Events - Live and Online
With your ticket you'll be emailed a recording to watch at a time which suits you.
The Victorian Society is an IHBC recognised CPD provider.
We're always looking for volunteers to put on events for us. Please contact us for more information.
Next events:
Building the Victorian and Edwardian terraced house online talk series 2nd Nov-7th Dec
Our online Autumn talk series focuses on the terraced house, the ordinary but much-loved housing that forms the bedrock of English and Welsh cities. Book your place on all 6 events for the price of 5 here. We explore how Victorian and Edwardian terraces came to be. The evolution from the flat fronted Georgian terrace with basement to the classic Victorian and Edwardian bay-windowed house, with front garden, double reception, and side return. Where did that distinctive shape come from? How did urban planning and building regulations develop, how did landowners and builders finance them. We will look at how they were designed, the building trades, materials, design and construction and key drivers such as the development of public transport. We will look at slightly different form of the back-to-back houses characteristic of the working-class districts of the Midlands and the North. To finish we will consider how the terrace house plan form has been reinterpreted by 20th and 21st century architects and how original Victorian and Edwardian terraced housing can be adapted successfully and sustainably for 21st century living. The series looks at examples from around the country, including urban and suburban London, the Welsh Streets of Liverpool, back-to-back housing in Leeds, and new projects in Salford.
Origin, development and decline of back-to-back housing- Tue, Nov 23, 2021, 7:00PM
Joanne Harrison, architect and heritage consultant, will trace the development of back-to-back house building in Leeds. Click here to book
Transport and the development of the Victorian and Edwardian suburbs- Tue, Nov 30, 2021, 7:00PM
Edmund Bird, heritage manager at Transport for London will discuss the development of London's transport infrastructure. Click here to book
The terrace house plan in the 20th and 21st centuries- Tuesday, Dec 7, 2021, 7:00PM
Practicing architect and professor of architecture, Dave King, will cover the reinterpretation and sustainable reuse of the terrace house. Click here to book
Griff Rhys Jones on restoration: That’s the Way the Money Goes
In this talk, The Victorian Society’s President considers how fund-raising can be organised; what the actual price of integrity is; how to work with the planning system; what can be learned from conservation builders; and how to discover the joys of graded slate.
TUESDAY 4 JANUARY at 7.00pm
Country Life at 125 by john Goodall
The first issue of Country Life appeared 125 years ago on 8 January 1897 (see illustration). This late Victorian magazine was in many ways a product of the Arts and Crafts movement and took advantage of the latest printing technology to integrate high-quality photographs within pages of text (and was initially entitled 'Illustrated' to underline this novelty).
TUESDAY 11 JANUARY at 7.00pm
The Victorian Short Story by June Lawrence
In anticipation of the setting up of a monthly Victorian Short Story Reading Group, this lecture will examine the origins and development of the short story during the 19th century, following its progression from Romanticism to Realism and the gradual move towards Modernism.
Wednesday 26 JANUARY at 7.00pm
Splendour in the North: Sharpe, Paley and Austin, a Family Affair
An online talk by Geoff Brandwood
Based in Lancaster, Sharpe, Paley and Austin were the greatest provincial practice in late Victorian and Edwardian England. Best known for their churches, they were responsible for memorable work across a wide range of building types, from country houses to pubs.
SATURDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2.00pm
St John the Baptist, Holland Road
led by Revd Neil Traynor
This dramatic and inspiring Grade 1 church of 1872-89 by James Brooks was completed by J Standen Adkins in 1909-11 after Brook’s death. The church, which has recently undergone a major restoration, has stone carving by J E Taylerson and glass by Clayton & Bell, as well as a fine collection of vestments, banners and altar sets.
MONDAY 7 FEBRUARY 10.00am
Goldsmiths’ Hall
A tour led by Goldsmiths’ archivist.
Nick Cox Architects’ recent restoration work on in this magnificent building of 1829-35 by Philip Hardwick features in the current issue of The Victorian, and the possibility of seeing this work inspired this visit. Hardwick’s drawings will be on show.
WEDNESDAY 9 FEBRUARY 7PM
Prince Albert, architect?
An online talk by Michael Hall
Many buildings are said to have been ‘designed’ by Prince Albert, from Osborne House on the Isle of Wight to Balmoral Castle and the royal dairy at Frogmore. This lecture will ask how much input the Prince had into these buildings and their decoration and will discuss a much less well-known building that is arguably his masterpiece.
TUES 15 FEBRUARY at 7.00pm
Victorian Short Story Reading Group
Led by June Lawrence
Starting with the detective genre, the Reading Group will first discuss a familiar title, Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Adventure of the Speckled Band. The Group will examine the story’s narrative style and its literary portrayal of empire, women and gothic.
SATURDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2.00pm
H Blairman & Sons Ltd
by Martin Drury
The company, established in 1884, is now directed by Martin Levy, representing the fourth generation of this family-run business. Building on its established reputation as a dealer in 18th and early 19th-century English and French furniture and works of art, H Blairman & Sons has developed, over the past four decades, a strong interest in furniture and works of art designed and manufactured during the later nineteenth century and first decades of the twentieth century.
TUESDAY 22 FEBRUARY 7.00PM
E W Pugin
An online talk by Roderick O’Donnell
In the course of a relatively short working life, Edward Welby Pugin established himself as one of the best known and most influential architects working for Roman Catholic patrons.
WEDNESDAY 9 MARCH 7.00PM
William Burges
An online talk by Matthew Williams
Short, fat, eccentric and bad-tempered, Billy Burges created some of the most extraordinary buildings of the nineteenth century. Immersed in the world of the Middle Ages, he designed churches, castles, bridges, interiors, furniture, textiles, metalwork and jewellery for his few, equally individual clients.
TUESDAY 15 MARCH 7.00pm
Victorian Short Story Reading Group
Led by June Lawrence
For a few sessions, the Reading Group will continue its investigation of detective fiction in the form of the short story, including works by Edgar Allan Poe and Arthur Morrison. Refreshments will be provided.
WEDNESDAY 23 MARCH 7PM
David Bryce
An online talk by Neil Jackson
Best known for his Scottish Baronial country houses, David Bryce also built public buildings which reflected the wealth and prosperity of mid-nineteenth century Edinburgh.
TUESDAY 29 MARCH 7PM
Philip Webb at Red House and Standen
An online talk by Tessa Wild
Two famous houses stand at opposite ends of Philip Webb’s career: Red House at Bexleyheath, built for William and Jane Morris in 1859, and Standen, near East Grinstead, built for the London solicitor James Beale and his wife Margaret, in 1891. Their history encompasses not only the development of one of England’s most influential domestic architects but also the story of the Arts and Crafts movement over a generation.
WEDNESDAY 6 APRIL 7PM
Looking at Butterfield
An online talk by Nicholas Olsberg
This talk will concentrate on lesser-known examples of William Butterfield’s work, from the Yorkshire churches on the Humberhead Levels and at Dalton to Salisbury Theological Seminary, Exeter Grammar School and its chapel, and the entre townscape at Gordon Boys’ Home in Bagshot, ending with Chanters House, the memorial chapel, library and garden at Ottery St Mary.
West Yorkshire Victorian Society events
to book please contact [email protected]
Missed a talk? Buy tickets to past talks below:
- Origin and history of the terraced house - recording coming soon
- Real Estate development and the small, terraced house - recording coming soon
- Design and construction of the Victorian and Edwardian terraced house - recording coming soon
- Andrew Saint: London 1870-1914- A City at its Zenith Part 3 - click here to find out more and watch for £5
- Andrew Saint: London 1870-1914- A City at its Zenith Part 2 - click here to find out more and watch for £5
- Andrew Saint: London 1870-1914 - A City at its Zenith Part 1 - click here to find out more and watch for £5
- Glasgow's Commercial Architecture- Evolution of a Mercantile City- Click here to find out and watch for £5!
- Gables and Fables: the Buckler Dynasty - Click here to find out more and watch for £5!
- North and South, Victorian heritage in our pubs - Click here to find out more and watch for £5!
- A Virtual Tour of Saltaire, Victorian model town - Click here to find out more and watch for £5!
- Scale, Inhabitation & detail: reflections from a 5th generation Scott - Click here to find out more and watch for £5
- Caring for our railway heritage: Network Rail & Railway Heritage Trust - Click here soon to find out more and watch for £5!
- Victorian Arts & Crafts silver: Innovation and influence - Anthony Bernbaum of The Peartree Collection explores the rich history of early Arts and Crafts silver - Click here to find out more and watch for £5!
- Grand Designs for Health & Wellbeing in the Victorian Hospital - Click here to find out more and watch for £5!
- The Vaudoyers: French architectural dynasty - Click here to find out more and watch for £5!
- From ‘Lady Woodcarvers’ to Professionals: The Remarkable Pinwill Sisters - Click here to find out more and watch for £5!
- The C19th Ironbridge Gorge - Click here to find out more and watch for £5!
- The Caroe Dynasty: a family and its home over four generations - Click here to find out more and watch for £5!
- Is it or isn’t it? A field guide to Arts & Crafts Churches - Click here to find out more and watch for £5!
- G.F. Bodley and William Morris - Click here to find out more and watch for £5!
- William Leiper's Distinctive Eclecticism - Click here to find out more and watch for £5!
- John Francis Bentley: architect of Westminster Cathedral- Click here to find out more and watch for £5!
- AWN Pugin and the Country House- Click here to find out more and watch for £5!
- Refashioning Gothic: the architecture of Temple Moore - Click here to find out more and watch for £5!
- W.H Crossland - Click here to find out more and watch for £5!
- The Architecture of Sir Ernest George: The Larger Country Houses - Click here to find out more and watch for £5!
- Ten Birmingham Women - Click here to find out more and watch for £5!
- Highgate Cemetery Through Victorian Eyes - Click here to find out more and watch for £5!
- The David Parr House - An Extraordinary Cambridge Home - Click here to find out more and watch for £5!
- Liverpool: Mercantile City - Click here to find out more watch for £5!
- An American Trilogy: Richardson, Sullivan, Wright - Click here to find out more and watch for £5!
- Mr ‘Brass’ Benson: The Unassuming Genius of the Arts and Crafts Movement - Click here to find out more and watch for £5!
- Arts and Crafts Churches - Click here to find out more and watch for £5!
- The New Vauxhall, Southwark and Lambeth Bridges - Click here to find out more and watch for £5!
- Ernest Gimson: Arts & Crafts Designer and Architect - Click here to find out more and watch for £5!
- Not all Lutyens: another look at Victorian and Edwardian Surrey - Click here to find out more and watch for £5!
- The Pub Unwrapped and the Golden Age of Pub-Building - Click here to find out more and watch for £5
- A Passion for Pattern: Victorian Wallpapers - Click here to find out more and watch for £5
- The Edwardians and their Houses - Click here to find out more and to watch for £5
- Queen Victoria's Railways - Click here to find out more and to watch for £5
Victorian Society events are publicised to members below and in the 'Blue Sheet' with our mailings in February, June and October. Some require booking, others you can just turn up on the day.
For events organised by our regional groups, please see the regional group pages:
Birmingham & West Midlands; Leicester; Liverpool; Manchester; West Yorkshire; South Yorkshire and Wales.
Events
Disclaimer, cancellation and accessibility
Please read our disclaimer, which contains information on event cancellations and accessibility.