Events
Victorian Society events are first publicised to members in the 'Blue Sheet' with our mailings in February, June and October before appearing below. Some require booking, others you can just turn up on the day. A ballot is held for oversubscribed events with first preference for members.
For events organised by our regional groups, please see the regional group pages:
Birmingham & West Midlands; Leicester; Liverpool; Manchester; South Yorkshire and Wales.
We're always looking for volunteers to put on events for us. Please contact our Events Administrator for more information.
1900 Great Cities 2 lecture series
Wednesday 09 January 6:30 PM to Monday 18 February 8:00 PM
This series explores the history and architecture of seven great cities in Britain and Ireland, France and the United States in the Victorian age. We see how they adapted and responded to the buildings and environment that they inherited, met the challenges of hectic urban growth and profound social problems, and created much remarkable new architecture in the process. Series...
Price for single delegate: £77.00
Booking available1901 An 1890s House in Clapham
Thursday 24 January 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Although tens of thousands of middle class terraced houses were built in London at the end of the 19th century, very few have retained their character and fittings through changes in fashion and the ravages of time. This is a rare chance to see the colourful and atmospheric interiors of such an 1890s house in Clapham, along with the collection...
Price for single delegate: £17.00
Sold out1902 John Ruskin Exhibition at Two Temple Place
Friday 01 February 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Artist, art critic, educator, social thinker and true polymath, John Ruskin (1819-1900) devoted his life to the pursuit of knowledge. To mark the bicentenary of his birth, this new exhibition produced by Two Temple Place, Museums Sheffield and the Guild of St George, celebrates the legacy and enduring relevance of Ruskin’s ideas and vision. John Ruskin: The Power of Seeing...
Price for single delegate: £20.00
Booking available1903 Visit to the Travellers Club
Tuesday 12 February 10:00 AM to 11:45 AM
The Travellers Club was founded in 1819 for gentlemen who could prove they had travelled at least 500 miles from London. In 1832 Charles Barry designed a purpose-built clubhouse on Pall Mall. Barry was inspired by the Palazzo Pandolfini in Florence as well as palatial Venetian gardens, selectively drawing upon Italy’s Renaissance architectural heritage and blending it in a uniquely...
Price for single delegate: £20.00
Sold out1904 Dine at the Half Moon, Herne Hill
Monday 25 February 7:30 PM to 10:30 PM
Join us for a drink, a delicious three-course dinner and sociable evening at the Half Moon, Herne Hill. This wonderful late Victorian pub-cum-hotel was built in 1894-6 and was under threat after a long period of closure following a major flood. It has been brought back to life after a takeover by London’s last major brewer, Fullers of Chiswick, with...
Price for single delegate: £50.00
Booking available1905 Visit to Westminster Cathedral
Saturday 16 March 2:00 PM to 4:30 PM
Peter Howell leads a tour of Westminster Cathedral, the masterpiece of John Francis Bentley (1895-1903), including the sacristy and crypt. Meet inside the Cathedral under the clock at the west end. Tube and rail: Victoria. £15. Booking required.*
Price for single delegate: £15.00
Booking available1906 Visit to City & Guilds of London Art School
Tuesday 19 March 2:30 PM to 4:00 PM
City & Guilds of London Art School traces its origins to the 1850s, when it began life as the Lambeth School of Art, working closely with local industrialists such as Henry Doulton whose factory was located nearby and with whom the Art School developed a curriculum that trained students (many of whom were women) for the pottery trade and to...
Price for single delegate: £17.00
Sold out1907 A Walk around the Angel
Saturday 06 April 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
This walk led by Alec Forshaw will look at some of the fine Victorian and Edwardian buildings that help to give such a distinctive character to the centre and old village core of Islington. Starting and finishing at the Angel it will include the former Royal Agricultural Hall, the central Post Office and other commercial buildings, Barry’s Holy Trinity Church...
Price for single delegate: £15.00
Booking available1990 Supper lecture: Goths v Romans - the battle for the Foreign Office
Thursday 21 February 6:45 PM to 10:00 PM
A talk by James Stourton. In 1855 an international competition was announced inviting designs for a new Foreign Office building. 218 designs were received, ranging from neo-classical to Gothic and French Empire styles. In fact not one of the winning designs was ever built. Initially George Gilbert Scott's Gothic style was favoured, but eventually it was a Roman-inspired design which was...
Price for single delegate: £30.00
Booking available