NEWSLETTERS
NEWSLETTER No 87 : APRIL 2010
I would like to say how honoured I am to be invited by the committee to be Chairman of The Marble Hill Society. My term of office runs from 1st April 2010.
Janet Clarke
First I would like to take this opportunity to thank Janet Clarke for all very hard work, which she has done in chairing this society. She once again took on the reins of chairmanship in September 2008 in a difficult time in the society’s history. She has worked “like a Trojan” to keep the society going. She will be a very difficult act to follow.
Georgian River Journey
On Sunday 7th March 2010, the Members were treated to a fascinating illustrated talk by Bruce Gordon-Smith. He described an imaginary journey down river from the White Swan, Twickenham to Greenwich in the time when Henrietta Howard would have been living at Marble Hill. Bruce showed a great variety of interesting paintings and prints, many of which were well known. The event, which was held at 11.30 am, was well attended and this should augur well for future Sunday morning meetings
Future events
Sunday 27th June 2010 - Summer Party with entertainment - 7.30 for 8 p.m
This year, we are very fortunate to have two up and coming sopranos Emily and Milena with an accompanist, Libby, all of whom are post-graduate students from Trinity College of Music. They have prepared a very interesting programme. This is always a popular event, so please book as early as possible to be assured a place.
Booking form attached. Cost £15. We need volunteers to help with the catering. If you are able to volunteer please contact Vicky Price - 020 8892 7969
Friday 9th July 2010 Visit to Osterley Park (National Trust) 10.00 for 10.30 a m
I am arranging to lead a party of members around Osterley Park and I shall talk about its history and architecture. Osterley probably has one of the finest Adam interiors of any house in the country, but the house also has a fascinating history. Sir Thomas Gresham a leading Elizabethan entrepreneur built the original house. Elizabeth I was the first visitor to the house. In the late 17th century it was acquired by Nicholas Barbon, whose ruthless methods as a property speculator would have embarrassed Rachman. It was acquired by the Child family in the 1713 when they foreclosed on the mortgage. They married into the Jersey family and the ninth earl of Jersey gave Osterley to the National Trust in 1949.
Booking form attached. Cost £7.50 including coffee. No concessions for NT members. There is ample parking near the house. The nearest underground station is Osterley on the Piccadilly line. Numbers limited.
Sunday 19th September - Book Sale All day:
This is also one of the days of London Open Weekend. Keep your unwanted paper backs for the book sale. Volunteers will be needed.
Monday, 27th September - 7.30 for 8 p.m. - AGM and talk on "Tulipmania" by Dr. Celia Fisher, NADFAS lecturer.
More details will be in next edition of the Newsletter
Sunday 28th November - 11 for 11.30 a.m. - coffee followed by talk on Emma Hamilton by Kate Williams.
More details will be in next edition of the Newsletter
Sunday 16th January 2011 - 11.30 for 12 noon - Winter Party
More details in due course
Sunday 20th March - 11 for 11.30 a.m. - coffee followed by Doug Reynolds talking about aspects of Richmond Park
More details in due course
The Grotto
The society has contributed £170 plus vat towards the restoration of the Grotto
Thames Landscape Strategy
Thames Landscape Strategy has set up a steamer service to run in the summer months up to Hampton Court from the pier by Marble Hill
The Internet
I, like most people who are of a certain age, often hate the internet as much as I find it useful. However, if you are on the internet, please, please, give your internet details to our membership secretary Elizabeth Velluet whose e-mail is elizabethvelluet@yahoo.co.uk. This will allow us to send you the Newsletter and other information about the Marble Hill Society by e-mail. If most members can be reached by e-mail, this in turn will save the society substantial sums of money which can be used for the benefit of members. Those, who are not on the internet, please be assured that you will continue to receive the Newsletter etc. by post as before.
Membership
The membership of this society is about 125. The Chiswick House Friends have 500 members. Please do all you can to help us increase the membership by finding new members and telling them what an excellent programme we have. In 2012 the Marble Hill Society will be celebrating its 25th birthday. I would like to aim to increase our membership to 250 by then.
If you want to bring a non-member friend to the society’s talks, please do so, but please note we do charge non-members £3.
The Marble Hill Society aims to bring together people with an interest both in the house and the park, to encourage wider knowledge of the site and to help English Heritage to preserve its history and enhance its amenities.
John Moses
Chairman
THE MARBLE HILL SOCIETY
Subscriptions for the year 2010/2011 are due on 1st April, 2010. To renew your membership, please send a cheque payable to The Marble Hill Society, with a stamped addressed envelope, to The Membership Secretary, 9, Bridge Road, Twickenham, TW1 1RE
Annual subscription: £8 (individual) £12 (double)
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(If you not wish to receive the Newsletter by e-mail, leave this blank.)
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THE MARBLE HILL SOCIETY
SUMMER PARTY SUNDAY 27TH JUNE 2010
If you would like to come to the Summer Party, please send a cheque for £15 per member, payable to The Marble Hill Society, with a stamped addressed envelope, to The Membership Secretary, 9, Bridge Road, Twickenham, TW1 1RE
Name……………………………………………………………………………………………..
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THE MARBLE HILL SOCIETY
VISIT TO OSTERLEY PARK FRIDAY 9TH JULY 2010
If you would like to go on the trip to Osterley Park, please send a cheque for £7.50 per member, payable to The Marble Hill Society, with a stamped addressed envelope, to The Membership Secretary, 9, Bridge Road, Twickenham, TW1 1RE
Name……………………………………………………………………………………………..
Address……………………………………………………………………………………………
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Number of tickets
Back
NEWSLETTER NO 86 : FEBRUARY 2010
The Marble Hill Society aims to bring together people with an interest in Marble Hill, both the House and the Park, to encourage wider knowledge of the site and to help English Heritage to preserve its history and enhance its amenities. We are glad to see new members and welcome guests for a small fee (£3), which may be deducted from the cost of a new subscription if the guest wishes to join the Society.
Future Events
I do apologise for the decision to cancel the Winter Party in January. The weather was so bad and the paths in the Park treacherous: it was definitely the only thing we could do. I’m sorry. However, we now have our March Event, the last of the current series. This is on Sunday, 7th March. We shall be serving coffee from 11 a.m. and after half an hour will take an illustrated Georgian River Journey, under the guidance of Bruce Gordon Smith, travelling from The White Swan in Twickenham (hardly changed) to Greenwich – or the other way round! Bruce has some very interesting contemporary pictures to show us of the London of the period. We are looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible as we missed the last meeting and there will be no need to worry about walking across the Park in the dark. We shall be holding a small raffle.
Following from this, it is time to look forward to the new programme and the renewal of subscriptions. Where has the time gone? Not all the final details have been settled, but in brief, we shall have our Summer Party on Sunday, 27th June and the AGM and talk on Monday, 27th September. These will be the only evening events. The remaining House events are on Sunday mornings. On 28th November, Kate Williams will talk about Emma Hamilton, a strong eighteenth character, of “our” period and who had local connections. The Winter Party is on 16th January, 2011 and on 20th March, Doug Reynolds, the Vice-President of the Friends of Richmond Park, will take us on an Illustrated Tour of that Park. In addition, it is hoped to have one or two other events away from the House and details will be circulated in due course. The Book Sale will be on 19th September, subject to confirmation. If any of you have ideas for future talks and events, please don’t hesitate to suggest them: they would be more than welcome.
Renewal of Subscriptions
An application form for renewal of subscriptions is at the end of this letter. Once again we urge as many of you as possible to provide email addresses for the Newsletters in order to save us time and money. Thank you.
Marble Hill Park
English Heritage have been carrying out some external work in the grotto area. The surrounding greenery has been considerably reduced in height to give more light and air into the site and the Rangers are currently working to replace the steps down to the entrance – hoping to find the bottom step long since “lost” under leaf mould. The Society has funded the purchase of materials for the steps. Work on the interior of the grotto is a dream for the far distant future.
The Society will also support two bat walks this summer, possibly in August and September. Only one was held last year but the interest is sufficient to hold two walks annually. Further information about events in the House and Park will be publicised in due course. Finally, if you know of anyone who regularly plays tennis or cricket in the Park, you might like to pass on to them that the Rangers are now issuing season tickets for hire of courts/pitches. Further information from anna.soleamat@english-heritage.org.uk.
New Chairman
My term of office as Chairman finishes at the end of this March, and John Moses will take over subject to approval on 7th March. I wish him every success.
Janet Clarke
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THE MARBLE HILL SOCIETY
Subscriptions for the year 2010/2011 are due on 1st April, 2010. To renew your membership, please send a cheque payable to The Marble Hill Society, with a stamped addressed envelope, to The Membership Secretary, 9, Bridge Road, Twickenham, TW1
Annual subscription: £8 (individual) £12 (double)
Name……………………………………………………………………………………………..
Address……………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Postcode…………………….
Email address………………………………………………………………………………………
I/We are willing/unwilling to receive the Newsletter by email. Please delete as necessary.
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NEWSLETTER No 85b : November 2009
The Marble Hill Society aims to bring together people with an interest in Marble Hill, both the House and the Park, to encourage wider knowledge of the site and to help English Heritage to preserve its history and enhance its amenities. We are glad to see new members and welcome guests for a small fee (£3), which may be deducted from the cost of a new subscription if the guest wishes to join the Society.
Future Events
Our next event is the Winter Party on Sunday 10th January 2010, 12 noon for a 12.30 entertainment. On this occasion we are changing the timing to avoid members having to walk through the Park in the dark in the evening. The event will follow the usual format but at lunch-time rather than in the evening. We hope the experiment is successful. We are very happy to welcome a young harpist, Cecilia Sultana de Maria, to perform for us. She is very highly recommended by the Royal College of Music and has already given a recital at the Wigmore Hall. As usual at this time of year we are having a raffle and welcome donations, say, of unwanted Christmas presents. The tickets are £15 each, to include light food and the recital. A booking form is at the end of the Newsletter.
The last event of this season is again a morning event for the above reasons. It is on Sunday, 7th March, 11 a.m. for 11.30 when Bruce Gordon Smith will give an illustrated talk on the theme of a Georgian boat trip from the Queen’s House, Greenwich, to Marble Hill. Coffee will be served.
Past Events
Looking backwards, September was a busy month with three events: the presentation of their new books by Alison Weir and Tracy Borman, our Book Sale which coincided with Open House and where we raised £348, and the AGM and talk by Anna Chalcraft on the “Restoration of Strawberry Hill”. Among many other interesting stories, Anna told us that the restorers have had a lot of surprises - the discovery of the remnants of three other houses on the site, for example, and that Walpole’s famous Gothick “gloomth” was partly achieved by his having very dark grey paintwork highlighted in gold. The restoration is unlikely to be completed until the early Autumn, 2010 and as it is a very near neighbour of ours, we hope to have a guided tour as soon as it can be arranged after that.
Annual General Meeting
This was a fairly brief event. We were happy that all the existing Committee agreed to be re-elected for the coming year and in addition, Kate James, who had served before, was re-elected. Officers for the coming year are as follows:
Chairman : Janet Clarke (until the end of March, 2010)
Vice Chairman : John Moses
Treasurer : James Keville
Membership Secretary : Liz Velluet
Minutes Secretary : Bruce Gordon Smith
Programme Secretary : vacant
Committee members : Jane Edwards, Christine Hay, Denise Carr, Tracy Borman and Kate James.
In addition, our financial situation is reasonably healthy and subscriptions for the year 2010/2011 will remain the same. There will, however, be a vacancy as Chairman from next April as I shall be moving out of the area in the not too far distant future after that. The Committee would like your nominations, with a seconder, as soon as possible. Please contact me, Janet Clarke, 020 8892 0588 or email jfranet25@tiscali.co.uk with your suggestions.
Winter Fair
The Committee meet representatives from English Heritage twice a year and we last did this at the end of October. There is to be a Winter Fair on the weekend of 19th/20th December to coincide with an intriguing display on the ground floor and first floor areas of the House by artist Michael Coldman, who is “stepping back into the past”: he has known the House and park for many, many years. There is free admission to the House and the shop will be well stocked with Christmas goodies. Do come along and bring your friends.
Arising from these meetings we wonder whether any of you are interested in becoming a Marble Hill guide. EH has suggested that members might like to be trained to lead garden history tours around the grounds. Our first step is to ask whether any of you are interested in the idea and whether you are available at weekends and/or weekdays. If you would like to know more, please contact either the website or myself as above. The Society currently has five House guides. For a number of years they have been leading ninety minute tours around the House on Sundays in May, September and October. On request they have also supplemented the House staff by leading groups on “paid for” tours during the week. Although our guides are now covering the designated weeks quite comfortably, the Society would nevertheless be pleased to hear from members who might wished to be trained as a House guide in the event of a vacancy occurring at some point in the future.
Other News
Visitor numbers to the House are well up on last year and there are ideas for new themed tours for the future. Most interesting, though, is that the property is proving very popular with film makers so look out for snippets of the House or park on TV or at the cinema. (Surprisingly, for example, in one instance, it was cheaper to bring a flock of sheep to the park for one film scene than transport the crew and actors to the Cotswolds or wherever!)
Christmas Greetings
If it isn’t too early, may we wish you all a very Happy Christmas and New Year and we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at our winter events.
Booking Form
The Marble Hill Society Winter Party
Sunday, 10th January, 2010 at 12 noon for 12.30
Tickets are £15 each which includes light food and a concert in the Great Room. Please send a cheque payable to the Marble Hill Society, with a stamped addressed envelope, to Mrs. Elizabeth Velluet, 9, Bridge Road, Twickenham, TW1 1RE.
Name………………………………………………………………………………………………
Address…………………………………………………………………………………………….
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No. of tickets………………………….Phone No………………………………………………….
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NEWSLETTER No 85a : July 2009
Future Events
This is a brief Newsletter primarily to provide an application form for tickets for our special presentation “The Whore and the Virgin” on Thursday, 10th September, 7.30 for 8 p.m. when Alison Weir and Tracy Borman will tell us about their new books on Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I. Tickets are £4 for members and £7.50 for guests.
Also to remind you that we are having our Book Sale on Sunday, 20th September in the Park from about 10 a.m., and that we need lots of paperbacks and more helpers on the day. Please phone me, Janet Clarke, on 020 8892 0588 if you can help in any way. It would be much appreciated. Shortly after the book sale, on Monday 28th September, we are having an illustrated talk by Anna Chalcraft on The restoration work being carried out at Strawberry Hill and the discoveries made. Major work is being done there and some interesting things uncovered. The talk will be preceded by a brief AGM. Here again we do need your assistance in the way of more help on the Committee. If you are willing yourself, or can suggest somebody else, please do not hesitate to telephone me, Janet Clarke, as above. I can assure you it is not an onerous commitment.
The Park and its Environs
Finally, some news from the Park and its environs. Members will have been aware of horse chestnut trees in the Park suffering from bleeding canker and twenty trees have had to be felled, which is very sad. Now there is some possible good news in that English Heritage is trialling a new treatment – injecting the trees with an extract of garlic! Trials in the Netherlands have been promising. “Our trees” are now being injected and we hope for a successful outcome. One extra benefit is that the leaves of injected trees smell of garlic, which repels the horse chestnut leaf-mining moth, another major pest. Fingers crossed. Also on wildlife, the bat-friendly lamps will be installed along the Warren Footpath from the end of this month. This may necessitate temporary diversions while the work is being carried out. Look out for notices.
Booking Form
Presentation by Alison Weir and Tracy Borman
Thursday, 10th September at 7.30 for 8 p.m.
Tickets are £4 for members and £7.50 for guests. Please send a cheque payable to The Marble Hill Society, with a stamped addressed envelope to Mrs. Elizabeth Velluet, 9, Bridge Road, Twickenham, TW1 1RE.
Name……………………………………………………………………………………
Address…………………………………………………………………………………
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NEWSLETTER No 84 : March 2009
Past events
The speaker at our March meeting had to be changed at the last minute and we are so grateful to Cathy Power of English Heritage for coming to our rescue and suggesting Richard Lea, an architectural historian, also of English Heritage. Richard gave us a fascinating talk on the use of graphic sources in the restoration of Danson House in Bexley. Designed by Robert Taylor, of whom more below, Richard has established that Sir William Chambers, (Kew Gardens and Somerset House), was responsible for much of the interior.
Future events
Our next event is the Summer Party in the House on Sunday, 21st June at 7.30 p.m. when we shall have an entertainment and a two-course supper. An application form for the purchase of tickets is given below and we would be grateful if you could return this form quickly in order to help with catering numbers. If anyone would be willing to assist us with the catering, it is not too late! We provide recipes and expenses are reimbursed. If you can help, please phone me, Janet Clarke 020 8892 0588. Thank you.
Shortly after, on Tuesday, 14th July from 11.30 a.m. there is an event not listed in the current programme. John Moses has arranged a Society visit to Asgill House, also designed by Robert Taylor. Numbers are limited to about 25. As the House is not very big, John has arranged for the party to be divided in half and while one party is conducted round the House by the owner, John will take the second group into Trumpeter’s House next door, where there is a very fine garden. Then the procedure is reversed. We are grateful to both owners for giving us this opportunity. The cost of this outing is £10 and an application form is given below.
In the Autumn, it has been necessary to change the timing of our events slightly. The presentation “The Whore and the Virgin” by Alison Weir and Tracy Borman will now take place on Thursday, 10th September instead of the date listed. Please note. This a ticketed event and a further note will be sent later with an application form: we have more than enough forms with this letter! Following shortly after, we shall be holding the Society’s book sale on Sunday, 20th September in the Park. We really do need lots and lots of help here both on the stall and, of course, in producing books. Please save all your paperbacks and any children’s books for us and phone me, as above, if you can help in any way at all. Thank you. The success of the stall really does depend on what we can collect. It does seem to attract people in the Park.
The third and last application form is for the renewal of subscriptions which became due on 1st April: £8 single and £12 double. Thank you to those who have already renewed and to those who have given email addresses to enable us to forward Newsletters electronically. It really does save time and money. To those still to renew, it would be very helpful if it could be done straightaway, and to provide email addresses if possible, again to save on Committee effort.
Events from English Heritage
Sunday afternoon tours
There are tours in the House on Sunday afternoons during May and June at 2 p.m. and 3.15 p.m. The May tours are conducted by Society members and in June by EH staff. Members of the Society, of course, have free admission to the House.
Rangers events
On 23rd May at 12 noon, the Rangers are running an event ”Be nice to nettles.” Meet at the House. Tickets £3 per person.
The Rangers are also running historic park tours on 6th and 13th June at 11 a.m. and 12 noon. Again meet outside the House.
Tickets, which include entry to the House, are £6.40, £5.70 seniors, £4.20 children, aged 5-15, and £2 for Society and EH members. Children’s nature trails are also planned.
Art Exhibition
In June, Richmond College are holding an art exhibition in the House on 2nd and 3rd June, 11-4 p.m. with a guided tour by one of the artists at 2 p.m. and 4th June 11-8 p.m. with guided tours 2 p.m. and 6.30 p.m. Admission free. Last year’s show was fun and quite quirky, so give it a go.
Volunteers
Finally, EH are inviting members of the public to the House on Saturday, 13th June, 3-5 p.m. for a volunteers’ day. They are requesting assistance largely for work in the Park. Admission is free and tea and coffee will be provided. For further details of these and other future events, call the House 020 8892 5115.
Other news
A book is shortly to appear entitled “London’s Country Houses” by Caroline Knight, an architectural historian. The book describes and illustrates how the prosperous upper and middle classes of London built second-homes, as distinct from country estates, in the suburbs to escape from the City, from the late 15th century until about 1900 to entertain and display their wealth. The area covered is within the M25 and locally, it describes Marble Hill, Orleans House, Pope’s Villa, Strawberry Hill, Whitton Place, Asgill House, White Lodge, Ham House, Sudbrook House, Kneller Hall and York House. A good read.
The annual Great River Race will take place on Saturday, 5th September. This year, and for the first time because of tide times, it will be run in reverse starting at Greenwich and finishing at Ham House during the afternoon. Some 300 boats compete and the theory is that with a weighting system, they will all finish at the same time. Fortunately they don’t. The spectacle should last a couple of hours and it is hoped to have a party atmosphere afterwards mainly on the Ham side: it is planned, for instance, that with the help of Orleans Gallery staff, local children will decorate the boats on arrival. Do come and watch.
After exhaustive surveys, the street lights along the Warren footpath from Orleans to Richmond Bridge are likely to be changed this summer to install bat friendly “intelligent” lights, which can be dimmed and even put off during the night while no pedestrians are there. Eight of the seventeen UK species of bats inhabit this area. The new, modern looking lights will not only encourage the bats, but will also be safer for pedestrians and less expensive to run. The funding comes from the Heritage Lottery plus a BIFFA award and the project is being managed by London’s Arcadia. The footpath will be the first in the country to install such lighting though it has been used in Europe. The results will be closely monitored.
The Committee hopes to see you all at our events.
Booking Forms
Subscriptions
Subscriptions for the year 2009/10 were due on 1st April, 2009. To renew your membership, please send a cheque payable to The Marble Hill Society with a stamped addressed envelope to The Membership Secretary, 9, Bridge Road, Twickenham, TW1 1RE
Annual subscription: £8 (individual) £12 (double)
Name……………………………………………………………………………………
Address…………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………Postcode…………………
email address…………………………………………..
I/We are willing/unwilling to receive the Newsletter via email. (Please delete as necessary.)
…………………………………………………………………………………………
The Marble Hill Society Summer Party
Sunday, 21st June at 7.30 p.m.
Tickets are £15 each which includes a buffet supper and entertainment in the Great Room. Finish at 10 p.m.
Please send a cheque payable to The Marble Hill Society, with a stamped addressed envelope for your return tickets to Mrs. Elizabeth Velluet, 9, Bridge Road, Twickenham, TW1 1RE
Name…………………………………………………………………………………
Address………………………………………………………………………………
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No. of tickets…………………………………….Telephone no…………………….
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Visit to Asgill House and Trumpeter’s House
Tuesday, 14th July at 11.30 a.m.
Tickets are £10 each. Please send a cheque payable to The Marble Hill Society , with a stamped addressed envelope, to Mrs. Elizabeth Velluet, 9, Bridge Road, Twickenham, TW1 1RE.
Name……………………………………………………………………………………
Address………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………Postcode…………………..No. of tickets………………
