Events

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.

Finally, although our events are aimed at our membership (and we would strongly urge you to join if you are not already a member) there are times, particularly on day excursions, when there can be free spaces.  On these occasions non-members can be accommodated.  Please contact the organizer regarding the anticipated size of the party.

Professor Mowl will give an account of Regency gardens, which were designed as exuberant extensions of the house, providing an area for pleasure and alfresco entertainment.

This talk is based on his forthcoming book.

Cost: £9.50 including refreshments.

To book a place online, use the panel below:

Online bookings will close on 8 April so that the administrator knows on the day who has pre-booked.  There is plenty of space for walk-ups on the Saturday.

A form for postal bookings was included with the March newsletter.

Administrator: Catherine Dixon; blackrockcfd@hotmail.com; 01275 849200.

Although Glenside is best known as a psychiatric hospital, this museum has a wider remit.  It holds three collections: those of the Psychiatric Hospital (1861-1994), the Beaufort War Hospital (1915-1919) and the Stoke Park Learning Disabilities Hospitals (1909-2000).
We shall have an introductory talk before viewing.

Cost: £9.00 per person.

To book a place online, use the panel below:

A form for postal booking was included with the March newsletter.

Organizer: Sally Dore; sally.dore@cantab.net; 0117 942 2620.

Not the real tapestry, which is coming to the British Museum in September, but the version created in the 19th century by a group of Victorian  embroiderers replicating (almost) stitch for stitch the original, beautifully displayed in its own gallery.

Cost: £42.50 per person.

Departing: Clevedon Road car park, Nailsea 9.00; The Bristol Hotel, Prince Street 9.30; Jacob’s Wells Road top 9.45 and the St Monica’s bus stop, Westbury Road at 10.00am

To book a place online, use the panel below:

A form for postal booking was included with the March newsletter.

Organizer: Richard Avery; membership@friendsofbmga.org.uk; 0117 329 6656.

The Bristol Tapestry, on display in the ground floor lift hall, was the brainchild of Jean Tanner and Marjorie Bleasdale, designed to record important events in Bristol’s history.  Completed in 1976, the project involved 90 local people.

Friends of BMGA member Sheila Dawkins, who worked on the tapestry, will talk about the project and the people.

Cost: £5 per person.

Book online via the museum’s website by clicking here.

Former Senior Curator of Archaeology at Bristol Museum, Gail Boyle will
demystify the treasure process—from the initial discovery in the field to the
rigorous stages of reporting, valuation and rewards.  She will explore the journey an object takes as it transitions from a “find” to a national asset, revealing how the treasure system protects our shared heritage.

Cost: £9.50 per person including refreshments.

To book a place online, use the panel below:

Online booking will close on 29 April so that the Administrator will know on the day who has booked.  There will be plenty of spaces for walk-ups on the Saturday.

A form for postal booking was included with the March newsletter.

Administrator: Catherine Dixon; blackrockcfd@hotmail.com; 01275 849200.

Kate Iles, Senior Curator – Archaeology, will lead a tour of the villa to see the results of the conservation work carried out last year and will tell us how recent archaeological discoveries have shed new light on the site.

Cost: £7.50 per person.

To book a place online, use the panel below:

A form for postal booking was included with the March newsletter.

Organizer: Sally Dore; sally.dore@cantab.net; 0117 942 2620.

A guided tour of Sezincote House, a 200-year-old Mughal-style Indian palace, set in a romantic Regency landscape of temples, grottoes, waterfalls and canals, reminiscent of the Taj Mahal.

Cost: £49.00 per person.

Departing:  Clevedon Road car park, Nailsea at 8.00, the Bristol Hotel, Prince Street at 8.30, Jacob’s Wells Road top at 8.45 and St Monica’s bus stop, Westbury Road at 9.00am

To book a place online, use the panel below:

A form for postal booking was included with the March newsletter.

Organizer: Carol Lear; carolear@btinternet.com; 0117 942 3610.

Local historian Philip Ashford will talk about trade from Bristol and Somerset in the 12th and 13th centuries at a time when the Normans were trying to exert their authority on the local population. Two important exports were pottery from Ham Green and stone quarried from Dundry.

Cost: £9.50 per person including refreshments.

To book a place online, use the panel below:

Online booking will close on 3 June so that the Administrator knows on the day who has booked.  There will be plenty of space for walk-ups on the Saturday.

A form for postal booking was included with the March newsletter.

Administrator: Catherine Dixon; blackrockcfd@hotmail.com; 01275 849200.

Situated on the edge of the Cotswolds, Kelmscott Manor was the historic summer home of William Morris – designer, writer, and political activist. The fascinating collections at Kelmscott span more than 300 years and reflect the history, ideas and creative legacy of those who lived and worked there.

Our afternoon tour will be rounded off with a cream tea.

We shall stop in nearby Lechlade for lunch.

Cost: £55.00 per person.

Departing:  Clevedon Road car park, Nailsea at 9.00, the Bristol Hotel, Prince Street at 9.30, Jacob’s Wells Road top at 9.45 and St Monica’s bus stop, Westbury Road at 10.00am.

This trip has proved very popular and is almost certainly full and may already have a waiting list.  ONLY make an online booking if you are happy to join that waiting list.

To book a place online, use the panel below:

A form for postal booking was included with the March newsletter.

Organizer: Richard Avery; membership@friendsofbmga.org.uk; 0117 329 6656.

A guided tour of the botanic garden, where the plants are displayed in
collections relating to evolution, Mediterranean, local flora and useful plants. It was designed to enhance both teaching and research in the University and also to enrich the city of Bristol.

Cost: £15.00 per person.

To book  a place online, use the panel below:

A form for postal booking was included with the March newsletter.

Organizer: Carol Ouvry; carol@ouvry.myzen.co.uk; 0117 302 1039.