A member of The Arts Society
Programme 2025
Tuesday 10th June 2025
The Medieval Guildhall
Presented by Ian Swankie
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In the centre of the City of London stands its ancient headquarters, the medieval Guildhall, one of the capital’s hidden gems.
This lecture will be held at Martin Read Hall at Alton College commencing at 7:30pm (doors open 6:45pm) CLICK HERE to see directions.
Thursday 28th August 2025
Guided tour of Longford Castle
and visit to Salisbury and Cathedral
Leaving Alton Station at 9.00am this visit will include a 2 hour guided tour of Longford Castle and a brief stroll of the formal gardens. We will then travel on to Salisbury where there will be an opportunity to have lunch and possibly a visit to the Cathedral and Close. Please click on the button below to see the history of the castle and the full ininerary.
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This event is now fully booked. If you would like to go onto a waiting list for any possible cancellations please complete the booking form below.
Tuesday 9th September 2025
Prague - The City of the Winter Queen
Presented by Douglas Skeggs
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Prague is one of the great treasure houses of Europe. Reduced to a near ruin under the communists, it has now been restored to its former glory
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This lecture will be held at Martin Read Hall at Alton College commencing at 7:30pm (doors open 6:45pm) CLICK HERE to see directions.
Tuesday 14th October 2025
The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and the Architecture of Frank Gehry
Presented by Siân Walters
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Bilbao is now the Basque Country's most important city thanks in no small part to the impact of the Guggenheim Museum, completed in 1997 to huge critical and popular acclaim and described by the celebrated late architect Philip Johnson as "the greatest building of our time”.
This lecture will be held at Martin Read Hall at Alton College commencing at 7:30pm (doors open 6:45pm) CLICK HERE to see directions.
Thursday 30th October 2025
10.00am to 3:15pm
Special Interest Day
The Art & Scandalous Lives of the Bloomsbury Group
Presented by Frank Woodgate
Further details and booking form will be available soon.
This special interest day will be held at Beech Village Hall commencing at 10:00am (doors open 9:30am) CLICK HERE to see directions.
Tuesday 11th November 2025
The Art of Atonement; How Germany commemorates the Second World War
Presented by Angela Findlay
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In the context of our World War centenaries, anniversaries and the current debate about statues and monuments, the subject of this talk is hugely relevant. In this country, relatively little is known about Germany’s complex post-WW2 process....
This lecture will be held at Martin Read Hall at Alton College commencing at 7:30pm (doors open 6:45pm) CLICK HERE to see directions.
Tuesday 9th December 2025
A Very Ceremonial Christmas
Presented by Graham Jones
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This very light-hearted lecture, looks at the various ceremonial events that take place around Christmas time. Carol services, concerts and even Changing
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This lecture will be held at Martin Read Hall at Alton College commencing at 7:30pm (doors open 6:45pm) CLICK HERE to see directions.
Programme 2026
Tuesday 13th January 2026
The Virgins of the National Gallery
Presented by Anthony Russell
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The National Gallery has an extraordinarily rich collection of images of the Virgin Mary, especially for a nation that formally broke the ties with the Church in Rome. It is sometimes
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This lecture will be held at Martin Read Hall at Alton College commencing at 7:30pm (doors open 6:45pm) CLICK HERE to see directions.
Tuesday 10th February 2026
The Art of Courtly Love
Presented by Sally Dormer
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“Love is a certain inborn suffering, derived from the sight of and excessive meditation upon the beauty of the opposite sex”.
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This lecture will be held at Martin Read Hall at Alton College commencing at 7:30pm (doors open 6:45pm) CLICK HERE to see directions.
Tuesday 10th March 2026
Brett Whitely's Lavender Bay
Presented by Paul Chapmen
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Brett Whiteley is one of Australia’s most admired painters. After spending the 1960s in London and New York, Whiteley returned to Sydney in 1970 and made Lavender Bay...
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This lecture will be held at Martin Read Hall at Alton College commencing at 7:30pm (doors open 6:45pm) CLICK HERE to see directions.
Tuesday 14th April 2026
In the National Interest:
Art, The Sun King and the Academic Revolution
Presented by Richard Whincop
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​The Academie Royale de peinture et de Sculpture was founded in 1648 under Louis XIV of France, the 'Sun King', and placed the visual arts under direct royal control.
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This lecture will be held at Martin Read Hall at Alton College commencing at 7:30pm (doors open 6:45pm) CLICK HERE to see directions.
Tuesday 12th May 2026
Wonderful Things Tutankhamun's Tombs and Treasurers
Presented by Lucia Gahlin
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The unearthing of Tutankhamun’s tomb by Howard Carter in 1922 was arguably the greatest of all archaeological discoveries. The name of this boy-king...
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This lecture will be held at Martin Read Hall at Alton College commencing at 7:30pm (doors open 6:45pm) CLICK HERE to see directions.
Tuesday 9th June 2026
What Really Happened at the Yellow House in Aires in 1888?
Presented by Julian Halsby
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In October 1888 Paul Gauguin arrived in Arles to stay at the Yellow House with Vincent van Gogh. At first the friendship worked well...
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This lecture will be held at Martin Read Hall at Alton College commencing at 7:30pm (doors open 6:45pm) CLICK HERE to see directions.
Tuesday 8th September 2026
Banksy - Fraud or Genius
Presented by PepeMartinez
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The lecture will trace the story of Banksy’s humble beginnings as a tagger on the streets of Bristol in the 1980’s to one of the most recognisable names in the art world.
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This lecture will be held at Martin Read Hall at Alton College commencing at 7:30pm (doors open 6:45pm) CLICK HERE to see directions.
Tuesday 13th October 2026
She Loves You, Music of the 60's
Presented by Steve King
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By 1960 interest in rock ‘n’ roll had started to fade, its biggest star was moving on and a new generation of teenagers were seeking something different.
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This lecture will be held at Martin Read Hall at Alton College commencing at 7:30pm (doors open 6:45pm) CLICK HERE to see directions.
Tuesday 10th November 2026
Osborne, Pinter and Co; Post War British Theatre
Presented by Giles Ramsey
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In 1956 British theatre audiences heard a harsh new voice in John Osborne's play "Look Back in Anger". Within two years Pinter's extraordinary play "The Birthday Party"....
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This lecture will be held at Martin Read Hall at Alton College commencing at 7:30pm (doors open 6:45pm) CLICK HERE to see directions.
Tuesday 8th December 2026
Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht
The story of the world-renowned Christmas carol
Presented by Peter Medhurst
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The Austrian carol Stille Nacht Heilige Nacht - Silent Night, Holy Night - came into being just over 1800 years after the birth of Christ, and....
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This lecture will be held at Martin Read Hall at Alton College commencing at 7:30pm (doors open 6:45pm) CLICK HERE to see directions.
