The Royal Oak Foundation

Zoom Rental | Gardens of Glass
2025-08-28 12:00 - 2025-12-30 12:00 (America/New_York) | Zoom Recording, Virtual, New York, NY, 10036, 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 Rental | Gainsborough House & Exhibition: Masterpieces from Kenwood
2025-09-26 - 2025-12-31
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 Rental | Feeding the City: London’s Iconic Food and Drink Factories
2025-09-30 - 2025-12-31
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 Rental | British Abroad: The Grand Tour
2025-10-08 - 2025-12-31
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 Rental | Modern Aristocrats: Ancestral Houses and Their Stories
2025-10-23 12:00 - 2025-12-31 23:30
The history of England and the British people is inextricably linked with the stories of its leading aristocratic dynasties, and the seats they have occupied for centuries. These houses have survived great wars, economic upheavals, and at times scandal and tragedy. James Reginato, writer-at-large for Vanity Fair, will showcase several of his favorite British stately homes, in England, Ireland, Italy, and the Caribbean. He will tell the behind-the-scenes stories and also illustrate their interiors—such as Broughton Castle, home of the 21st Baron Saye and Sele and The Grove in Oxfordshire, home of Countess Mountbatten of Burma and Lady Pamela Hicks. Mr. Reginato will then join architectural historian and editor George McNeely to discuss the history of these aristocratic families and their country houses. They will also answer questions about how these modern stewards and new generation of aristocrats keep these stately homes going in high style.
James Reginato has been a writer-at-large for Vanity Fair since 2009. He has landed rare interviews with some of the world’s most elusive individuals in their extraordinary homes including Bunny Mellon, King Charles III (then Prince of Wales), Highness Prince Karim, the Aga Khan and others. A contributing editor of Sotheby’s Magazine he has also served as Editor-at-Large for Architectural Digest. His work appears in WSJ, Town & Country, The Financial Times and W Magazine where he was previously the Features Director. Mr. Reginato received a B.A. from Columbia University. He is the author of Growing up Getty: The Story of America’s Most Unconventional Dynasty. His first book, Great Houses, Modern Aristocrats, on which his lecture is based, presents an intimate look at some of Great Britain’s stateliest houses and the families who live inside them.
George McNeely is an architectural historian, editor, and charity auctioneer. He graduated from Princeton University and has an MBA from Columbia Business School. He was Vice President for Strategic & International Affairs at World Monuments Fund until 2016. Previously, he worked for 15 years at Christie’s Auction House as a Senior Vice President in Business Development. He regularly lectures about the history of art and architecture, the art and auction market, and cultural heritage preservation.
Tickets: $20 members*; $30 non-members
*Membership discount applied automatically when logged into your Royal-Oak.org account

Zoom Rental | Meeting Churchill: Personal Encounters
2025-10-29 - 2025-12-31
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.
Tickets: $15 members*; $25 non-members
*Membership discount applied automatically when logged into your Royal-Oak.org account

Zoom Rental | Glassware, Stone and Beer: Lambeth’s Lost Industry
2025-10-31 12:00 - 2025-12-31 23:30
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 Rental | 100 Things to Wear: Fashion from the Collections of the National Trust
2025-11-05 12:00 - 2025-12-31 23:30
©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 Rental | Arts & Crafts Connections: The Yeats and Morris Families
2025-11-07 - 2025-12-31
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
