Past Events
This page displays Victorian Society events that have already taken place.
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January
February
Victorian Short Story Reading Group: ‘The Body Snatcher’, by Robert Louis Stevenson with June Lawrence
This Scottish short story of two grave robbers has characters based on criminals employed by the real-life surgeon Robert Knox (1791–1862).
More informationEnviable Reputation: An Indian Engineer and the Construction of Victorian Bombay
This lecture will examine the role of one prominent Indian architect and engineer of the Victorian era, Khan Bahadur Muncherji Cowasji Murzban (1839-1917) concentrating on his official career to examine his meteoric rise and his role in the construction of Victorian Bombay.
More informationLife on the Buffalo River – the Development of East London, South Africa
The river port town of East London, on the eastern seaboard of South Africa, was born in conflict in 1848, and after a long period of penury, finally commenced with more substantial development in the 1870s. The talk will provide an overview of the history and development of the town and present some of the Victorian era architecture and structures.
More informationEclecticism and Ornament in Malaya’s Vernacular Classicism
This lecture explores how the eclectic ornamental classicism of Victorian and Edwardian Britain came to influence Malaya’s own syncretic brand of classical architecture, resulting in a unique regional style.
More informationMarch
Victorian Short Story Reading Group: ‘Kidnapped’ and ‘Thrown Away’ by Rudyard Kipling
We start with stories of India. As we explore these stories, we should gain a more personal perspective of the lives lived within the colonial system than that recorded in the history books.
More informationBuilding Better Britain: Victorian Architecture in New Zealand, 1840 – 1901
The nineteenth-century colonisation of New Zealand was seen as an opportunity to establish a new society on the far side of the world that would perpetuate British culture while avoiding the poverty, overcrowding and industrial pollution that afflicted contemporary Britain.
More informationFrom Palaces of Art to the Studios of Bohemia: Artists’ Houses in Victorian Kensington and Chelsea, by Jo Banham
Successful Victorian artists, like Leighton and Luke Fildes, earned incomes that meant they were able to commission magnificent, purpose-built studio houses in the leafy suburbs of Holland Park and Kensington. The less wealthy and more unconventional, like Rossetti and Whistler, gravitated towards Chelsea, occupying picturesque old buildings in the area. This lecture reviews the two most famous artists’ colonies – Melbury Road, Kensington and Cheyne Walk and Tite Street, Chelsea – and explores the lives and interiors of the painters who lived there.
More informationThe Architecture of ‘Greater Britain’: Style and Empire, c.1885-1915
This lecture will consider the role architecture played in responding to perceived notions of British decline in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
More informationSymposium to celebrate the completion of Birmingham cathedral’s divine beauty project
A celebration of the completion of the Divine Beauty Project, which involved cleaning and renovating the magnificent Edward Burne-Jones windows at Birmingham Cathedral. Speakers include Andy Delmage, Canon Missioner at the Cathedral, Rhian Tritton, Divine Beauty Project Officer, Steve Clare who restored the windows and Peter Cormack, former director of the William Morris Gallery.
More informationApril
Visit: Great Malvern & Malvern College
A guided tour of Great Malvern Railway Station by Peter Clement from Malvern Civic Society; then a guided walk of Great Malvern by our Chairman, Stephen Hartland; lunch at the Mount Pleasant Hotel; then a tour of Malvern College by our Honorary Treasurer, James Fletcher, who works at the college. Malvern College was founded in 1865 and is regarded as one of England’s premier independent schools. The tour of the campus includes the main College (1865), Chapel (1899), Pavilion (1894), Music School (1862), St Edmund’s Hall (1905) and others. We will finish with refreshments in the Memorial Library (1924).
More informationVictorian Short Story Reading Group: ‘The Rise of Ram Din’ by Alice Perrin.
This story provides an insight into the life of Indian servants, which is told through the voice of the Indian servant, rather than his Western master. There are many thematic contradictions such as loyalty/disloyalty; power struggle/duty; revenge and manipulation/honest labour.
More informationErnest George and large country houses
In this talk, Hilary Grainger explores the larger country houses considered to be the backbone of his practice. He designed over two dozen with Peto and seven with Yeates, in addition to altering, restoring and adding to many others. Clients were drawn from a wide spectrum – the landed gentry, the professions, trade and industry and the middle classes.
More informationManchester’s theatre district – a walk with David Astbury
Back by popular demand! David Astbury (former Vic Soc Manchester Chair) will lead a repeat walk on the Theatres of Oxford Street and Peter Street, a walk of about two hours passing through what was once the heart of Manchester’s historic theatre district.
More informationExploring Oldham’s heritage as the “cotton-spinning capital” of the world.
This magnificent Victorian town park was built by the people of Oldham during the cotton famine, sparked by the American Civil war. Now registered Grade II* it opened in 1865 and we will see its restored features, listed monuments and structures and well-maintained planting.
More informationExploring Oldham’s heritage as the “cotton-spinning capital of the world.
This magnificent Victorian town park was built by the people of Oldham during the cotton famine, sparked by the American Civil war. Now registered Grade II* it opened in 1865 and we will see its restored features, listed monuments and structures and well-maintained planting.
More informationMembers’ Afternoon
Members and their guests are invited to bring a maximum of 6 images on a memory stick to explain and share.
More information50 Years of the Liverpool Group of the The Victorian Society
Roger Hull has been an active committee member of the Liverpool Group of the The Victorian Society for many years and will tell the fascinating story of the group since its foundation in 1974.
More informationMay
Victorian Short Story Reading Group: ‘The Pipe of Mystery’ by G.A. Henty
This story involves the Great Indian Mutiny of 1857 but is told at a jovial gathering from the perspective of an adventure, with no mention of the politics or problems which led to the troubles.
More informationA guided tour of the graveyard of All Saints, Childwall, by Diana Goodier
The tour will highlight some of the most interesting burials from the Victorian period – the shipping magnates, local politicians, founding members of the university and a couple of architects.
More informationJune
West Norwood Cemetery
This story involves the Great Indian Mutiny of 1857 but is told at a jovial gathering from the perspective of an adventure, with no mention of the politics or problems which led to the troubles.
More informationGwrych Castle visit
Come and enjoy a guided walk around Gwrych Castle and meet the The Victorian Society’s Welsh group.
More informationVisit: Day Trip to Stourbridge
This walking tour of Stourbridge will be led by Andy Foster and David Low and will highlight some of the town’s significant Victorian buildings.
More informationAn Exploration of Surrey led by Charles O’Brien
This story involves the Great Indian Mutiny of 1857 but is told at a jovial gathering from the perspective of an adventure, with no mention of the politics or problems which led to the troubles.
More informationIlkley, from village Spa to Victorian resort – a walk with Alex Cockshott
Ilkley started as a village with fresh air and pure cold water. It had an increasing number of visitors in the Victorian era. With the arrival of the railway station in 1865, and the Middleton family starting land sales against a planned grid, the village expanded. We shall look at how the town centre developed, including the Grove.
More informationVisit: St John’s Church, Ranmoor, led by Mary Grover
A talk by Mary Grover about the History of the first St John’s Church in Ranmoor followed by a guided tour.
More informationGeorge Edmund Street Bicentenary Symposium – Day 1
G E Street (1824-1881), the bicentenary of whose birth we celebrate this year, was one of the most prolific architects of the nineteenth-century gothic revival. This symposium at St James the Less, celebrates Street’s work and achievements through a programme of talks in the morning, and visits to his works in the afternoon.
More informationGeorge Edmund Street Bicentenary Symposium – Day 2
G E Street (1824-1881), the bicentenary of whose birth we celebrate this year, was one of the most prolific architects of the nineteenth-century gothic revival. This symposium at St James the Less, celebrates Street’s work and achievements through a programme of talks in the morning, and visits to his works in the afternoon.
More informationJuly
Visit: Golders Green Crematorium, led by Hilary Grainger
A unique opportunity to visit Golders Green crematorium described as ‘London’s first crematorium and England’s first purpose-designed crematorium landscape,’ (Grade II listed) designed by Sir Ernest George in 1902. Professor Hilary J Grainger, Chair of the Victorian Society. She is the leading authority on Sir Ernest George and the architecture of UK crematoria.
More informationVisit: Hampton Court in the 19th Century
Hampton Court Palace is renowned as the finest surviving Tudor palace in the world. The history of the Palace in the Victorian era is often overlooked, but is equally as fascinating.
More informationVisit: Coach Trip to Shropshire
A coach visit to Shropshire, taking in St Mary’s Church, Tenbury Wells; St John the Baptist at Stokesay Castle and Stokesay Court, near Craven Arms, described by Niklaus Pevsner as ‘the most grandiloquent Victorian mansion in the County’.
More informationVisit: ‘The Cathedral of Sewage’ – Crossness Pumping Station
Discover one of London’s most extraordinary interiors in this outing where we discover the Victorian’s solution to sewage.
More informationVictorian Short Story Reading Group: ‘The Pestilence at Noonday’ by Cornelia Sorabji
The Victorian Short Story Reading Group has regular meetings to explore some of the exciting material from the golden age of the British short story, which began during the latter part of the nineteenth century. The current theme is colonial short stories, starting with stories from India.
More informationWeekend Visit to G E Street’s Churches in East Yorkshire
Join members of the Victorian Society as we examine the churches commissioned by Sir Tatton Sykes II of Sledmere House, and others in the East Yorkshire area. Travelling by minibus, the weekend will include a visit to St Mary, Thixendale & vicarage (1870 & 1870), St Mary, Wansford (1868) and St Andrew, East Heslerton & vicarage (1877 & 1876).
More informationAugust
Walk: A Day Visit to Three Stourbridge Churches – SOLD OUT
Following the Group’s walking tour in June, we have now arranged access to three significant churches in the town centre: St John the Evangelist, St Thomas & Our Lady & All Saints RC church.
More informationWalk: Exploring Victorian Clapham, led by Christopher Claxton Stevens
Clapham became part of the Metropolis with the coming of the underground in 1900. This walk will cover the earlier background of the area and focus on the grander Victorian architecture that still remains
More informationSeptember
Walk: Liverpool Street Station and its Environs, led by Steven Brindle
This walk explores Liverpool Street Station and its environs, to see how the north-eastern City developed in the Victorian age, how the historic streetscape has fared in modern times, and what impact the proposed over-development of the station, which the Society strongly opposes, would have on this many layered and sensitive area.
More informationWalk: Exploring Brixton’s Victorian History
In this walking tour, led by the Brixton Society, we will explore the fascinating retail heritage of Brixton.
More informationOnline Talk: The Work of Horace Jones, the Architect who Designed Tower Bridge
This talk will explore the life and work of Sir Horace Jones (1819-1887), chief architect to the City of London who designed many of its most famous buildings including Tower Bridge, Smithfield, Leadenhall and Billingsgate markets, and the Temple Bar memorial.
More informationWalk: Merton Park, “The Original and Most Unique Garden Suburb”, led by Tony Woolfenden
Tony Woolfenden leads a walk around John Innes’ Merton Park estate, “the original and most unique garden suburb” (to quote the estate company’s advertisements).
More informationTalk: The History of the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, by Christina Clarke
Discover the stories of one of Liverpool’s most famous art collections in this in-person talk given by Christina Clarke.
More informationOctober
Victorian Short Story Reading Group: ‘The Postmaster’ by Rabindranath Tagore
The Victorian Short Story Reading Group has regular meetings to explore some of the exciting material from the golden age of the British short story, which began during the latter part of the nineteenth century. The current theme is colonial short stories, starting with stories from India.
More informationAGM Weekend in Bradford
The Victorian Society AGM 2024 which will be in Bradford, West Yorkshire, on Friday 4 October, followed by a weekend of architectural tours in Bradford and the surrounding area.
More informationTalk: Lost Gardens of London, by Todd Longstaffe-Gowan
This talk will focus on and celebrate the evanescence of the metropolis’s vast and varied garden legacy.
More informationWalk: Peter de Figueiredo: A walking tour of Liverpool’s Mercantile Architecture
The walking tour will explore how Liverpool became a great commercial city as well as an international port, and how the redevelopment of the city centre in the 19th and early 20th centuries reflects its commercial importance.
More informationOnline Talk: Death and the Victorians – A Dark Fascination
In Death and the Victorians, author Adrian Mackinder explores the dark side of the nineteenth century, when hunger for truth about what lies beyond the grave was matched only by the imagination and invention used to find it.
More informationVisit: Street’s Church, Holmbury St Mary – G E Street Bicentenary
This visit is to the church which G E Street built in in 1878-79 as a memorial to his second wife, Jessie, who died soon after their honeymoon in 1876. It is very much a personal statement which he paid for himself.
More informationVisit: RIBA Drawings Collection at the V&A
The visit will start with an introductory talk on the history of the RIBA Drawings Collection by curator, Charles Hind followed by a look at a selection of Victorian drawings from the collection, including several by Alfred Waterhouse for the Natural History Museum. We will move across to the Museum to look at the exterior and the Great Hall.
More informationOnline Lecture: The London Gasketeers: The Fight to Save Westminster’s Historic Gas Lamps, by Luke Honey
Luke Honey discusses the fight to save Westminster’s gas lamps, their historic importance and the story of gas lighting in London.
More informationTalk: Day School on Gas, Water and Sewage
How the Victorians improved life for people in the West Midlands
More informationOnline Lecture: A W N Pugin – Victorian Tile Designer Par Excellence, by Hans van Lemmen
This lecture will look at the floor and wall tiles designed by the Gothic Revival architect A.W.N Pugin.
More informationAutumn Online Lecture Series 2024: Crossing Boundaries-Victorian Art, Design and Architecture-7 talks for 6
The 2024 Autumn Lecture Series discusses how 19th century architects conceived of the decorative and fine arts as part of an architectural whole. Our seven expert speakers will boldly break down disciplinary boundaries in a discussion of the use of colour and texture across the whole range of Victorian design and analyses of the important roles played by mosaic, stained glass, embroidery and three-dimensional wall coverings.
More informationNovember
Visit: All Saints’ church, Putney Common – G E Street Bicentenary
All Saints’ church, Putney, was opened as a chapel of ease in 1874. The interior is richly polychromatic and the many Morris & Co windows are of outstanding quality. This visit is our final look at a church by G E Street.
More informationVisit: St Mary’s at West Tofts
A unique opportunity to visit a small medieval church transformed by A W Pugin and his son in the 1840s and 1850s.
More informationOnline Lecture: Colour Revolution: Victorian Art, Fashion & Design, by Matthew Winterbottom
Matthew Winterbottom talks about the recent Ashmolean Exhibition Colour Revolution: Victorian Art, Fashion & Design that sought to challenge widely held perceptions that the Victorian age was dark and gloomy.
More informationOnline Lecture: ‘Fair and Beautiful to Behold’ – Ecclesiastical Embroideries, by Mary Schoeser
This lecture discusses the neo-Gothic in relation to textiles and wallpapers, which focuses on ecclesiastical embroideries in particular. The title, Fair and Beautiful to Behold is after a quotation from G.E. Street. The lecture spills into the Edwardian period to include a Pankhurst banner and Ann Macbeth frontal, to bring out the double meaning of ‘fair’ (in social/political terms).
More informationVictorian Short Story Reading Group: ‘The Salt Inspector’ (Namak ka Daroga) by Munshi Premchand
The Victorian Short Story Reading Group has regular meetings to explore some of the exciting material from the golden age of the British short story, which began during the latter part of the nineteenth century. The current theme is colonial short stories, starting with stories from India.
More informationWalk: Westminster by Gaslight Walk, led by Elan Walks
Discover the magical gas lamps of Westminster and marvel at their fascinating history and world-changing legacy.
More informationOnline Lecture: Owen Jones and the V&A, by Olivia Horsfall Turner
This talk will examine each of the projects that linked Victorian designer Owen Jones and the early V&A: his famous illustrated publication The Grammar of Ornament (1856), his decorative scheme for the so-called ‘Oriental Court’, and his relatively little-known book Examples of Chinese Ornament (1867).
More informationTalk: More Wallpaper, Vicar? A Talk by Rowena Beighton-Dykes
Rowena will explore the socio-economic and political context of wallpaper purchases by members of the Anglican Church in the 19th century.
More informationOnline Lecture: The Mosaics of Westminster Cathedral, by Peter Howell
This talk will examine the decorative interior of Westminster Cathedral, particularly the mosaics. J F Bentley intended that the interior should be covered in marble revetment and mosaics but he never had any mosaics installed. However, he approved the designs for the Holy Souls Chapel by his friend William Christian Symons.
More informationDecember
Visit: Palace of Westminster
Join us on a crisp winter morning as we discover one of London’s best known buildings.
More informationOnline Lecture: Innovations in the Art and Craft of Stained Glass in the 19th Century
The quest for materials that would evoke the chromatic and textural qualities of early medieval stained glass inspired the work of manufacturers, artists and architects during the Victorian era. This illustrated lecture examines how the art form evolved alongside new technical developments.
More informationOnline Lecture: Alfred Stevens: Master of Design, 1817-1875, by Teresa Sladen
When Alfred Stevens was waiting to hear who would finally be given the commission to design the Wellington Monument he said “They must give it to me. No one else knows anything about ornament”. What he meant by this is the subject of this lecture.
More informationVictorian Short Story Reading Group: ‘The Dâk Bungalow at Dakor’ by B. M. Croker
The Victorian Short Story Reading Group has regular meetings to explore some of the exciting material from the golden age of the British short story, which began during the latter part of the nineteenth century. The current theme is colonial short stories, starting with stories from India.
More informationOnline Lecture: Street Closure: A Discussion about Recent Visits to Buildings by G E Street
Join Neil Jackson as he examines the themes that have been raised from these visits.
More informationJanuary
Online Lecture: Victorian Colonial Short Stories 2: Dominions, Colonies & Protectorates
This lecture will survey short stories of colonial voyagers, squatters and settlers in Africa, Australia, British Malaya, Canada and New Zealand.
More informationOnline Lecture: London’s Lost Victorian Interiors, by Steven Brindle
Steven Brindle takes us through the wealth of Victorian interior design, most of which is long vanished.
More informationVisit: An 1890s House in Clapham
This is a rare opportunity to see the colourful and atmospheric candlelit interiors of this house in Clapham.
More information60th Anniversary AGM inc. Lecture ‘Liverpool Scottish’, by Joseph Sharples
The Liverpool Regional Group of the Victorian Society welcomes all to our 60th anniversary AGM and lecture presented by Joseph Sharples.
More informationVictorian Short Story Reading Group: ‘The Ghost upon the Rail’ by John Lang
The Victorian Short Story Reading Group has regular meetings to explore some of the exciting material from the golden age of the British short story, which began during the latter part of the nineteenth century. The current theme is colonial short stories, with stories from Australia.
More informationOnline Lecture: Victorian and Edwardian Women in Architecture, by Lynne Walker
Lynne Walker introduces a series of lectures that will extend our knowledge of women in architecture and the Victorian period.
More informationFebruary
Online Lecture: Rhoda and Agnes Garrett, ‘House Decorators’: the History of a Business, 1874–1905 by Elizabeth Crawford
Elizabeth Crawford discusses the first women to run a professional interior design business.
More information