This is a private visit to the Freemasons Hall in London. 

Please note: Prior to this meeting we will be holding our AGM.

Dr Johnson and his love of books

Samuel Johnson, one of the greatest writers of the 18th century, had the good fortune to be born in a book shop. Thus began his life-long love of books. Often seen entertaining local customers with his impressive talent for recitation, Johnson would later use this knowledge of literature to inform his own writing. Johnson’s reputation for looking after the books in his care, however, did not equal his reputation for writing them, leading to several of his friends refusing to lend him items from their own collections during the compilation of the Dictionary (1755). Join us to hear more from the Hyde Director about Johnson and his love of books.

The Grand Tour completed the education of young aristocrats. Italy was usually the final destination. Classical education, Palladio & his influence on the English Country House & their collections is featured.

Dr Vanessa Jenkins qualified at Barts with honours in surgery. Specialising in occupational Health she has worked in both the private and governement sectors as well as working as a ships doctor and travelling to many destinations. 

How much do you really know about Old London Bridge?

John Martin will fill you in.

He was our ‘greatest theatrical architect’, the creator of 150 magnificent buildings that delighted crowds from Glasgow to Blackpool to London. On the centenary of his death, we celebrate a stage visionary

A pub quiz question. What do the following have in common: Blackpool Tower Ballroom, the Grand Opera House Belfast, Hackney Empire and the London Palladium? All were the creation of Frank Matcham, the centenary of whose death falls this Sunday. Alan Bennett, a devout admirer, called him “undoubtedly this country’s greatest theatrical architect”. At a time when we are resigned to many more months of virtual playgoing, it is a joy to celebrate the sensuous memories of sitting in one of Matcham’s matchless theatres.

The bare facts of his career are fascinating. He was born in Devon in 1854, was apprenticed at 14 to a Torquay architect, came to London in 1875 and joined the practice of Jethro T Robinson, who was consulting architect to the Lord Chamberlain and whose daughter he went on to marry. After Robinson’s death in 1878, Matcham took over the building of the Elephant and Castle theatre in London. But that was just the start. His explosive heyday lasted from 1891 to 1913, when he designed not just theatres and music halls but such local landmarks as the County Arcade in Leeds, Harrogate’s Royal Hall and the Blackpool Tower Circus. It is estimated that he built or rebuilt more than 150 theatres, of which 26 still thankfully survive.

GENTLEMAN OF JAZZ tells the fascinating story of George Chisholm, from his boyhood in a part of Glasgow that made the Gorbals seem upmarket to a 50-year career in jazz that earned him the OBE and saw him work with everyone from Ambrose to Armstrong, from Goodman to the Goons, from Sinatra to Superman.