The Spectacle Makers' Society Programme 2010

Friday 19th February

A “gastrotour” of Borough Market and a visit to Southwark Cathedral.

Borough Market is London’s oldest food market. It was established on the south bank when the Romans built the first bridge, and it has occupied its present site for 250 years. It has along and distinguished history as a wholesale fruit and vegetable market, but is also the Country’s most important retail market for all sorts of fine foods. Christine Tomkins has arranged for a small party to be given a three-hour guided tour of it, which will offer plenty of opportunity to taste and sample what is on sale. Places are strictly limited, so those wishing to participate should indicate that fact by emailing the Clerk immediately, before returning their expression of interest forms. Those unlucky enough not to secure a place on the tour will still be able to wander around the Market at their leisure, before joining the tour-party for a guided tour of Southwark Cathedral, beginning at 2.00 p.m. and ending at 3.30 p.m. with afternoon tea. For those who wish to stay on, there will be a sung Evensong at 5.30 p.m.

Cost: £66 per head for the guided tour of the Market.
£10 per head for the guided tour of the Cathedral and afternoon tea.

Thursday 18th March

A visit to the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, followed by supper.

With 2009 marking the 150th anniversary of Big Ben, it seems only appropriate to plan a visit to the place of its birth (and that of made other famous bells). The Whitechapel Bell Foundry was established near Aldgate in 1570, and is recognized as Britain’s oldest manufacturing concern. Such was the demand for its products from both home and abroad that it moved to its present (and larger) site in the Whitechapel Road in 1738.

The 90-minute tour will start at 6.00 p.m., and will be followed by a buffet supper (with wine) in the Georgian Bell Foundry House.

Cost: c.£45 per person.

Tuesday 20th April

An evening’s musical tour of Charterhouse, with the option of supper in a local restaurant afterwards.

The site on which Sutton’s Hospital in Charterhouse stands first came to public notice as a burial ground for victims of the Black Death. From 1371, however it housed a Carthusian Priory which was suppressed in 1538, but not before the Prior and some of the more outspoken of his flock had been hanged, drawn and quartered for refusing to accept the Act of Supremacy. The land was granted to Lord North, who built a Tudor mansion on it. This was subsequently sold to the fourth Duke of Norfolk whose son then sold it on to Thomas Sutton in 1611. Sutton used his wealth to endow a charitable foundation, Sutton’s Hospital in Charterhouse, to educate boys and care for elderly gentlemen. In 1872, the school was moved to a new site at Godalming in Surrey.

The musical tour starts at 7.30 p.m., and lasts just over two hours. It combines music provided by a professional quartet with a descriptive guide of the site. The music ranges from Carthusian chant, through Tudor-era compositions to pieces by Henry Purcell, Mendelssohn and Ralph Vaughan Williams, the latter being a former pupil of Charterhouse School.

Cost: c.£45 per person (includes a glass of wine and a free programme).

If the demand is there, the organizer will arrange a light supper in a nearby hostelry for after the tour.

Friday 14th – Sunday 16th May

A weekend’s walking on the Isle of Wight.

Based in the 4* Royal Hotel, Ventnor, which has two rosettes for food. Walking on Saturday and Sunday on the Downs above Ventnor and on the coastal path, with an opportunity to visit the famous Ventnor Botanic Garden. Optional walk on the Friday for early arrivals.

Cost: in the region of £290 per person for two nights DBB, inclusive of the car ferry crossing and VAT (£380 for three nights for those not wishing to leave until Monday.

Wednesday 9th June

The Golf Meeting.

Details on application.

June

A day on the Medway

A visit to Upnor Castle, a cruise along the Medway on a coal-fired side paddlewheeled steamer, lunch at the Medway Yacht Club and a reception at the Master’s home.

Cost: In the order of £40 per head.

Wednesday 11th July

A visit to Clarence House [subject to confirmation in November 2009]

The Prince of Wales has left his Grandmother’s London home much as it was during her lifetime. The tour of the five public rooms on the ground floor lasts from 4.30 p.m. until 5.45 p.m., and the ticket price of c.£35 includes an official guidebook and a glass of champagne.

Participation is limited to 20 people and, if the demand is there, arrangements will be made for the party to go on to a light supper elsewhere in London.

Friday 10th September - Sunday 12th September

A weekend based in Rheims.

The party will assemble at the Holiday Inn in Ashford, Kent at 8.00 a.m. on the Friday. For those who need it, accommodation is available for the Thursday night at £70 for double B&B, or £50 single. Cars may be left in the Hotel car park over the weekend. From Ashford, we will depart for Rheims in a luxury coach, travelling via the Chunnel, and arriving in time to allow members the afternoon to explore the City. The party will reassemble for Dinner that evening in its hotel, the Grand Hotel de L’Univers.

On the Saturday morning, we will visit the famous Champagne house of Veuve Clichot, for a guided tour (and a little sampling!), before spending the afternoon in the vineyards, where we shall watch (and assist with) the vendange. The evening will be devoted to a Black Tie Dinner in the Veuve Clichot cellars, which promises to be a gastronomic treat.

On Sunday morning, we will drive to the Cave aux Coquillages, a paleaontological, geological and historical site of world renown dating back 45 million years to when the Paris Basin was under water. Then we return to Ashford, arriving between 8.00 p.m. and 9.00 p.m.

Cost: £670 per couple, excluding only lunches and incidental drinks and “souvenirs” (& Thursday night accommodation).

Wednesday 13th October

A day in Ely (“Another Adlam production!”)

Meet for coffee at 10.00 a.m., and then enjoy a good look round the Ely Museum, during which you will receive a talk from a real fen man about fen life, including eel trapping and punt gunning. Next, visit the famous Cathedral, and take a trip up its Octagon Tower. After a late lunch at the fabled Old Fire Engine House, spend the rest of the afternoon visiting some of the other attractions in or around Ely, including Oliver Cromwell’s house, Denny Abbey & Farm Museum, Prickwillow Drainage Engine Museum and the National Trust’s nature reserve at Wicken Fen.

Likely cost: £40 per head including lunch.

An evening in December

An evening at the Opera.

This may well take place on Tuesday 7th December, following on from the Court Luncheon, but full details in due course upon application.

Further details

If you would like further details of any of these events, please contact the Clerk.