Zoom Rental | George Frideric Handel at Home
2025-04-18 12:00 - 2025-06-30 23:30 (America/New_York) | Zoom Recording, Virtual, New York, NY, 10036, United States
In 1723, the composer George Frideric Handel moved into a new built house on Brook Street in Mayfair, London. He would live there for 36 years, dying in his own bed at the age of 74. From 1723, all of his music, beginning with the opera Giulio Cesare and including Messiah and all his great oratorios, was composed in this house. Handel rehearsed his singers in his upstairs music room, attracting friends and neighbors who listened. The maestro even sold his music from his front parlor. Besides being a nexus for his compositions, Handel also hosted dinners at Brook Street and musicales—reciprocating evenings in the homes of his friends—and displayed his art collection in his home. Professor Emeritus (MIT) Ellen Harris will trace George Frideric Handel’s footsteps and activities during his life on Brook Street in London.
Ellen T. Harris is Class of 1949 Professor Emeritus at MIT and Visiting Professor at The Juilliard School. Her work includes the award-winning books George Frideric Handel: A Life with Friends (Norton, 2014) and Handel as Orpheus: Voice and Desire in the Chamber Cantatas (Harvard, 2001). Her research on Handel’s finances won the Westrup Prize in 2004. She has performed with John Williams and the Boston Pops and sung the National Anthem at Fenway Park. She is currently preparing a book on performing Handel’s operas.

Tickets: $20 members*; $30 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 Rental | The Country Houses of James Wyatt (1746 –1813)
2025-04-30 12:00 - 2025-06-30 12:00 | Zoom Recording, Virtual, New York, NY, 10036, United States

Zoom | Discovering Devon: National Trust Treasures
2025-04-30 14:00 - 15:00 | Zoom Meeting
The Stables at Knightshayes, Devon ©NT Images Mel Peters
Journey through some of Devon’s most captivating National Trust properties, each with its own unique story. From grand estates to hidden collections, history comes to life at every turn. Stephen Benton leads this virtual tour where we start with Lydford Gorge, where dramatic waterfalls and ancient woodlands create a truly magical landscape. And we will soak in the Jazz Age elegance of Coleton Fishacre, the dreamy 1920s retreat of the D’Oyly Carte family, containing Art Deco interiors with windows emphasizing sea views. Nearby is Greenway, Agatha Christie’s beloved holiday home perched on the river, filled with her literary history (and rentable as an NT cottage!). We will hear tales of seafarers at Buckland Abbey, once home to Sir Francis Drake, and explore Killerton, a stunning Georgian home with lush gardens and the Trust’s fashion collection—once gifted away for the sake of political beliefs. We will marvel at the rare Gothic Revival splendor by Victorian visionary, William Burges, at Knightshayes—a complete country gentleman’s dream—surrounded by gardens containing one of the most varied plant collections in England. Finally, we will step inside the granite walls of Castle Drogo, a unique early 20th-century house designed by renowned architect Sir Edwin Lutyens. We will end our tour with a look at a world of feathers and shells featured at A la Ronde, a 16-sided 1790s house.
Tickets: $30 members*; $40 non-members
*Membership discount applied automatically when logged into your Royal-Oak.org account

Zoom Rental | Discovering Devon: National Trust Treasures
2025-05-01 12:00 - 2025-06-30 12:00 | Zoom Recording, Virtual, New York, NY, 10036, United States

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 Rental | Under the Caribbean Sun: British Painting from the Museo de Arte de Ponce
2025-05-07 08:00 - 2025-06-30 23:30 | Zoom Recording, Virtual, New York, NY, 10036, United States
Frederic, Lord Leighton Flaming June. Photo Museo de Arte de Ponce, Puerto Rico
The Museo de Arte de Ponce holds the most important and, perhaps, the most unexpected collection of Victorian art outside the UK. Their Pre-Raphaelite collection contains icons of British painting, such as Frederic, Lord Leighton’s Flaming June and Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones’s masterpiece, The Last Sleep of Arthur in Avalon. It also includes works by Dante Gabriel Rosetti and John Everett Millais among others. Featuring biblical scenes, subjects drawn from Shakespeare, or tableaux based on written works by Tennyson and Keats, Pre-Raphaelite paintings were characterized by vibrant colors and unconventional compositions. These paintings revolutionized the Victorian art scene during the latter half of the 19th century and today represent the ideal of classicized female beauty. Vanity Fair and Country Life contributor Patrick Monahan will tell the extraordinary story of how such important works of Victorian art crossed the Atlantic to Puerto Rico. He will highlight the stories behind some of these treasures and will also show how some of these images have been transformed into ubiquitous icons—reproduced on T-shirts, coffee mugs, phone covers, jigsaw puzzles, and more.
Patrick Monahan is a writer and independent art advisor, specializing in British paintings, drawings, and sculpture from the eighteenth century to the present. A native New Yorker, he is consulted by collectors and museums on both sides of the Atlantic, including the Museo de Arte de Ponce, Puerto Rico. His written work appears in Country Life and Vanity Fair, as well as in the exhibition catalogue “Flaming June: the making of an icon,” Leighton House, London, 2016. He holds an M.Phil. from the University of Cambridge as well as a BA from the University of Chicago, both in art history. He lives and works in New York City, with regular visits to London.
Tickets: FREE to members*; $15 non-members
*Membership discount applied automatically when logged into your Royal-Oak.org account

NYC | J.M.W. Turner at Petworth
2025-05-12 18:15 - 20:00 | CDA Abigail Adams Smith Auditorium, 417 East 61st Street, New York City, NY, 10065, United States
The Carved Room, with the four paintings by Turner at Petworth House and Park, West Sussex. The carvings are by Grinling Gibbons.
The year 2025 marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775– 1851), one of the most admired and influential British artists. J.M.W. Turner had a unique relationship with George O’Brien Wyndham, the 3rd Earl of Egremont, who inherited Petworth House and Park, West Sussex, in 1763—now an NT property. The artist was a frequent house guest and was free to explore the house and estate, drawing great inspiration from the beauty of Petworth’s interiors, collections, and landscape. As a collector of British art, the 3rd Earl was a great patron and host to many contemporary artists such as Turner, John Constable, and C.R. Leslie. Turner’s extraordinary talent, combined with the unique opportunity to work at Petworth, allowed him to produce detailed pictorial descriptions of the great house and estate. These masterpieces can be seen at Petworth in the original devised for them after being reinstated in the early 2000s. Join Dr. John Chu, NT Senior Curator of Pictures and Sculpture, as he examines Turner’s works which illustrate what life was like at Petworth almost 200 years ago. He will also discuss the upcoming NT exhibition Turner’s Vision at Petworth (June 21–November 16, 2025), and the artist’s relationship with the Earl and demonstrate the impact this extraordinary house and landscape had on one of Britain’s celebrated artists.
John Chu was appointed Senior Curator of Pictures and Sculpture for Midlands at the National Trust, UK in 2021. He joined the NT in 2015 as Assistant Curator of Pictures and Sculpture and worked on exhibitions at Osterley, Powis Castle, and Basildon Park among other properties. He also worked on permanent re-displays of state rooms at The Vyne, Hampshire and Knole, Kent. He graduated from Cambridge University and received a Master of Arts and Ph.D. from Courtauld Institute of Art, London University. He was a visiting lecturer from University of Reading and an Associate Lecturer at Courtauld Institute of Art. He was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at The Paul Mellon Center for Studies in British Art.
Location: CDA Abigail Adams Smith Ballroom, 417 E. 61st Street
New York, NY 10065
In-Person: 6:15pm (ET), Lecture will be followed by a reception
Tickets: $35 members*; $45 non-members
*Membership discount applied automatically when logged into your Royal-Oak.org account
Note: This lecture will be in-person only, with no rental recording.

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 Rental | Fred Astaire in London
2025-05-16 12:00 - 2025-06-30 12:00 | Zoom Recording, Virtual, New York, NY, 10036, United States
Fred Astaire, 1940s, Original publicity still 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 Rental | J.M.W. Turner at Petworth
2025-05-20 12:00 - 2025-06-30 12:00 | Zoom Recording, Virtual, New York, NY, 10036, United States
Recording available on Tuesday, May 20 12:00 pm ET
The Carved Room, with the four paintings by Turner at Petworth House and Park, West Sussex. The carvings are by Grinling Gibbons.
The year 2025 marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775– 1851), one of the most admired and influential British artists. J.M.W. Turner had a unique relationship with George O’Brien Wyndham, the 3rd Earl of Egremont, who inherited Petworth House and Park, West Sussex, in 1763—now an NT property. The artist was a frequent house guest and was free to explore the house and estate, drawing great inspiration from the beauty of Petworth’s interiors, collections, and landscape. As a collector of British art, the 3rd Earl was a great patron and host to many contemporary artists such as Turner, John Constable, and C.R. Leslie. Turner’s extraordinary talent, combined with the unique opportunity to work at Petworth, allowed him to produce detailed pictorial descriptions of the great house and estate. These masterpieces can be seen at Petworth in the original devised for them after being reinstated in the early 2000s. Join Dr. John Chu, NT Senior Curator of Pictures and Sculpture, as he examines Turner’s works which illustrate what life was like at Petworth almost 200 years ago. He will also discuss the upcoming NT exhibition Turner’s Vision at Petworth (June 21–November 16, 2025), and the artist’s relationship with the Earl and demonstrate the impact this extraordinary house and landscape had on one of Britain’s celebrated artists.

John Chu was appointed Senior Curator of Pictures and Sculpture for Midlands at the National Trust, UK in 2021. He joined the NT in 2015 as Assistant Curator of Pictures and Sculpture and worked on exhibitions at Osterley, Powis Castle, and Basildon Park among other properties. He also worked on permanent re-displays of state rooms at The Vyne, Hampshire and Knole, Kent. He graduated from Cambridge University and received a Master of Arts and Ph.D. from Courtauld Institute of Art, London University. He was a visiting lecturer from University of Reading and an Associate Lecturer at Courtauld Institute of Art. He was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at The Paul Mellon Center for Studies in British Art.

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 Rental | The Lost World of Bletchley Park
2025-05-21 12:00 - 2025-06-30 12:00 | Zoom Recording, Virtual, New York, NY, 10036, United States

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 Rental | Behind the Scenes: Georgian Buildings in TV and Film
2025-05-23 12:00 - 2025-06-30 12:00 | Zoom Recording, Virtual, New York, NY, 10036, United States

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 Rental | Essex: England’s Quiet Corner
2025-05-29 12:00 - 2025-06-30 12:00 | Zoom Recording, Virtual, New York, NY, 10036, United States

NYC | Printing Presses at Bowne
2025-05-31 16:30 - 18:00 | Bowne & Co. Stationers, 211 Water St, New York, NY, 10038, United States
Step back in time as we visit Bowne & Co., a unique New York gem that brings the art of letterpress printing to life. Located at the South Street Seaport Museum, this historic print shop continues the centuries-old tradition of small-batch printing, using original equipment from the museum’s collection. Printing was central to the economy as every business and transaction required receipts, bills, advertisements, and certificates, and printers like Bowne & Co. filled those needs. Established in 1775, the original Bowne & Co., Inc. was one of the city’s oldest printing firms. Today, its namesake carries on this legacy, producing beautifully crafted letterpress prints visiting authentic 19th-century techniques. During our visit, a Bowne & Co. designer will demonstrate the process of setting and locking up limited-edition designs, highlighting some of the more eccentric pieces from the museum’s printing and graphic arts collection. The experience includes a look at the museum’s collection of historic printing equipment in action, culminating in the chance to print your own creation to take home.
Location: Bowne & Co. Stationers, 211 Water St, New York, NY 10038
Tickets: $35 members*; $45 non-members
*Membership discount applied automatically when logged into your Royal-Oak.org account

CANCELED - NYC | Revealing Forgotten Stories through Conservation
2025-06-03 18:15 - 20:00 | NY
This in-person program has been canceled. You can register for the recording at: https://www.royal-oak.org/event/zoom-rental-revealing-forgotten-stories-through-conservation/
The National Trust cares for over 500 historic places, many of which have been central to defining moments in history. Yet, beyond the famous places and historical figures that remain touchstones of our cultural legacy, the Trust also cares for a vast collection of over one million objects. As the Royal Oak Foundation Conservation Studio has become a pioneering hub for the preservation of the NT’s collection, it is no surprise that conservators have made new discoveries about NT objects through close observation and technical study. Conservation projects span a remarkable range—from some of the Trust’s smallest yet most iconic treasures, like the plate of ham featured in Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Two Bad Mice, to large-scale, multi-disciplinary undertakings such as the restoration of the upholstered Dolphin Chairs from Ham House. These efforts have not only preserved but also identified and revealed original surfaces and colours once thought lost. Our conservators’ work continues to deepen understanding of art history, revealing everything from previously unnoticed alterations in Jacob Tintoretto’s The Wise and Foolish Virgins, c.1546, at Upton House to fresh evidence of Claude Monet’s working methods in Charing Cross Bridge (1902) at Chartwell. In her in-person NYC lecture, Emma S. will update ROF members and friends and speak about new and upcoming conservation projects at the ROF Studio. She will also describe some of the hidden stories uncovered by conservators that have added new layers of significance and interest to objects in the NT’s collection.

Zoom Rental | Revealing Forgotten Stories through Conservation
2025-06-04 12:00 - 2025-06-30 23:30 | Zoom Recording, Virtual, New York, NY, 10036, United States
The National Trust cares for over 500 historic places, many of which have been central to defining moments in history. Yet, beyond the famous places and historical figures that remain touchstones of our cultural legacy, the Trust also cares for a vast collection of over one million objects. As the Royal Oak Foundation Conservation Studio has become a pioneering hub for the preservation of the NT’s collection, it is no surprise that conservators have made new discoveries about NT objects through close observation and technical study. Conservation projects span a remarkable range—from some of the Trust’s smallest yet most iconic treasures, like the plate of ham featured in Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Two Bad Mice, to large-scale, multi-disciplinary undertakings such as the restoration of the upholstered Dolphin Chairs from Ham House. These efforts have not only preserved but also identified and revealed original surfaces and colours once thought lost. Our conservators’ work continues to deepen understanding of art history, revealing everything from previously unnoticed alterations in Jacob Tintoretto’s The Wise and Foolish Virgins, c.1546, at Upton House to fresh evidence of Claude Monet’s working methods in Charing Cross Bridge (1902) at Chartwell. In her lecture, Emma S. will update ROF members and friends and speak about new and upcoming conservation projects at the ROF Studio. She will also describe some of the hidden stories uncovered by conservators that have added new layers of significance and interest to objects in the NT’s collection.

Dallas | Flaming June: The Making of an Icon with Patrick Monahan
2025-06-05 18:00 - 20:00 | Meadows Museum at SMU, 5900 Bishop Blvd., Dallas, 75205, United States
Frederic Leighton, Flaming June, 1895, Museo de Arte de Ponce, Puerto Rico
Join us in Dallas, TX.
In-person Only!
Lord Leighton’s Flaming June, now on view at the Meadows Museum, is heralded as a masterpiece of Victorian painting. Yet, its path to recognition was far from straightforward. Created in 1895, during the twilight of the Victorian era, the painting quickly fell into obscurity. By the mid-20th century, it had vanished from public view—until its astonishing rediscovery in 1964, hidden behind a fireplace in a Clapham house set for demolition. Through a most unexpected sequence of events, the painting’s fame was rekindled, and today it is a highlight of the collection of the Museo de Arte de Ponce, Puerto Rico, known as the “Mona Lisa of the Southern Hemisphere.” Join Patrick Monahan—advisor to the Museo de Arte de Ponce, and contributor to Country Life and Vanity Fair—as he unravels the extraordinary transatlantic journey of this iconic painting, from forgotten relic to one of the world’s most beloved artworks.

Patrick Monahan is a writer and independent art advisor, specializing in British paintings, drawings, and sculpture from the eighteenth century to the present. A native New Yorker, he is consulted by collectors and museums on both sides of the Atlantic, including the Museo de Arte de Ponce, Puerto Rico. His written work appears in Country Life and Vanity Fair, as well as in the exhibition catalogue “Flaming June: the making of an icon,” Leighton House, London, 2016. He holds an M.Phil. from the University of Cambridge as well as a BA from the University of Chicago, both in art history. He lives and works in New York City, with regular visits to London.

Thursday, June 5th
Location: Meadows Museum at SMU
In-Person: 6:00pm (CT), Lecture will be followed by a reception
Tickets: Free to ROF and Meadows Members; $15 for non-members

Zoom Rental | Gardens of Glass
2025-08-28 12:00 - 2025-12-30 12:00 | Zoom Recording, Virtual, New York, NY, 10036, United States

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 Rental | Gainsborough House & Exhibition: Masterpieces from Kenwood
2025-09-26 - 2025-12-31 | Zoom Recording, Virtual, New York, NY, 10036, United States
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 Rental | Feeding the City: London’s Iconic Food and Drink Factories
2025-09-30 - 2025-12-31 | Zoom Recording, Virtual, New York, NY, 10036, United States

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 Rental | British Abroad: The Grand Tour
2025-10-08 - 2025-12-31 | Zoom Recording, Virtual, New York, NY, 10036, United States

NYC | All Aboard!: Dining in Transit
2025-10-09 15:00 - 16:30 | The New York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY, 10036, United States
Join us for a guided tour of the Dining in Transit exhibition at the New York Historical Society as we explore the golden age of travel through the lens of food and menus. This docent-led tour will trace how ocean liners, luxury trains, and early commercial airlines used fine dining to elevate the passenger experience and also build early 20th-century brand loyalty. We will discover how French chefs, holiday menus, and elegant tableware helped define travel culture while viewing an array of objects—from fascinating souvenir menus and promotional recipe books to collectible dishware. Our tour also will shed light on complex labor histories, including the Pullman Company’s recruitment of formerly enslaved Black men as cooks and waiters. We will also explore the strict physical criteria airlines previously considered when hiring female flight attendants. Tour highlights include a dazzling selection of vintage menus from the Patricia D. Klingenstein Library, midcentury railroad and airline recipe books, and insig hts into the evolving food trends that shaped meals at sea, on the rails, and in the air.

Please contact Aliza at 212-480-2889 x200 or zoom@royal-oak.org for registration.
MEETING PLACE:
The New York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West
Tickets: $35 members*; $45 non-members
*Membership discount applied automatically when logged into your Royal-Oak.org account

NYC | Modern Aristocrats: Ancestral Houses and Their Stories
2025-10-22 18:15 - 20:00 | The General Society Library, 20 W. 44th Street, New York City, 10036, United States
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.
Online ticketing is now closed. Please call 212-480-2889 x200 to purchase tickets by phone or tickets can be purchased at the door.
Tickets: $35 members*; $45 non-members
*Membership discount applied automatically when logged into your Royal-Oak.org account
