Welcome to the Events page
What follows is a chronological list of what is currently planned by way of visits to museums, galleries and other places of interest, gallery talks, Behind the Scenes visits in the city, Saturday afternoon talks and special events where the Friends will have a presence.
Following that is a list of online events that the museum service is organizing.
We hope you will find things to interest you.
Please note: if you book online, the payment receipt from PayPal does not mean that you have secured a place. The organizer receives a weekly update of such payments and will email you to advise when you have a firm booking.
Also, Behind the Scenes visits and gallery tours are usually restricted to groups of around 15. If such an event attracts a larger number of applications, as it often does, the organizer will try to arrange a second (or more) tour(s), which could be at a later time on the advertised day or on a later date. If this occurs, the organizer will contact you to make the appropriate arrangements.
Please note:
Members may take photographs when we are on our trips to illustrate an article about the visit that will appear in the following newsletter.
Please make it clear to the organizer if you do not wish to feature in any such picture.
Behind the Scenes: The Observatory
As the original date became full, this second date has been arranged.
Now a Grade ll listed building, the Observatory was originally built as a windmill in the 1760s. It contains one of the few remaining, intact camera obscuras in the country, a museum and access to the Giant’s Cave, as well as a cafe and stunning views. There will be an introductory talk.
Cost: £12.00 per person.
To book online please use the link below:
For postal bookings, please use the form enclosed with the March newsletter, AMENDING THE DATE.
Organizer: Carol Ouvry, carol@ouvry.myzen.co.uk; 0117 302 1039.
Illustrated Talk: Margaret Crump on James Cowles Prichard of the Red Lodge
Author Margaret Crump’s biography of James Cowles Prichard, one of the founders of the Bristol Institution, the forerunner of Bristol Museum, will be published in June.
While contributing to the development of the disciplines of psychiatry and anthropology, and publishing on a variety of other topics, Prichard practised as a physician in Bristol from 1810 to 1845, living in the Red Lodge for nearly 20 years.
The talk will be followed by tea/coffee and cake.
Cost: £9.50 per person
(Non-members are welcome, if there are places available, but MEMBERS take priority.)
To book a place online use the following link:
For postal bookings, please use the form enclosed with the March newsletter.
Administrator: Catherine Dixon, blackrockcfd@hotmail.com; 01275 849200.
Illustrated Talk: Troopers Hill and Crew’s Hole
Rob Acton-Campbell of Friends of Troopers Hill will talk about this unique site in east Bristol, its surroundings and some of the key figures that have been part of its history.
The talk will be followed by tea / coffee and cake.
Cost: £9.50 per person.
To book a place online use the link below.
A booking form was enclosed with the June newsletter for postal bookings.
Contact: Catherine Dixon; blackrockcfd@hotmail.com; 01275 849200
Behind the Scenes: Gallery tour of Gender Stories exhibition with Helen McConnell Simpson
Co-produced with Liverpool and Brighton& Hove Museums, this exhibition is a diverse collection of art, artefacts and personal stories as well as new artist commissions delving into the world of gender and exploring the connections between sex, gender, sexuality and identity across different cultures and history.
Cost: £8.50 per person
To book a place online use the link below.
A booking form was enclosed with the June newsletter for postal applications.
Contact: Carol Ouvry; carol@ouvry.myzen.co.uk; 0117 302 1039
Bristol Harbour Festival Cakes and Jigsaws Sale
Please volunteer to bake cakes, bring second-hand jigsaws (complete) and homemade preserves and/or give a couple of hours of your time to sell them at L Shed. Or just come along and enjoy the event.
A volunteer form was enclosed with the June newsletter.
Contact: Mary Baily; events@friendsofbmga.org.uk; 0117 942 1944
Visit: Wilton House, near Salisbury
The house and gardens at Wilton, the seat of the Earls of Pembroke since 1544, are Grade I listed. Fine collections of furniture and paintings are on view in the state rooms.
Cost: £44.50 per person
To book a place online use the link below.
A booking form was enclosed with the June newsletter for postal applications.
Contact: Carol Lear; carolear@btinternet.com; 0117 942 3610
Cake Sale at L Shed to celebrate Bristol Tramways Company 150th Anniversary
Please volunteer to bake cakes and/or give a couple of hours of your time to sell them at L Shed. Or just come along and enjoy the event.
There will be a significant display of former Bristol Omnibus Company buses on Prince’s Wharf, with regular free, short rides on some of them.
Contact: Mary Bailey; events@friendsofbmga.org.uk; 0117 942 1944
Visit: St Fagan’s Museum of National History, Wales
In the grounds of St Fagan’s Castle, the museum features a variety of historic domestic, spiritual and commercial buildings, removed from their original surroundings and reconstructed on the site, reflecting life in Wales in times past.
The gardens are well worth visiting too.
Cost: £42.50 per person
To book a place online use the link below.
A booking form was enclosed with the June newsletter for postal applications.
Contact: Richard Avery; membership@friendsofbmga.org.uk; 0117 329 6656
Illustrated Talk: Ellen Sharples 1769-1849
Alison Bevan, former Director of the RWA, will describe the story of Ellen Wallace, the daughter of a Lancashire blacksmith, who went on to marry her drawing tutor, James Sharples.
Ellen painted many portraits of famous people, making her home in Bristol in later life.
Cost: £9.50 per person
To book a place online use the link below.
A booking form was enclosed with the June newsletter for postal applications.
Contact: Catherine Dixon; blackrockcfd@hotmail.com; 01275 849200
Visit: Owlpen Manor, near Dursley
A chance for a guided tour of the home of the Manders family. This manor house is a mixture of Tudor, Jacobean, Georgian, and Arts and Crafts styles, set in beautiful gardens. The visit finishes with a cream tea.
Travel will be by Richard Avery’s 1960 Bristol MW6G coach.
This visit has proved extremely popular and is already fully booked with a waiting list.
Please do not make an online booking unless you wish to join this list.
Cost: £52 per person
To book a place online use the link below.
A booking form was enclosed with the June newsletter for postal applications.
Contact: Richard Avery; membership@friendsofbmga.org.uk; 0117 329 6656
Behind the Scenes: Limbs and Things
To accommodate all the applications, this repeat visit has been organized to the factory in St Philips where all manner of body parts are manufactured for medical training purposes.
Cost: £7.50 per person
A few places are still available; please check with the organizer before booking online using the link below.
Contact: Carol Ouvry; carol@ouvry.myzen.co.uk; 0117 302 1039
Film documentary: Bristol – 100 years in Music and Film
This documentary is a film of the event last December at Bristol Beacon to celebrate the centenary of Bristol Archives: 100 years of the city’s past on film accompanied by music played by 100 members of the city’s youth orchestra.
Please note an earlier start time of 2.00pm.
Cost: £9.50 per person
To book a place online use the link below.
A booking form was enclosed with the June newsletter for postal applications.
Contact: Carol Dixon; blackrockcfd@hotmail.com; 01275 849200
BAfM Annual Conference
The British Association of Friends of Museums (BAfM) is holding its annual conference in Bristol this year and FBMGA are therefore hosts.
Volunteers are required to help manage the event on the Friday and Saturday and a form to ‘sign up’ was enclosed with the March newsletter.
Organizer: Mary Bailey; events@friendsofbmga.org.uk; 0117 942 1944.
Museum Talk: Under the Hoodie: Analysing Banksy’s Art
Banksy is hailed alternately as a national treasure and urban folk hero; but regarded by some as an imposter who has reneged on ‘his’ graffiti roots – an artist who has forsaken street-cred for credit in the bank.
The diversity of Banksy’s practice, the innovative iconography, the challenging graphic language and the extraordinary curatorial and filmic skills, make ‘him’ one of the most diverse popular practitioners of our time.
You are invited to hear from the author, artist and writer once reputed on Tik Tok to be Banksy, Paul Gough.
Tickets at £12 or £20 are available from the museum. Click here to purchase.