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17 June 2026GARDEN HUNTING IN CHINA
20 May 2026FEASTS AND FANTASY
15 April 2026MULBERRY TREES, MACCHIATO, MOSQUES AND MOTHER THERESA
18 March 2026FABER AND FABER 90 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE IN COVER DESIGN
18 February 2026GILBERT AND SULLIVAN: ‘THEIR TOPSY -TURVY WORLD
21 January 2026NATIONAL TREASURES ‘SAVING LONDON’S GALLERIES AND MUSEUMS IN WWII
03 December 2025HARK THE HERALD: ‘ANGELS IN ART
19 November 2025A VILLAGE IN HEAVEN
15 October 2025THE BRILLIANCE OF BERNINI’S SCULPTURES
17 September 2025BANKSY FRAUD OR GENIUS
18 June 2025KENNETH CLARKE’S CIVILISATION ( 1969): ‘THE MAKING OF A TELEVISION LANDMARK
14 May 2025WILD MEN OF THE NORTH - ‘TOM THOMSON AND THE GROUP OF SEVEN’
16 April 2025HOW TO DEFLECT YOUR DEMONS - ‘RITUAL PROTECTION OF HEARTH AND HOME’
19 March 2025GIRLS BEHAVING BADLY: JANE AUSTEN’S WICKED WOMEN
19 February 2025FROM EGG TO BACON
15 January 2025SHOOSMITH - ‘AN ARTIST FOR ALL SEASONS’
04 December 2024PANTOMIME: ‘WHEN THE FAIRY’S OVER FIFTY!’
20 November 2024TITIAN AND HABSBURGS
16 October 2024MUSIC IN ART
18 September 2024BRUEGEL, ‘THE SEASONS AND THE WORLD’
19 June 2024200TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NATIONAL GALLERY, LONDON: 'THE HISTORY OF ART: EARLY ITALIAN TO IMPRESSIONISM'
15 May 2024BRIAN STATER
17 April 2024THE EXTRAORDINARY TALENT OF JOHN SINGER SARGENT
20 March 2024 AFTER MISS JEKYLL - ENGLISH GARDENS OF THE LATE TWENTIETH CENTURY AND EARLY TWENTY-FIRST CENTURIES
21 February 2024THE BLOOMSBURY GROUP: THE ART OF VANESSA BELL
17 January 2024THE QUEEN MOTHER’S JEWELS (THE CHOICE ISN’T VERY GREAT, YOU KNOW)
06 December 2023 A BIT OF A CARRY ON
15 November 2023UNRAVELLING THE SILK ROAD
18 October 2023TANTRUMS AND TIARAS
20 September 2023SUMPTUOUS VERONESE: THE DEPICTION OF LUXURY GOODS IN 16TH CENTURY VENICE
21 June 2023GODFREY KNELLER: COURT PAINTER OR HASTY SLOBBERER?
17 May 2023SEURAT’S LA GRANDE JATTE
19 April 2023HOW TO LOOK AT ART: A STRATEGY FOR INTERPRETATION
15 March 2023FROM PATRONAGE TO INNOVATION: BRITISH AND EUROPEAN GLASS 1450-1900
15 February 2023CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS: ANTONY GORMLEY AND ANISH KAPOOR
18 January 2023KETTLE’S YARD: A MASTERPIECE OF CURATORSHIP
07 December 2022"A RIGHT ROYAL CHRISTMAS" – HOW OUR ROYAL FAMILIES HAVE CELEBRATED CHRISTMAS THROUGH THE AGES
16 November 2022MOONLIGHT AND MORTALITY: THE ENIGMATIC WORKS OF JOSEPH WRIGHT OF DERBY
19 October 2022THE SAHARA AS PALIMPSEST. A CULTURAL HISTORY OF THE WORLD’S GREATEST DESERT, FROM ROCK ART AND MYTH, TO THE DESERT FATHERS, SONS OF THE DESERT, KLEE AND MATISSE, SCHULTZ AND LUCAS.
21 September 2022 “OH YES IT IS””OH NO IT ISN’T”: UNRESOLVED QUESTIONS OF AUTHENTICITY
15 June 2022CITY LIVERY COMPANIES: THE ORIGINS OF THE GREAT TWELVE
18 May 2022THE TREASURES OF TUTANKHAMUN
20 April 2022COTON MANOR, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE: A HISTORY OF ITS GARDENS
16 March 2022BEHIND THE LONDON LIVERY COMPANIES; OBJECTS AND STORIES
16 February 2022THE SHAKESPEARE OF DOGS: SIR EDWIN HENRY LANDSEER (1802-73)
19 January 2022THE ART OF THE CARTOONIST
08 December 2021HE INVENTORS OF CHRISTMAS
10 November 2021HOW TO PICK A FAVOURITE CHURCH
30 March 2021THE ART OF DURER ‘A JOURNEY INTO THE MAN AND HIS WORLD’.

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Talk: GARDEN HUNTING IN CHINA Lecturer: TIMOTHY WALKER Wednesday 17 June 2026

While many English gardeners have visited China to “collect” plants, few have gone to look for gardens.  The Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship Scheme funded this six-week trip to visit gardens and meet gardeners, with a view to building bridges between Chinese & English horticulture.

 In addition to examining gardens and gardening, this talk looks at some of the wider cultural aspects of a country full of contradictions, and some wonderful food, and the very welcoming people.