-air and indoor gallery space set within 500 acres of 18th Century landscaped grounds.
- Hepworth Wakefield: Contemporary gallery and gardens exploring Barbara Hepworth’s studio environment and full-scale models for her later bronze sculptures, as well as a changing programme of temporary exhibitions.
- Saltaire: A beautiful Italianate village (and UNESCO World Heritage site) built by Sir Titus Salt to house workers at his textile mill. The renovated mill is now a gallery holding over 400 works by David Hockney.
We are also hoping to organise a trip to the centre of Leeds, where you can visit Leeds Art Gallery and the Henry Moore Foundation.
Hotel: We will be staying for 4 nights on a dinner, bed and breakfast basis in a comfortable, newly-refurbished hotel approximately 15 minutes’ walk from the centre of Ilkley. Spa facilities are available for a small additional charge.
We can accommodate 34 people on a “First come, first served” basis, so please register your interest as soon as possible by emailing Christine Bowles chrisbowles52@gmail.com We will then provide further details and a booking form as soon as these become available.
The Floating Circle 