Croxteth Hall and Victorian Treasures
Saturday 22 April
Coach leaves Winsford @ 8.30am through to
Northwich Memorial Court @ 9.00am
Full list of pickup points and times here - schedule (c).
£17 (entry fees extra) - click here to book online
or phone Carol on 07932927694 to reserve your ticket
We start the day with a visit to Croxteth Hall. Now managed by the City of Liverpool, Croxteth Hall Country Park is
at the heart of what was once a fantastic country estate and ancestral
home of the Molyneux family, the Earls of Sefton. It has been described as one of the "finest working country
estates in the North West". Within the estate there is
the Historic Hall, Croxteth Home Farm, and the Victorian Walled Garden
where visitors can explore Liverpool's historic botanical collection. The Hall was built in 1575, with additions in the Tudor, Georgian and Queen Anne styles.We then move into the city centre, where there is plenty to explore, including the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool World Museum, Maritime Museum, Museum of Liverpool Life, St George's Hall, Tate Liverpool, plus a thriving shopping centre.
The special exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery is Victorian Treasures. Victorian Treasures brings together more than 60 outstanding
Victorian paintings and watercolours from the art collections of
National Museums Liverpool. The exhibition explores the work of leading
19th Century classical artists such as Frederic Leighton,
Lawrence Alma-Tadema and Edward John Poynter. It also showcases work
from pioneering Pre-Raphaelite artists including John Everett Millais,
Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Holman Hunt.Victorian Treasures was organised and selected in partnership with the exhibition agency Artis Inc and the art historian Christopher Newall. This hugely popular exhibition toured four major cities in Japan during 2015 and 2016 and was seen by over 150,000 visitors.
The British Music Experience opens on 9 March in the Cunard Building, and is the UK's Museum of Popular Music. State of the art effects and
iconic memorabilia will show how rock, pop, dance and other genres were
formed and have influenced the last sixty years of British culture. The Museum will take you all the way back to 1945 and bring you up to the
present day through the different musical genres. You will eavesdrop on
interviews with the stars, witness amazing artefacts “come to life”,
record songs, learn instruments, bust moves on the dancefloor and
immerse yourself in our live music experience. As you progress through
the 8 ‘edge zones’, you will explore the rich heritage of British music
against a social and political context.Click here to download Liverpool City Centre Map.
Ludlow and Stokesay Castle
Saturday 20 May
Coach leaves Winsford @ 8.00am through to
Northwich Memorial Court @ 8.30am
Full list of pickup points and times here - schedule (b).
£22 (entry fees extra) - click here to book online
or phone Carol on 07932927694 to reserve your ticket
Ludlow is a thriving medieval market town and an architectural gem with a
lively community feel, busy with events and festivals throughout the
year. The historic town centre is situated on a cliff above the River
Teme and is surrounded by the beautiful countryside of south Shropshire
and the Welsh Marches.The impressive ruins of Ludlow Castle occupy the oldest part of the town . Building of the castle started around 1086, with many later additions in the following two centuries. It is one of the most interesting castles in the Marches, in a dominant and imposing position high above the river Teme. It features examples of architecture from the Norman, Medieval and Tudor periods. Saint Laurence’s Church was established as a place of worship when the Normans founded Ludlow in the late 11th century. It is the largest parish church in Shropshire and is described as the "cathedral of the Marches". The tower is 135 feet (41 metres) high and commands excellent views of the town and surrounding countryside. Ludlow Museum tells the history of the town and surrounding area.
After lunch we visit Stokesay Castle, where you can step into the finest and best-preserved fortified medieval manor house
in England. Discover the great hall, unchanged for over 700 years. Spot
characters carved in the timbers of the 17th-century gatehouse and
climb to the top of a fairy-tale tower for breath-taking views of the
Shropshire Hills.Stokesay Castle was constructed at the end of the 13th century by Laurence of Ludlow, who at the time was one of the richest men in England. It remains a treasure by-passed by time, one of the best places to visit in England to experience what medieval life was like.
Click here to download a Map of Ludlow.
Hull - UK City of Culture 2017
Saturday 17 June
Coach leaves Winsford @ 7.30am through to
Northwich Memorial Court @ 8.00am
Full list of pickup points and times here - schedule (a).
£25 (entry fees extra) - click here to book online
or phone Carol on 07932927694 to reserve your ticket
We make a visit to the UK City of Culture 21017 - Hull. The newly re-opened Ferens Art Gallery has a magnificent
collection of paintings and sculptures, including works by European Old
Masters, portraiture, marine painting, and modern and contemporary
British art. Highlights include masterpieces by Lorenzetti, Frans Hals,
Antonio Canaletto, Frederick Leighton, Stanley Spencer, David Hockney,
Helen Chadwick and Gillian Wearing. During 2017, five of Francis Bacon’s notorious ‘Screaming Popes’ will be on loan to Ferens, including his masterpiece, Head VI (1949) from the Arts Council Collection.Humber Street Gallery is a new contemporary art space nestled in the heart of the city’s Fruit Market cultural quarter. Housed in a former fruit warehouse, the gallery will showcase the best in contemporary visual arts from the shocking to the sublime.
Hull Maritime Museum is housed in the Victorian
Dock Offices in Queen Victoria Square. These nautical themed offices
were designed by Christopher G Wray and originally opened in 1871. Now
they display Hull's maritime activities from the late 18th century to
present. Discover the whaler’s craft of Scrimshaw and see a full sized whale
skeleton, alongside superb ship models and stunning artefacts from
Hull's whaling, fishing and merchant trade.The Hull and East Ridding Museum tells the story of the area over the last 235 million years, from mammoths to Vikings, Romans to the Medieval.
The Hands on History Museum, in the old Grammar School where William Wilberforce studied, houses the story of Hull and its people. Hands on History includes a fascinating glimpse into Victorian times, the Story of Hull and also features the Egyptian Gallery. This gallery is home to a genuine 2,600 year old mummy and unique replicas of King Tutankhamen’s treasures.
Click here to download a Map of Hull City Centre.
There is an associated lecture by Adrian Sumner on Wednesday 17 May. Click here for details.
Worcester and Hanbury Hall
Saturday 22 July
Coach leaves Winsford @ 7.30am through to
Northwich Memorial Court @ 8.00am
Full list of pickup points and times here - schedule (a).
£24 (entry fees extra) - click here to book online
or phone Carol on 07932927694 to reserve your ticket
Worcester Cathedral has been described as possibly the most interesting of all England’s cathedrals, especially architecturally. It was founded in 680. Saint Oswald then built another cathedral in 983, and established a monastery attached to it. Saint Wulfstan, who rebuilt the cathedral in 1084, began the present building.
The Commandery is a glorious Grade 1 listed site dating back to the 12th century, and has had a long and varied history that is reflected in its range of architectural styles from medieval to Victorian. The Commandery has exciting stories to tell you about power, greed, war, wealth, romance, death, society and industry. Worchester City Art Gallery and Museum hosts a unique programme of contemporary art exhibitions, as well as housing a historic picture collection and an intriguing selection of objects ranging from a 19th century chemist’s shop to the wonderful Worcester sauce machine.
Click here to download a Battle of Worcester City Centre Trail and Map.
Tewkesbury
Saturday 12 August
Coach leaves Winsford @ 8.00am through to
Northwich Memorial Court @ 8.30am
Full list of pickup points and times here - schedule (b).
£24 (entry fees extra) - click here to book online
or phone Carol on 07932927694 to reserve your ticket
The Historic Town of Tewkesbury, on the River Severn in Gloucestershire, is where time stood still for 150 years, ensuring the preservation of its medieval character and layout to the present day. It is now a thriving town and at the same time is a living museum of architecture and social history spanning over 500 years. The town has such a perfectly preserved medieval character that in 1964 The Council of British Archaeology listed it amongst 57 towns "so splendid and so precious that the ultimate responsibility for them should be of national concern".
Tewkesbury Abbey bears significant resemblances to its sister church of
St Peter's, Gloucester and the twin western towers seem to have been originally
planned on the lines of those at Southwell Minster. An
indication of this is the thickness of the walls and the solid bays at
the west end of the north and south aisles. But plans for this were
abandoned. However the superb Norman arch together with its flanking
turrets give us what is undoubtedly one of the finest west fronts in
England.
The Norman choir and transepts of Tewkesbury were probably the earliest
four-storeyed buildings in Europe. The tower, completed in the latter
half of the 12th century, is certainly the largest and finest Romanesque
tower in England and dominates not only the building but also the town
and the surrounding countryside. In the south ambulatory are the tombs of some of the earlier abbots.
Among them is the tomb of Abbot Alan who died in 1202. He came to
Tewkesbury as Abbot having been Prior of Canterbury and it is his first
hand account of the martyrdom of St Thomas Becket, still extant in the
British Library, which tells us most of what we know of that tragic
event.
The Town Museum tells the story of Tewkesbury from the Romans, through the Medieval period and the Wars of the Roses, to the Tudors. The John Moore Countryside Museum is a collection displayed to honour the writings on nature conservation of the late John Moore. Central to the museum is the Natural History
Collection of preserved mammals and birds, nearly all the victims of
accidents or predators. Displays of hand tools illustrate how people have shaped the countryside which we know today. The museum also houses part of the Alan R. Jack collection of wildlife sculptures, made entirely from scrap metal parts.Click here to download a Map of Tewkesbury Town Centre
Stoke & Biddulph Grange Gardens
Saturday 9 September
Coach leaves Winsford @ 8.30am through to
Northwich Memorial Court @ 9.00am
Full list of pickup points and times here - schedule (c).
£17 (entry fees extra) - click here to book online
or phone Carol on 07932927694 to reserve your ticket
We start the day at the heart of the Potteries in Hanley, with a visit to the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery. Discover the Staffordshire Hoard display along with the history of the
Potteries, including the world’s greatest collection of Staffordshire
ceramics. See a Spitfire in the home city of its designer, Reginald
Mitchell. Relax at the museum café or browse the Foyer Shop for unique
quality gifts. The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery is also home to
Ozzy the famous pottery owl.
A short walk away is the Emma Bridgewater Factory. Emma Bridgewater first came to
Stoke-on-Trent in 1985 when a local pottery company helped her
to create her very first pieces. In 1996 she and husband Matthew Rice moved
production to the traditional Victorian pot bank alongside the Caldon
Canal where every piece of pottery is still made by hand. Around 185 people work at the Emma
Bridgewater Factory on Lichfield Street, a
site first opened by the Meakin brothers in 1883. There is a shop, cafe and garden.
Hanley is also the major shopping centre for the "six towns".
The Geological Gallery shows how Bateman reconciled geology and theology. The Gallery contains a selection of fossils and geological strata
displayed in a chronological order determined by both mid-19th century
geological knowledge and the Christian story of Genesis. The form in
which the fossils are displayed – separated into bays numbered according
to the days of creation – makes the structure the only survival of its
kind.
