Zoom | Power & Glory: The English Country House Before the Great War with Adrian Tinniswood, OBE
2024-11-25 14:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York) | Zoom Webinar, Virtual, United States
Baddesley Clinton, Warwickshire
In the decades before the First World War, the owners of the nation’s stately homes reveled in a golden age of glamour where privilege and hedonism went hand-in-hand with duty and honour. At a time when Britain ruled over a quarter of the worlds’ population, privileged few lived in ancestral stately country homes encumbered by history. However, by the end of the 19th century, members of the elite and landed gentry found themselves living in the company of arrivistes. Their new neighbors—from chorus girls to millionaire greengrocers to guano impresarios—were unencumbered by the weight of tradition. They used their “new money” to bring innovations to the country house, affecting every aspect of life, from the kitchen to the drawing room. In a fascinating prequel to his lecture and best-seller The Long Weekend, Adrian Tinniswood OBE will speak about life in the English country house and describe how the self-made millionaires turned that traditional world upside down—bringing automobiles and labour-saving devices to mansions that had been standing virtually unchanged for generations. He will explore the impact of new technologies on both old homes and old owners. Could the romance of the past exist alongside the shock of the new? While electric light and bathrooms with hot and cold running water might have made things easier both above and below stairs, it still could not quite banish the ghosts of the past. Professor Tinniswood will explain that the period before the horrors of the Great War was indeed a golden age for the British country house, but not for the reasons we might expect.
Adrian Tinniswood, OBE
Adrian Tinniswood OBE FSA, studied English and Philosophy at Southampton University and was awarded an MPhil at Leicester University. He has acted as a consultant to the National Trust and the Heritage Lottery Fund. He is currently Senior Research Fellow in History at the University of Buckingham and Visiting Fellow in Heritage and History at Bath Spa University. He has lectured at several Universities in both the United Kingdom and United States, including the University of Oxford and the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of 16 books on architectural and social history including His Invention So Fertile: A Life of Christopher Wren; By Permission of Heaven: The True Story of the Great Fire of London; The Verneys, Pirates of Barbary; The Long Weekend: Life in the English Country House Between the Wars; Behind the Throne: A Domestic History of the Royal Household (2018). Tinniswood was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2013 Birthday Honours for services to heritage.
Tickets: $15 members*; $25 non-members
*Membership discount applied automatically when logged into your Royal-Oak.org account

Zoom | London’s Great Hotels Virtual Tour
2024-11-26 14:00 - 15:00 | Zoom Webinar, Virtual, United States
The George Inn is the only remaining galleried inn in London and was familiar to Charles Dickens.
London’s Great Hotels
Zoom Live
Tuesday, November 26 | 2:00 p.m. ET
Before the 19th century, visitors to London had limited options for accommodation, primarily relying on gentlemen’s clubs, lodging houses, and coaching inns. Stephen Benton will unveil the fascinating history of London’s hotels through a digital walking tour, made for Royal Oak. Our journey will begin with the last surviving galleried coaching inn in London, the wonderful George Inn, now preserved by the National Trust. We will explore how the advent of the railway revolutionized travel and accommodation, leading to the establishment of hotels at many of London’s main stations, including the magnificent Gothic marvel at St Pancras. By the early 20th century, some of London’s most iconic hotels had been founded, such as Claridge’s, The Langham, The Ritz, and The Savoy, which was substantially rebuilt in the 1930s in a flamboyant Art Deco style. Between the World Wars, several grand aristocratic townhouses were demolished to make way for iconic hotels like The Dorchester and Grosvenor House. The 1960s introduced London’s first hotel tower, the Hilton, while the 1980s saw the rise of boutique hotels, often housed in repurposed historic buildings. Today, London boasts over 700 hotels with more than 120,000 rooms, ranging from the richly historic to the purely utilitarian. Join Stephen Benton for a captivating exploration of this diverse and ever-evolving landscape.
Tickets: $30 Members*; $40 Non-Members
*Membership discount applied automatically when logged into your Royal-Oak.org account

Zoom | Millionaire Houses Along the Strand with Dr. Paula Henderson
2024-12-03 18:00 - 19:00 | Zoom Webinar, Virtual, United States
Millionaire Houses Along the Strand
The Strand, London
The Strand, a major street in the City of Westminster, London was, from the middle ages, the most prestigious place to live in London. Running from the Temple on the east to Charing Cross on the west (just as it does today), the Strand was strategically placed between two power centres: the City and Westminster. Furthermore, from the 1530s, leading courtiers and aristocrats acquired the magnificent medieval bishops’ inns and their spacious gardens, adapting the houses and beautifying the gardens as showpieces, visible to all who travelled on the Thames. Like the palaces along the Grand Canal in Venice, these great houses were seen as powerful expressions of the city’s wealth and grandeur. While most of these houses were on the south side of the Strand, Lord Burghley built a new house along the north side. A recently discovered plan of his house and garden is the most important source of information about the splendour and complexity of these houses and gardens, a short period in London’s history of true rus in urbe.

Paula Henderson, Architectural and Garden Historian
Paula Henderson has degrees in art history (University of Chicago, M.A.) and Ph.D. in architectural history from the Courtauld Institute of Art (University of London). She lectures widely in Britain (where she lived for 43 years) and the United States and has published over 70 articles on English Houses and their landscapes. Her first book, The Tudor House and Garden: architecture and landscape in the 16th and 17th centuries (published by Yale University Press), won the Berger Prize for the outstanding contribution to the history of British art 2005. Francis Lincoln published Treehouses (co-authored with Adam Mornement), also in 2005. She is currently completing books on London gardens in the age of Shakespeare and on the Landscape as Art. She has taught courses for the Courtauld Institute of Art, and more recently for the V&A museum. She has lectured for the Paul Mellon Center for British Art, the Architectural Association, both Oxford and Cambridge Universities, Birkbeck college, Christie’s Education, The Inchbald School of Design, the V&A museum, the Tate Gallery, The Garden History Society, Sir John Soane’s Museum, among others. She led tours for the Courtauld Institute to Florence (‘Gardens of the Medici’) Debyshire (‘Elizabethan architecture’) and the Cotswolds (‘Gardens of the Cotswolds’). She is a Fellow of Society of Antiquaries of London and now splits her time between Nantucket, Massachusetts, and Williamsburg, Virginia.
Tickets: $15 members*; $25 non-members
*Membership discount applied automatically when logged into your Royal-Oak.org account

Zoom | Restoring Fabric History: Humphries Weavings, UK
2025-02-05 14:00 - 15:00 | Zoom Webinar, Virtual, United States
State bed and bedroom at Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire ©National Trust Images James Dobson
Humphries Weaving is a distinguished British fabric manufacturer specializing in the recreation of important historical textiles, seamlessly blending traditional techniques with contemporary design innovations. With over 50 years of experience, the company has restored and refashioned period fabrics for Britain’s royal residences, prestigious historic houses, and National Trust properties both at home and abroad. From the 18th-century blue silk damask adorning the walls and furniture in Kedleston Hall’s State Rooms to the crimson bed drapes and coverlets on the state beds at Buscot Park and Sudbury Hall, Humphries Weaving’s recreations meticulously captures the essence of these historical periods. Honoring their rich legacy that once symbolized the wealth and status of homeowners during the 17th and 18th centuries. This exclusive Royal Oak presentation spotlights the designer’s creative process, from initial concept to the production of exquisite fabrics for interiors and ceremonial use, such as those for Orders of Chivalry. The designers will demonstrate how hundreds of hours can be invested into analyzing source samples and reconstructing designs using historical techniques, measurements, and tools. These intricate recreations, often requiring more than 14 distinct steps, result in fabrics that are both historically accurate and visually stunning. If you are passionate about the history of interiors or an aficionado of textile history, this presentation is not to be missed. Join Royal Oak as we look behind-the-scenes how this iconic British company preserves England’s heritage by honoring the past while innovating for the future.

Zoom | Hermopolis Magna: Insights from a New Excavation with Yvona K. Trnka-Amrhein
2025-02-26 18:00 - 19:00 | Zoom Webinar, Virtual, United States
Hermopolis Magna: Insights from a New Excavation of Ancient Egyptian and Greco-Roman Architecture
Roland Unger, Wikipedia Commons
The ancient Egyptian city of Hermopolis Magna, situated between Cairo and Luxor, was a key religious and cultural hub from ancient times to the Byzantine era. Hermopolis originally was renowned for its temple dedicated to Thoth, the Egyptian god of magic, wisdom and writing. In later centuries, Hermopolis developed into a major city of the Greek and Roman Empire in Egypt and was modeled after Alexandria. Recent archeological discoveries have provided new insights into the city’s Greek and Roman architectural evolution, offering a rare glimpse into the classical architecture of a city now lost beneath modern developments. In this lecture, Dr. Yvona K. Trnka-Amrhein will present findings from the American-Egyptian excavation in 2023 and discuss Hermopolis’s classical architectural heritage. Her lecture will examine the complex history of Hermopolis’s excavation, which over the centuries has attracted Egyptian, German, British, and Polish archaeological teams in between global conflicts. Dr. Trnka-Amrhein will talk about the interplay between politics and archaeology, and illustrate how the latest excavation is reshaping the understanding of this fascinating ancient city and its enduring legacy.
Dr. Yvona K. Trnka-Amrhein is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Classics at the University of Colorado Boulder. She holds a PhD from Harvard University and has previously taught at Harvard and held a postdoctoral fellowship at Trinity College, Dublin. Her research focuses on Greek and Latin literature of the Imperial period, Hellenistic literature, and Greco-Roman Egypt. She has published extensively, including a forthcoming book Portraits of a Pharaoh: The Sesostris Tradition in Ancient Literature and Culture with Oxford University Press. Additionally, she co-directs the American-Egyptian Mission at El-Ashmunein and has a significant history of archaeological fieldwork and academic presentations.

Zoom | Treason & Tragedy: Death on Tower Hill
2025-04-01 17:00 - 18:00 | Zoom Meeting
Paul Delaroche, The Execution of Lady Jane Grey, 1834. The National Gallery, London. The 9-day Queen was executed inside the Tower on Tower Green.
While the Tower of London may be infamous for its executions, the majority of beheadings actually took place just beyond its walls, on Tower Hill—a site steeped in political turmoil, betrayal, and bloody justice. In this gripping tour, Rob Smith will unravel the dramatic stories of those who met their fate on this notorious execution ground. Tower Hill became the final stage for some of the most high-profile figures in British history, many of whom had once wielded great power, who found themselves condemned as traitors. We will explore the fate of Simon of Sudbury, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who was dragged from the Tower and beheaded by enraged Poll Tax rebels in 1381. Another infamous figure to fall on Tower Hill was Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s once-trusted advisor and architect of the English Reformation. The site also witnessed the beheading of Lord Lovat (Simon Fraser) in 1747—the last man to be publicly executed on Tower Hill. His execution, witnessed by a large crowd, marked the end of an era. This virtual tour will bring to life the gripping stories of those who faced the executioner’s axe—tales of ambition, treachery, courage, and vengeance—while also exploring the historical significance of Tower Hill. Hear about the shadowy events that shaped British history.
Tickets: $30 members*; $40 non-members
*Membership discount applied automatically when logged into your Royal-Oak.org account

Zoom | The Country Houses of James Wyatt (1746 –1813)
2025-04-29 14:00 - 15:00 | Zoom Webinar, Virtual, United States
Plas Newydd House and Garden, Anglesey ©National Trust Images/Annapurna Mellor
Talented, urbane, and highly influential, James Wyatt, RA, was one of the great designers of his age. Architect to King George III, his designs shaped some of Britain’s most remarkable country houses and royal residences. Wyatt trained in Italy (1762–68) and was a master of Neoclassicism, making him a formidable rival to Robert Adam in the 1770s. He designed works for the royal family at Kew and Frogmore, further cementing his reputation as favored architect of the monarchy. His Neoclassical country houses—such as Heaton Hall in Manchester, Dodington Park in Gloucestershire, and Castle Coole County Fermanagh—are among the finest of their kind. He also transformed existing estates, reimagining Plas Newydd in Anglesey and Goodwood House in Sussex, while designing exquisite interiors for properties such as Burton Constable Hall in Yorkshire. Beyond his classical style, Wyatt was a pioneer of the Gothic Revival, designing romantic, medieval-inspired masterpieces such as Fonthill Abbey in Wiltshire and Ashridge in Hertfordshire. He also worked on several cathedrals and redesigned the Bishop of Durham’s grand residence, Auckland Castle. Wyatt’s contributions also include work on Christ Church, Magdalen, Oriel, and Worcester Colleges, Oxford. In this lecture, historian and British country house expert Jeremy Musson explores the life and principal works of James Wyatt, shedding light on one of the most versatile and accomplished architects of the Georgian age.
Jeremy Musson, LLB Hons, M.Phil, FSA, is an architectural historian and heritage consultant. Born in London, he was educated at UCL and the Warburg Institute, and worked for the Victorian Society and the National Trust, before joining Country Life, in 1995, where he was Architectural Editor in 1998-2007. He continues to contribute to Country Life; and he is the author of several books, and co-wrote and presented BBC 2’s The Curious House Guest series. A Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and an affiliate lecturer of Cambridge University’s department of architecture, he is also Chairman of the Historic Houses Foundation. As a heritage consultant since 2007, he has worked on major historic sites including St Paul’s Cathedral, Ickworth Park, Suffolk, and Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire.

Tickets: $15 members*; $25 non-members
*Membership discount applied automatically when logged into your Royal-Oak.org account

Zoom | Gardens of Glass
2025-05-06 14:00 - 15:00 | Zoom Webinar, Virtual, United States
Trelissick Garden, Cornwall
With the global expansion of 17th-century European trade networks, plant collecting became a matter of both economic and intellectual interest in Britain. Exotic fruits and flowers were prized as prestigious displays of wealth and refinement, fueling an obsession with horticulture among the elite. The fascination began with pineapples and soon extended to citrus trees; a trend particularly championed by King William III. By the late 18th century, a glass house or ‘greenhouse’ was an architectural mark of a gentleman’s garden, even if it was only to grow delicate fruits such as apricots or peaches. John Goodall, Architectural Editor at Country Life, will trace the rise, fall, and revival of Britain’s historic glasshouses, exploring their cultural significance and the renewed interest in their restoration today.
John Goodall – Architectural Editor – Country Life
John Goodall has been architectural editor at Country Life since 2007 and has contributed to CL since 1994. He is the author of several books, including English House Style: From the Archives of Country Life and The English Castle (2011). English Castle received numerous accolades: the 2011 Alice Davis Hitchcock Medallion and the 2013 Historians of British Art Book Prize (pre-1800). The work also received the G. T. Clark Prize for 2007–2012. He read history at Durham University and took an MA and Ph.D. in architectural history from the Courtauld Institute of Art. In 2003 he joined English Heritage as a senior properties historian. He had written several guidebooks for both English Heritage and the National Trust. He acted in 2007 as series consultant for the BBC 1 series How We Built Britain. Other projects include contributions to the photographic book The English Cathedral by Peter Marlow. He was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 2001. Goodall is a patron of the Castle Studies Trust, a UK registered charity founded in 2012.
Tickets: $15 members*; $25 non-members
*Membership discount applied automatically when logged into your Royal-Oak.org account

Zoom | Fred Astaire in London
2025-05-15 18:00 - 19:00 | Zoom Webinar, Virtual, United States
Fred Astaire, 1935 Publicity still from Top Hat, RKO pictures, From former Marilyn Blaisdell Collection
Though born in Omaha, Nebraska, and raised in New York City, dancer Fred Astaire spent a significant portion of his early career in the United Kingdom. From 1922 to 1932, he and his sister Adele captivated London audiences in three wildly popular West End musicals, sparking a sensation so intense that critics dubbed it “Astairia.” During his time in London, Astaire immersed himself in British culture; he studied music theory at London’s Guildhall School of Music alongside Noël Coward and socialized with the aristocracy. With his new dance partner, Claire Luce, Astaire expanded his repertoire, incorporating sweeping, romantic movements as well as an English sense of style. His impeccable fashion sense, effortless charm, and refined elegance—central to his dance films of the 1930s through the 1950s—were deeply influenced by the customs and style he observed while mingling with British high society and even the royal family. Victoria Kastner will explore the profound impact of Astaire’s years in the UK, revealing how his time on the London stage helped shape the dancer, actor, and icon the world came to adore.
Victoria Kastner is the leading scholar and author about the architect Julia Morgan as well as about Hearst Castle, where she worked for 30 yrs as historian. She is the author of Hearst Castle: The Biography of a Country House, published by Harry N. Abrams in 2000; Hearst’s San Simeon: The Gardens and the Land, May 2009; and Hearst Ranch: Family, Land and Legacy. She co-authored The Beverly Hills Hotel: The First 100 years with Robert Anderson. In 2022, Victoria published; Julia Morgan: An Intimate Biography of the trailblazing architect. Ms. Kastner has lectured extensively on Julia Morgan, Hearst’s art collection, and the history of collecting for many museums and groups: including at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the American Museum in Britain in Bath; and the Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco. She has also written for The London Telegraph, the American Institute of Architects, Oxford University’s Journal of the History of Collections, and The Magazine Antiques.

Tickets: $15 members*; $25 non-members
*Membership discount applied automatically when logged into your Royal-Oak.org account

Zoom | The Lost World of Bletchley Park
2025-05-20 14:00 - 15:00 | Zoom Webinar, Virtual, United States
Wrens billeted at Wavedon Manor near Bletchley Park ©Bletchley Park Trust
At a casual glance, Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire resembles any other sprawling country Victorian house that might have been owned by a wealthy businessman: in this case stockbroker Sir Herbert Leon. When Bletchley was purchased in 1938 by the Head of Secret Intelligence Service, the estate quickly went from outdoor country pursuits, to become the nerve centre of Britain’s war: the top-secret headquarters for Britain’s Government Code and Cypher School. Bletchley quickly developed into a place where the nation’s most brilliant mathematical minds toiled alongside cryptographers, debutantes, dons, and factory workers on complex problems with world-wide resonance. Historian Sinclair McKay will reveal the day-to-day life at Bletchley, and the activities of the extraordinary men and women who toiled in secret on the estate—secrets they kept for the following decades. Winston Churchill told them proudly, on a visit to the Park in 1941, that they were “the geese that laid the golden eggs and never cackled.” Based on first-hand interviews of surviving code-breakers, Mr. McKay will also describe the entertainments and furtive Bletchley romances that helped ease the pressures faced by operatives as they worked to decipher German coded messages. Finally, he will chronicle how the estate was abandoned, nearly demolished, and almost became a supermarket, before being heroically saved as a museum.
Sinclair McKay writes for the Daily Telegraph, the Mail on Sunday and The Spectator. He is a literary critic for the Telegraph and the Spectator. He has published extensively on Bletchley Park and codebreakers in his books, The Secret Life of Bletchley Park, The Secret Listeners, and Bletchley Park Brainteasers. Among his other books include Dresden: The Fire and the Darkness (2020) and Meeting Churchill: A Life in 90 Encounters (2023). His upcoming book St. Petersburg: Sacrifice and Redemption in the City That Defied Hitler, is due to be released in October 2025. He lives in London’s East End and can – in theory – walk along the Grand Union canal towpath without interruption to Bletchley Park some 48 miles north.
Tickets: $15 members*; $25 non-members
*Membership discount applied automatically when logged into your Royal-Oak.org account

Zoom | Behind the Scenes: Georgian Buildings in TV and Film
2025-05-22 12:00 - 13:00 | Zoom Webinar, Virtual, United States
Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire ©National Trust/Paul Barker
Britain’s grand Georgian buildings have not only stood as architectural masterpieces for centuries, but they have also played a starring role in some of the most beloved English period dramas. Among the finest NT examples, Lyme Park, Cheshire, exemplifies the Georgian country house’s Palladian style; its grand façade and formal gardens make it the perfect choice for Mr. Darcy’s Pemberley in BBC’s Pride & Prejudice (1995). Kedleston Hall, designed by Robert Adam, showcases the height of Neoclassical design—the Kedleston state rooms provide a magnificent setting for the film The Duchess (2008). The Temple of Apollo at Stourhead set the scene for Mr. Darcy’s dramatic first proposal to Elizabeth Bennet in the later Pride & Prejudice (2005) film, while Stourhead’s Palladian bridge and gardens are highlighted in the background. Meanwhile, Saltram, an elegant Georgian mansion in Devon, lent its interiors to Sense and Sensibility (1995), offering an authentic glimpse into 18th-century refinement and taste. Social and architectural historian, Dr. Amy Boyington will explore the histories of these treasures as she traces the development of Georgian architecture and its relationship to 18th-century aristocratic life. She will illustrate gorgeous examples used in period film and television. She will also explore how these houses, as portrayed in film, impacts how we visualize the Georgian period. Identifying these locations in period dramas is not only a delight for viewers (and Royal Oak Foundation members), but their on-screen presence also shapes how we understand and envision the past, influencing our connection to the hallmarks of Georgian architectural style.

Dr. Amy Boyington is a social and architectural historian who attained her PhD in architectural history from the University of Cambridge. Dr. Boyington has worked in a curatorial capacity at Holkham Hall, Goodwood House and Woburn Abbey. She has worked as a research consultant for the National Trust at Stowe Landscape Gardens and for Historic Royal Palaces at Kensington Palace. She was recently a Senior Properties Historian for English Heritage. Her debut book is Hidden Patrons: Women and Architectural Patronage in Georgian Britain (Bloomsbury, 2023). She is now working on her second book Decadence & Display (Yale University Press) which focuses on the 18thc country house dining room. Dr. Boyington is a popular historian on social media (@history_with_amy) with over 1.4 million followers.
Tickets: $15 members*; $25 non-members
*Membership discount applied automatically when logged into your Royal-Oak.org account

Zoom | Essex: England’s Quiet Corner
2025-05-28 17:00 - 18:00 | Zoom Meeting
Bourne Mill, Essex ©National Trust Images/Megan Taylor
Join Royal Oak for a captivating digital tour of Essex, a county rich in history, natural beauty, and architectural treasures. Led by tour guide Rob Smith, we will explore this southern, low-lying region, home to one of England’s longest coastlines, ancient forests, and charming villages. We will explore Colchester, Britain’s oldest recorded town, where significant Roman ruins—including a Roman wall—offer a glimpse into the past. Nearby, picturesque Bourne Mill, originally built as a fishing lodge, was later transformed into a 72-bucket watermill that produced the high-quality woolen cloth for which 17th-century Essex was famous. Just a short walk away, visitors will find some of the area’s most celebrated inns and pubs. We will venture to Paycocke’s House, a stunning Tudor merchant’s home adorned with intricate woodcarvings and paneling—an enduring testament to the wealth generated by Essex’s prosperous cloth trade. However, no area highlights the outstanding natural beauty of Essex as Blackwater Estuary. This important coastal area is the oldest recorded battlefield in England. Copt Hall Marshes are a remote producing farm along the estuary with an incredible breeding area for birds and waterfowl. Northey Island, a remote tidal island—the single largest block of saltmarsh in Blackwater—is the closest you will get to true Essex wilderness and home to many protected bird species. Travel with us digitally as we explore this quiet county, highlighting incredible areas of natural beauty.
Tickets: $30 members*; $40 non-members
*Membership discount applied automatically when logged into your Royal-Oak.org account

Zoom | Gainsborough House & Exhibition: Masterpieces from Kenwood
2025-09-25 14:00 - 15:00 | Zoom Meeting
Reopened in 2022 after a transformational refurbishment, Gainsborough House in Suffolk is the National Centre for the artist Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788). The house combines the artist’s childhood home—a Grade I, 18th-century merchant brick town house—with new exhibition galleries and facilities. The house holds the world’s largest single concentration of Gainsborough’s work and presents the artist’s life and legacy through dynamic exhibitions. Emma Boyd, the Keeper of Art and Place, will take us on a virtual tour, showing remaining parts of the old house including the hall and oak doorway dating back to the 16th century. She will describe the history of the house (which stayed in the artist’s family until 1792) and illustrate the current exhibition, Masterpieces from Kenwood:The Splendour of British and French Painting (May 9–October 19, 2025). The show features 18th-century masterpieces by both British and French artists, including Sir Joshua Reynolds, George Romney, Angelica Kauffmann, and François Boucher. These masterpieces, on loan from Kenwood House and collected by Edward Cecil Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh (1847–1927), are displayed alongside the work by Gainsborough. Ms. Boyd will show these outstanding paintings and reveal how Gainsborough’s art fits within the broader context of the artistic work created by his British and French contemporaries.
Tickets: $25 members*; $35 non-members
*Membership discount applied automatically when logged into your Royal-Oak.org account

Zoom | Feeding the City: London’s Iconic Food and Drink Factories
2025-09-29 17:00 - 18:00 | Zoom Meeting
London was the largest city in the world during the 19th century, with an appetite to match. As the city’s population exploded, food and drink needed to be produced on an unprecedented industrial scale. In response, sprawling factories sprang up across the capital, churning out everything from biscuits to gin. Some of these London historic food sites remain active today, while others have been repurposed, leaving behind only traces of their industrial legacy. Through this fascinating virtual tour, Rob Smith will take us back to London’s flavorful past as he explores the food factories that helped feed the population of the metropolis. We will explore the story of the Lyle’s Golden Syrup factory in Silvertown—founded in the 1880s and operating today—producing its famous syrup in the world’s oldest branded packaging. We will learn about McVities in Harlesden, home to beloved British biscuits like the Digestive and Jaffa Cakes, and we will explore what became of Gordon’s Gin distillery, once a powerhouse in Clerkenwell. We will also virtually visit the former Sarsons’ vinegar works in Bermondsey, whose towering vats now house creative studios. Rob will reveal what life was like for the factory workers, the production innovations that shaped their industries, and the legacy left by these factories that shaped London’s culinary and urban history.
Tickets: $30 members*; $40 non-members
*Membership discount applied automatically when logged into your Royal-Oak.org account

Zoom | British Abroad: The Grand Tour
2025-10-07 14:00 - 15:00 | Zoom Webinar, Virtual, United States
For young men of the 18th-century English social elite, extended travel for pleasure on the Continent came to be seen as an essential component of a well-rounded education. The Grand Tour also served as an important social marker for noblemen and aristocratic gentlemen who had completed their English schooling but were not yet old enough to assume control of their estates. The conventional Grand Tour was generally limited to France and Italy, although some ventured further afield to Switzerland, Germany, or the Low Countries. In his lecture, historian Jeremy Black MBE will explore the experiences of those who undertook the Grand Tour. Using private diaries and personal letters, he will present a fresh perspective on how British aristocrats experienced their travels—from accommodations, transport, food, and souvenirs (such as artworks and sculptures brought back to fill country houses) to entertainment expenses, tipping, and gambling or drinking money. He will also address the hazards faced by travelers, including the dangers of war, illness (sometimes fatal), carriage accidents, and crime. Dr. Black will focus on the realities of the journey, moving beyond the idealized version often portrayed in literature and history. Finally, he will discuss how the Grand Tour shaped both its participants and broader British culture.
Jeremy Black MBE, is a renowned English historian and former Professor of History at the University of Exeter. He graduated from Cambridge and did postgraduate work at Oxford. A prolific author and lecturer, he has written over 100 books, with a particular focus on 18th-century British, European, and American political, diplomatic, and military history. He is currently a Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of America and the West at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, Philadelphia.
Tickets: $15 members*; $25 non-members
*Membership discount applied automatically when logged into your Royal-Oak.org account

Zoom | Meeting Churchill: Personal Encounters
2025-10-28 14:00 - 15:00 | Zoom Webinar, Virtual, United States
The Churchills at breakfast at Chartwell, Kent ©NT/Anthony Lambert
In his ninety years of life – an incredible span reaching from the autumn of Queen Victoria’s reign in 1874 to the rise of the Rolling Stones in 1965 – Winston Churchill had encounters with the most extraordinary range of people. From Gandhi to Albert Einstein; HG Wells to Charlie Chaplin; Ethel Barrymore to Maria Callas; Harry S Truman to Joseph Stalin to Queen Elizabeth II. Churchill is remembered best as an inspirational war leader and a young army adventurer. But his vividly rich life also encompassed friendships with – among many others – a Bolshevik ambassador, artists like Walter Sickert, actors like Laurence Olivier and poets like Rupert Brooke. Through the eyes and recollections of all these people, one starts to glimpse and understand new depths in Churchill: his character, his passions, his follies –not to mention his amazing propensity for bursting into tears at the slightest provocation!
Sinclair McKay writes for the Daily Telegraph, The Mail on Sunday and The Spectator. He is a literary critic for the Daily Telegraph and The Spectator. He has published extensively on Bletchley Park and codebreakers in his books, The Secret Life of Bletchley Park, The Secret Listeners, and Bletchley Park Brainteasers. Among his other books include Dresden: The Fire and the Darkness (2020) and Meeting Churchill: A Life in 90 Encounters (2023). His upcoming book St. Petersburg: Sacrifice and Redemption in the City That Defied Hitler, is due to be released in October 2025.

Sinclair McKay writes for the Daily Telegraph, The Mail on Sunday and The Spectator. He is a literary critic for the Daily Telegraph and The Spectator. He has published extensively on Bletchley Park and codebreakers in his books, The Secret Life of Bletchley Park, The Secret Listeners, and Bletchley Park Brainteasers. Among his other books include Dresden: The Fire and the Darkness (2020) and Meeting Churchill: A Life in 90 Encounters (2023). His upcoming book St. Petersburg: Sacrifice and Redemption in the City That Defied Hitler, is due to be released in October 2025.
Tickets: $15 members*; $25 non-members
*Membership discount applied automatically when logged into your Royal-Oak.org account

Zoom | Glassware, Stone and Beer: Lambeth’s Lost Industry
2025-10-30 13:00 - 14:00 | Zoom Webinar, Virtual, United States
Delve into the rich but often overlooked industrial past of Lambeth, once a thriving hub of craftsmanship and production along the Thames. Guided by Richard Watkins, this virtual tour explores the legacy of the industries that once defined the South Bank—from the artistry of Coade Stone, a remarkable artificial stone used in architecture across London, to the decorative ceramics of Doulton’s, and the bustling activity of the Lion Brewery, where barrels of beer once flowed toward Westminster. Using historical images, maps, and surviving landmarks, we’ll trace how this stretch of riverfront evolved—from a landscape of workshops and kilns to one of cultural institutions and modern redevelopment.
Tickets: $30 members*; $40 non-members
*Membership discount applied automatically when logged into your Royal-Oak.org account

Zoom | 100 Things to Wear: Fashion from the Collections of the National Trust
2025-11-04 14:00 - 15:00 | Zoom Webinar, Virtual, United States
©National Trust Images/Andreas von Einsiedel
The National Trust looks after more than 40,000 pieces of dress or costume, including objects of national significance. Some pieces belonged to people who lived or worked in the Trust’s historic houses, while others belonged to unknown individuals. From luxurious attire to practical everyday working clothes, the NT’s assemblage contains examples of women and men’s fashions, children’s clothing, and accessories. While the collection represents 500 years of fashion trends and innovation, it also offers something more intimate than just evidence of material survival; it is a repository of the life traces of tens of thousands of people. Emma Slocomb, Senior National Curator of Dress and Textiles at the National Trust, will introduce her new co-authored book 100 Things to Wear: Fashion from the National Trust Collections (Fall 2025). Informed by new research and photography, she will share a selection of the most significant collection items—from the opulence of the Tudor period to the tailoring of the Windrush generation. She will explain how the way people dressed reflected their social power, political tastes, and personality. Finally, she will delve behind the scenes, illustrating the work of the Textile Conservation Studio team.
Emma Slocombe is the National Trust’s Senior National Curator for Dress and Textiles and has been a curator at the National Trust since 2006. Her principal interests lie in early modern textiles, furnished interiors, and histories of textile recycling and repurposing – subjects on which she has published widely. She is currently leading projects that explore the manufacture, exchange and repurposing of a broad range of dress and textiles. Recent publications include ‘Textile Transmissions: Repurposing church vestments in the Reformation’ (National Trust Cultural Heritage Magazine, Autumn 2023) with Professor James Clarke (Exeter University). She also co-leads research into ‘Histories of Childhood’ with Professor Sian Pooley (Oxford University), and authored ‘Fashion at Play: An 18th century doll at Dudmaston Hall’ (National Trust Cultural Heritage Magazine, Spring 2024).
Tickets: FREE for members*; $15 non-members
*Membership discount applied automatically when logged into your Royal-Oak.org account

Zoom | Arts & Crafts Connections: The Yeats and Morris Families
2025-11-06 14:00 - 15:00 | Zoom Webinar, Virtual, United States
Standen House, West Sussex ©National Trust Images/James Dobson
Two of the most influential artistic families of the late 19th and early 20th centuries—the Morris’ of England and the Yeats’ of Ireland have rich and fascinating connections. Their relationships offer a compelling window into the shared ideals of the Arts & Crafts movement. At one time the families were neighbours in London and their proximity created personal ties which helped shape Irish and British arts, design, and cultural identity. The earliest link between the families might have been when John Butler Yeats sketched William Morris during his lecture at Dublin’s Contemporary Club in 1886—a fleeting encounter that marked the beginning of deeper artistic and ideological connections. Lily Yeats learned embroidery under the tutelage of May Morris and went on to produce exquisite work for Morris & Co. The influence of Morris’ philosophy is especially evident in the founding of the Dun Emer Guild in 1902 by Elizabeth and Lily Yeats and Evelyn Gleeson. This women-led cooperative sought to revive traditional Irish handicrafts. The sisters’ later enterprise,Cuala Industries, further revived Irish culture through utilizing fine printing and embroidery. Jessica Fahy will trace this incredible creative legacy that bound the two families together. She will illustrate beautiful examples of the Yeats sisters’ works and examine how their collaboration with Morris’ ideals shaped an international vision of art that was both socially purposeful and aesthetically enduring.
Jessica Fahy is a freelance art historian. She sits on lecturer and guide panels for the National Gallery of Ireland, the Hugh Lane Gallery and UCD School of Access and Lifelong Learning. She gives both private and public talks and tours across Ireland and abroad. She is active online covering all areas of Western Art from the 14th century to the present day. She is a regular contributor to RTÉ Radio 1 arts show Arena. She has a MLitt in Art History from UCD where she also received her undergraduate degree. She completed her MA in Italian Renaissance Art at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London in 2007.
Tickets: $15 members*; $25 non-members
*Membership discount applied automatically when logged into your Royal-Oak.org account

Zoom | From Castles and Cathedrals to Chalk Downs: West Sussex
2025-11-13 14:00 - 15:00 | Zoom Meeting
The ruins at Nymans, West Sussex ©National Trust Images/Clive Nichols
West Sussex is a picturesque county, rich in historic towns, grand estates, and stunning National Trust properties. Stephen Benton will lead us on a captivating virtual journey through its varied landscapes and cultural landmarks. Our tour will include a “visit” to Chichester, a cathedral city, and continue to Arundel, known for the magnificent castle, owned by the Dukes of Norfolk, and charming streets. We will also explore West Dean, a historic estate with beautifully restored gardens nestled in the South Downs—formerly the home of poet and Surrealist artist Edward James. Throughout the tour, Stephen will highlight favorite National Trust sites including 17th-century Petworth House, containing a world-class art collection and a 700-acre park; and Uppark, a 17th-and 18th-century house remarkably restored after a 1989 devastating fire. We will also look at the atmospheric ruins and gardens at Nymans as well as the interiors and gardens at Standen, one of the finest examples of Arts & Crafts architecture and interiors. Finally, we will explore the dramatic landscapes of Devil’s Dyke and the rolling hills that provide West Sussex its timeless character.
Tickets: $30 members*; $40 non-members
*Membership discount applied automatically when logged into your Royal-Oak.org account

Zoom | Burghley House: 500 years of History, Art, & Family
2025-11-18 14:00 - 15:00 | Zoom Webinar, Virtual, United States
©Ashley Hicks
Burghley House in Stamford, Lincolnshire, is one of England’s greatest country houses and a remarkable testament to the ambition and vision of William Cecil, Lord High Treasurer to Queen Elizabeth I. The most powerful courtier of the Elizabethan age, Cecil designed the house with Dutch Renaissance architect Hans Vredeman de Vries. Constructed between 1555 and 1587, Burghley’s exterior reflects a striking blend of 16th-century architectural influences, incorporating fashionable French and Italian styles. Inside, the opulent State Rooms house one of the finest privately owned collections of Old Master paintings in England. Over the centuries, the Cecil family also acquired an exceptional range of fine English and Continental furniture, rare 17th-century tapestries, English portrait miniatures, Chinese snuff bottles, over 800 pieces of Asian and European ceramics among other notable works of art. The interiors also showcase dramatic Baroque decorative painting, most famously the Heaven Room and the Hell Staircase, both painted by Antonio Verrio. Burghley has remained the seat of the Cecil family for over 16 generations and is currently home to Miranda Rock and her family. Join Royal Oak members and supporters for a special digital tour, presented by the guardian of Burghley. Ms. Rock will highlight the house’s extraordinary interiors, explore the family’s collections, and share stories about the family’s long history and their role as stewards. She will also discuss the ongoing work of preserving and maintaining Burghley House for future generations.
Miranda Rock is a direct descendant of William Cecil. Her grandfather, the sixth Marquess, set up the Burghley House Preservation Trust. Her mother, Lady Victoria, was the first director of until 2007. Together with her husband, Orlando, and four young children, Miranda lives at Burghley House—something she considers both a privilege and a passion. She has said that she feels that Burghley is not a museum, but a home housing a historical collection, formed of items that the owners have collected over the years. “That is the value of this house, it’s a record of taste. It’s the sort of thing that sends a chill down your spine, knowing that the ninth Earl went to Naples, chose a picture, and you can see where he hung it.”
Tickets: $15 members*; $25 non-members
*Membership discount applied automatically when logged into your Royal-Oak.org account

Zoom | English Cottage Gardens
2025-11-20 14:00 - 15:00 | Zoom Webinar, Virtual, United States
Hardy’s Cottage, Dorset ©National Trust Images/Robert Morris
Featuring an abundant yet modest jumble of colorful flowers, the cottage
garden holds a special place in people’s hearts. The characteristic mix of flowers, vegetables, medicinal herbs, and fruit trees, has its roots in the medieval cottager’s plot. Over the centuries, however, the cottage garden evolved to represent a quintessentially English style. Gardener and author Claire Masset will explore the rich history of the British cottage garden, illustrating the evolution of this informal design style with its cheerful masses of flowers. She will showcase recreations of the 16th-century country housewife’s plot, the relaxed 18th-century writers’ gardens, the “picturesque” 18th-century cottages surrounded by old-fashioned blooms, and the romantic flower beds of the 19th-century Arts & Crafts movement. Even designed 20th-century gardens such as Hidcote and Sissinghurst incorporated informally styled cottage garden “rooms.” Masset will describe the building blocks of this cottage style, from popular flowers and trees to design principles. She will also explain how cottage gardens can be created in small, contemporary spaces. Finally, she will show how British cottage gardens came to embody a natural paradise still beloved by gardeners around the world.
Claire Masset has degrees in art and architectural history from St. Andress and Oxford. She is the publisher for the National Trust in charge of their gardening books and also writes for publications. Her journalism has appeared in Country Life, BBC Homes & Antiques, Period Living, Historic Gardens Review, Gardens Illustrated, Art Quarterly, and The English Garden magazine. Her books include the bestselling Secret Gardens of the National Trust, Roses and Rose Gardens, and Cottage Gardens. She recently won the Roger Deakin Award from the Society of Authors. She gardens in her spare time and lives in West Oxfordshire with her son and two cats.

Tickets: $15 members*; $25 non-members
*Membership discount applied automatically when logged into your Royal-Oak.org account

Zoom | British Connections in the Gibbes Collection, Charleston S.C.
2025-12-08 14:00 - 15:00 | Zoom Meeting
Thomas Middleton of The Oaks, 1770By Benjamin West (American, 1738–1820)
The Gibbes Museum of Art, located in the heart of Charleston, South Carolina, contains a premier collection of over 10,000 art objects. While its works primarily focus on American Southern art connected to Charleston, many objects have British connections. Housed in a stunning Beaux Arts-style building, the museum offers a rich window into the region’s history as a major British colony, where Charlestonians commissioned portraits and collected works painted by English artists. Becca Hiester, Gibbes Director of Education and Programs, will give a virtual tour exploring the museum’s transatlantic connections, with a special look at British-American artist Benjamin West. West, born in Pennsylvania, rose to prominence while in 18th-century London. He earned the nickname “American Raphael” and attracted the attention of patrons such as King George III. In 1772, he was appointed Historical Painter to the King, and later became President of the Royal Academy. Becca will explore West’s work and describe the artist’s connections to wealthy Charlestonians. Finally, she will explain how British art found its home in the Gibbes Collection.
Tickets: $20 members*; $30 non-members
*Membership discount applied automatically when logged into your Royal-Oak.org account

Zoom | Christmas in Georgian London
2025-12-09 17:00 - 18:00 | Zoom Meeting
At the start of the Georgian period, Christmas was a refined and relatively modest affair, especially among the upper classes. Gone were the Tudor boisterous revels. Instead, the holiday was marked by elegant entertainments, subdued gatherings, and traditional fares such as rosemary garlands, Christmas porridge, and the ever-popular buttock of beef. However, by the late Georgian period, shifting changes in custom led to a wave of nostalgia for the festive customs of “Old England.” This change brought renewed enthusiasm for traditional celebrations tied to St. Nicholas Day and Twelfth Night festivities, and the development of new foods and culinary treats. Accompanying the ascension of the new monarch in 1714, King George I, came the now popular custom of serving plum pudding as part of Christmas dinner. Join Rob Smith for a lively virtual tour of Christmas in Georgian London, as he unwraps the layers of tradition, transformation, and theatricality that shaped the holiday season.
©National Trust Images/William Shaw
From candlelit masked balls and extravagant feasts, to bustling frost fairs on the Thames, and raucous pantomimes on Drury Lane. Along the way, Rob will share stories of seasonal indulgence and holiday tales, including a tale of a highwayman who funded his Christmas celebrations through robbery. Join us as we explore how Georgian London celebrated the season and historically peer through the city windows lit by candlelight and alive with holiday cheer.
Tickets: $30 members*; $40 non-members
*Membership discount applied automatically when logged into your Royal-Oak.org account
