Talks Programme, Summer 2025.
In partnership with the Bradford on Avon Museum Society, we have organised a series of six lectures in the United Church, St Margaret's Street, Bradford on Avon, at 7.30pm on second Thursday each month, May to October.
Doors open from 7.00, tea and coffee after the talk.
Tickets £9 for non-members, £7 for members, available at Ex Libris, The Shambles, Bradford on Avon, or at the door.
Thursday 8 May
A prettyish kind of a little wilderness - landscapes and gardens in the novels of Jane Austen.
Timothy Mowl's lavishly illustrated talk will consider designed landscapes and gardens in Jane Austen's novels, not only as representatives of current horticultural fads, but as important elements in the plots, providing the background to moments of high emotional drama. Her life spans the demise of Capability Brown's minimalist landscapeing (he died 1783), the growth of Picturesque theory in the late 1780s and 1790s, which she satirises in Northanger Abbey, and the coming of Humphrey Repton, who appears in Mansfield Park, with his promotion of Ornamental Gardening. At the heart of the novels and of this talk are the shrubberies, sweet-scented, shadowy places for excercise, contemplation and romantic assignations.
Tim Mowl is Emeritus Professor of Architectural History & Designed Landscapes at the University of Bristol and Honorary Professor at the Royal Agricultural University, Cirencester. He is the author of numerous works of architectural and garden history including biographical studies of William Kent, William Beckford and John Wood of Bath, and the Historic Gardens series for fourteen English counties.
Thursday 12 June
Keeping it simple: making moving toys and automata.
Bob Race, longtime Bradford resident, and renowned toymaker writes: 'I have been a full-time maker for over forty years and my work has covered a wide range, from dolls’ houses and moving toys for children and adults to automata, kinetic sculpture and exhibition design. I try to make things which move in simple but interesting ways: Traditional moving toys have influenced me strongly, and I have travelled the world in search of them. I incorporate a wide range of natural and recycled materials, including driftwood, which I like using because its previous uses often still haunt it, and its time at sea builds its character.'
Thursday 10 July
Behind the Scenes at the Saxon Church
The talk describes the history and structure of the Saxon church of St Laurence and the 20 years of restoration and repair which followed its discovery, using contemporary documents. It also examines the relationships between Bradford's vicar Canon Jones and the Trustees and architects, together with a summary of the latest research.
Rob Arkell has been a member of the Bradford on Avon Museum Research Group since 2010. Since retiring in 2015 he has been involved in a number of projects triggered by the Museum's field-names survey including the Anglo-Saxon Moot site, Bradford Leigh Fair, and Rowley-Wittenham deserted medieval village. He was a member of the Museum team which carried out a geophysical survey of the Saxon church and churchyard in 2023.
Thursday 14 August
Civic Splendour – The Story of Wiltshire’s Old Town Halls
Town halls from the 19th century and before are amongst our finest buildings. This talk will describe not only the buildings themselves but also the stories of rivalry and the pursuit of power which led to their creation.
James Holden moved to Bradford on Avon 10 years ago and since then has written extensively on local building types for the Wiltshire Buildings Record and latterly the Bradford on Avon museum.'
Thursday 11 September
The Beckfords and the transatlantic slave trade.
The Beckford family wealth was built upon the trafficking and enslavement of African people. It was a wealth that enabled William Beckford to create extravagant buildings and fill them with beautiful objects, but it also gave him a privilege and power that he used to abuse the lives of others. This talk will reveal the brutality behind the beauty of Beckford’s Tower in Bath.
Dr Amy Frost is Senior Curator at the Bath Preservation Trust with responsibility for the Museum of Bath Architecture and William Beckford's Lansdown Tower. Her doctoral thesis was on H.E. Goodridge, architect of the tower.
Thursday 9 October
The Bradford on Avon Roman villa
To celebrate a quarter of a century since a major Roman villa was discovered just west of St Laurence School, Sophie Hawke will explain the importance and summarise what was and has been learnt since the discovery.
Sophie Hawke is attached to the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum as Finds Liason Officer. She has been involved with the Bradford Roman villa almost since its discovery.
