In a change to our programme, due to the unexpected closure of The Laskett for the foreseeable future, we have arranged an alternative trip to Hellens, near Ledbury.

Coach trip to Hellens Manor, near Ledbury

Cost: £45 for members, £50 for visitors.

This beautiful historic house in Much Marcle, Herefordshire, is a living monument to much of England’s history. Attractions include heirlooms of Anne Boleyn, the haunted bed chamber prepared for Queen Mary Tudor, the panelled Music Room adorned with its English Renaissance frieze, paintings by Gainsborough, Van Dyke, Peter Lely and Goya, and the fascinating story of Hetty Walwyn.

The cost of £45 for members £50 for non-members will include transport by coach, refreshments on arrival, a light lunch, and a 75 minutes guided tour. There will be time to explore the gardens after lunch before our return to Ludlow.

PLEASE NOTE: Access to the house is across uneven surfaces, although wheelchair access to parts of the ground floor is possible. There is level access to most of the garden and ramped access to the Tearoom.

Due to size constraints of the house, there will be just 20 places, which will be allocated on a "first come, first serve" basis; please book as soon as possible to avoid disappointment!

APPLICATIONS MUST BE RETURNED TO JUDITH

NO LATER THAN THE 22ND APRIL

Application forms are available in the following ways:

• As hard copies at the March and April Lectures

• As a PDF on our Documents page

• To download as a PDF or Word (.docx) file at the end of our March and April emailed newsletters

• The text below can be copied and pasted either into an email or Word document, to then be completed and sent to Judith at the appropriate address, as detailed in the form below:

Hellens Manor Application Form

Name(s): ………………………………………………………………………..

Tel: ……………………………………………..

Email: …………………………………………………………………………...

Notification of Allergies (for Hellens Catering): ………………………... ……………………………………………………………………………………

Emergency Contact

Name: …………………………………………………………………………..

Tel: ……………………………………………..

Payment (please delete as appropriate):

I enclose a cheque for £………………, made payable to The Arts Society Teme Valley

OR

I will pay £……………… by BACS:

sort code 20-39-64 a/c no: 00837520

Please complete the form and send it

EITHER by email to jmpayling@aol.com

OR by post with a cheque to :

Judith Payling, Holland House, Clunbury Craven Arms SY70HG.

Please telephone Judith on 01588 660292 if you have any queries or would like more information. Confirmation will be by email unless an s.a.e. is enclosed.

The Society reserves the right to cancel this outing if circumstances dictate and may not be able to guarantee a full refund.

Wishing you all the best, and I look forward to seeing you all soon.

🥳🎄 CHRISTMAS PARTY ☃️🎅

WEDNESDAY 17th DECEMBER

4.00pm to 6.00pm

Location: Bill's Kitchen, Ludlow

Ticket Price: £18

Amidst the twinkling lights and festive cheer, our Christmas Party celebrates unity, joy, and the magic of the season with a meal of vegetarian quiche and salad, served at the table, followed by mince pies and brandy butter with pots of tea/coffee.

Judith will serve up Arts Bingo for a bit of fun and there will be prizes 🎁

We hope to see you there 🎄!

Any queries, call Judith 01588 660 292

To buy a ticket, please send an email with the following information to temevalley@theartssociety.org or write to Judith at Holland house, Clunbury, SY7 0HG

Name(s): …………………………………………………………

Tel: ……………………………………………..

Email: …………………………………………………………………

Special Dietary Request: ……………………………………………………………

Emergency Contact

Name: …………………………………………………………………

Tel: ……………………………………………..

Payment (please delete as appropriate):

I enclose a cheque for £………………, made payable to The Arts Society Teme Valley

OR

I will pay £……………… by BACS: sort code 20-39-64   a/c no: 00837520

The Society reserves the right to cancel this event if circumstances dictate and may not be able o guarantee a full refund.

Join us on a full day coach outing to Birmingham to visit

Winterbourne House and Garden (Arts & Crafts building and garden)

Wednesday June 25th 2025

  Application closing date: Thursday 19th June

No lunch provided but there is a tea room on site which serves food at a reasonable price. Alternatively, you are welcome to bring a packed lunch to eat in the gardens, where there are lots of seats in gorgeous surroundings.

Please note that, in order to make this a viable outing, I have had to make adjustments to the programme, which will now be as follows:

• 9.00am Join coach & leave Ludlow Park & Ride

• 10.30am Arrival at Winterbourne House, where you can buy tea and coffee from their tea room

• 11.15am Guided tour of the garden, on The Clematis Tour

• 12.30pm – 3.30pm Free time to enjoy your lunch and explore the Arts & Crafts House, with exhibitions by GKN, and artist Carolyn Blake.

• 3.30pm Join coach for return journey to Ludlow Park & Ride

• 5.30pm Arrive Ludlow Park & Ride

Cost: £40 for members & £45 for non-members.

Application forms can be picked up at the next lecture, or can be downloaded as a PDF by clicking here or by heading to the Documents page.

Alternatively, download as a Word Document here, or by using the link provided in the email of May's newsletter.

To book a place, please send the completed form to Judith Payling, Holland House, Clunbury, SY7 0HG, or by email to temevalley@theartssociety.org with the subject “Winterbourne Application”, by Thursday 19th June 2025.

Visitors are very welcome, but please complete an application form and submit to Judith as directed.

In the meantime, enjoy exploring this fabulous venue via its website

winterbourne.org.uk

Jackfield Tile Museum - 

Experience some of the most beautiful tiles in the world, including designs by famous artists. Discover where natural resources met amazing skills, artistry and craft in a 19th-century creative hub. Explore galleries and room settings (Edwardian Tube Station, butchers and church) filled with tiles you can touch.  See  examples by Salvador Dali and William Morris and Victorian tiles in an original, working factory.

The Coalport China Museum

Discover the place that created some of the world’s finest china and sent it around the globe to grace the tables of queens, tsars and princes.  See exquisite pieces in the original factory and beautiful examples of Coalport and Caughley china, including the largest piece of Coalport china ever made.  Watch daily demonstrations of sagger-making and pottery painting, talk to skilled craftspeople and step inside a bottle kiln.  

Join us on an interesting trip to two of Ironbridge's famous Museums- the Tile Museum and the China Museum .  More details to follow a little later in the year.

Click Here for the Application Form

Book early to ensure a place – This outing currently is limited to 19 places in the coach but we will consider other arrangements we are oversubscribed. Final deadline June 19th

Click here for an application form

Join us on this coach outing to Hartlebury Castle with guided tours of the Hurd Library, the Bishop's Palace and the Gardens.

Hartlebury has the title of a castle and is still surrounded by a moat. However, the current building is a 1676 stately home, now more often known as the Bishop’s Palace, and the decor of the elegant State Rooms dates from the 18th century. The gardens are renowned for their beauty and peacefulness and the castle also houses the excellent Museum of Worcestershire Life, with its themed galleries, toy collection, archaeological displays and evocative room sets, such as the Victorian school room and the scullery.

This outing offers a chance to see in person the type of books that Dominic Riley will be discussing in our June lecture. The Hurd Library (founded in 1782) is 'an outstanding survival of the Age of Enlightenment' and 'one of the West Midlands's most delightful and relatively undiscovered historical jewels'.

Outline of the Day: On arrival, we will be greeted with hot drinks and cake and given an introduction to the building and its history. We will then be divided into smaller groups and given guided tours of the library, palace and gardens. After the formal morning events, you will be free to explore at your own pace before our return at 3pm.  You may wish to visit the café for lunch or prefer to bring a picnic to enjoy in the beautiful grounds.

Travel:  We will travel by coach from Ludlow Eco Park-and-Ride. Please arrive by 9.10, ready to leave at 9.15, arriving back around 4pm. Travel time will be 50-60 minutes each way.

Refreshments: Hot drinks and cakes will be provided on arrival and are included in the outing cost. Lunch is not included.

Accessibility: The building and grounds are fully wheelchair-accessible throughout, apart for the Sunken Garden. However, please be aware that the ground outside is uneven in places.

Cancellation: We reserve the right to cancel this outing if circumstances dictate. If so, you will be refunded.

Total cost: £42.50 for members; £45 for non-members (includes transport, entrance fees, guided tours, hot drink and cakes)

More information on the venue can be found at https://hartleburycastle.com/

The registration deadline for this outing is Wednesday April 17th.

A morning-only mini-outing by car to The Rodd, a Jacobean manor house and modern art gallery in Presteigne (LD8 2LL). The Rodd was the final home of renowned Australian artist Sidney Nolan (1917-1992) and houses his studio.

Click here to download the booking form or go directly to the Documents section of this webpage (under 'Our Society').

Rodd Court is 'an outstanding group of 17th century farm buildings that house the modern gallery and artists' workshops. It is surrounded by beautiful gardens and orchards, 250 acres of farmland, and semi-ancient natural woodland'. It will look particularly splendid at this point in spring!

The manor house was Sidney Nolan’s home. It houses a collection of his own paintings, books and other possessions, in a newly refurbished display. His studio is also visible, preserved as it was when he last used it.

The modern gallery presents a sequence of changing exhibitions. The exhibition in April is ‘Painting with Light’, a technique popularised very recently by David Hockney. This exhibition showcases ’Sidney Nolan’s experiments with Paintbox and presents work by artists including David Hockey, Richard Hamilton and Larry Rivers who played an important part in the use of this emerging art form’.

Practicalities:  This is a mini-outing – morning only, travel by own transport. On arrival, use the main entrance, marked ‘Sidney Nolan Trust’, and then come to the main gallery. There is plenty of free parking.

Please arrive by 10.15 am, when we will be greeted with hot drinks and cake.  This will be followed by a guided tour of The Rodd Jacobean Manor (ground floor), Exhibition Space and Sidney Nolan Studio. The tour will last about 2 hours, after which members are free to explore the exhibition and grounds in their own time (and buy further refreshments if desired) before leaving.

Accessibility: The Exhibition Space and Toilet Block are fully wheelchair-accessible. The manor house has 2 shallow steps at the entry and the library annexe is accessed by two sets of three steps with banister rail. Please be aware of uneven ground outside.

We hope you will join us for our spring outing!

Cost: Members £15; non-members £17.

More information about the venue can be found at https://www.sidneynolantrust.org/your-visit/the-rodd/

Click here to download the booking form or go to the Documents section of this webpage (under 'Our Society').

Art and Technology - Join Us for an Unusual and Varied Visit

The New Art Gallery, Walsall, is a stunning modern building, specially designed to house the Garman Ryan Collection. This formerly private collection focuses on sculptures by Jacob Epstein and other works collected by his family and friends. It features both European and non-European artists, including Picasso, Braque, Gericault and Delacroix. The gallery is also home to exhibitions by modern artists. Our visit includes talks on both the permanent collection and the current contemporary exhibitions of sculptures by Karla Black and oil paintings by Annette Pugh, plus a chance to explore the gallery in your own time.

The Walsall Leather Museum celebrates Walsall’s role as the leather-working capital of England. It focuses on the history of the leather industry and the lives of those who worked in the trade.  Over 2,000 objects are on display and the guided visit includes talks and demonstrations by those skilled in the crafts. 

Practicalities

8.45 am              Leave by coach from Ludlow Eco Park and Ride Carpark

On Arrival           The group will split in two, half visiting the Leather Museum and half the Art Gallery.  

                           Each venue will welcome you with hot drinks and pastries.       

Lunchtime          We will join together at lunchtime at the top-rated Littleton Restaurant for a choice of 

                          unusual and adventurous hot sandwiches. Make your selection on the booking form.

Afternoon          Visit to the venue you have not yet visited.

6.00 pm              Latest arrival back at Ludlow Eco Park.

Cost:                 Members £36, Non-Members £42

Booking Arrangements

Complete and return the booking form by Wednesday October 18th.  Don't forget to tick your choice of  sandwich on the form. CLICK HERE for the booking form or find it under Documents.

 • 9.00am Join coach & leave Ludlow Park & Ride

• 10.30 am Arrival at the Glass Museum • Tea & Coffee

• 10.45am – 12.45pm Tours of the Exhibition

• 1.00pm Transfer in coach to The Bonded Warehouse where we will board the canal boat. Lunch will be served on board

• 3.30pm Join coach for return journey to Ludlow Park & Ride

• 5.00pm Arrive Ludlow Park & Ride

Cost to include fish & chip lunch: £35 for members and £40 for nonmembers.

We reserve the right to cancel this outing if circumstances dictate and you will be refunded. Unfortunately, due to upfront costs in the event of you cancelling we cannot offer a refund.

Application Form To book a place please send completed form to Judith Payling Holland House Clunbury SY7 0HG by 26th May 2023. Payment can be made cheque or BACS sort code 20-39-64 A/c no: 00837520