Zoom | Henrietta Howard TEST LIVE
2024-01-15 14:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York)
remarkable resilience, overcoming early hurdles such as the loss of her parents and financial constraints. Her journey was significantly influenced by her marriage to Charles Howard. Beyond her connection with the King, Henrietta cultivated relationships with literary luminaries like Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, and John Gay, showcasing her role as an arts patron. While Howard’s history as the King’s mistress is, widely known, recent restoration efforts at Marble Hill, situated serenely along the river Thames in Twickenham, shine a light on her story. These efforts explore

her early marriage and ascent within Georgian society.
The garden’s revival, partially envisioned by Charles Bridgman, adds a botanical dimension to her legacy. Marble Hill itself stands as a testament to neo-Palladian architecture, influenced by renowned Italian architect Andrea Palladio. Crafted by Howard, the villa provided respite from the bustling atmosphere of 18th-century London. The architectural composition blends classical elements with Howard’s unique perspective. Wendy Monkhouse, Senior Curator at English Heritage will explore her creation and her journey through early 18th century life at court, and her role as a gifted patron.

Test Event: In Person
2023-12-23 18:00 - 19:00 | The General Society Library, 20 W. 44th Street, New York City, 10036, United States
Test. Test. Test.

Test Program #2 - 8/31
2023-08-31 12:00 - 13:00 | Zoom Meeting

Test Program 8/30
2023-08-30 12:00 - 13:00 | Zoom Meeting

Test Event #3
2023-08-29 12:00 - 13:00
At Home with Beatrix Potter at Hill Top
Author and artist Beatrix Potter’s universe of characters have delighted readers for 120 years, since the first publication of The Tale of Peter Rabbit. She combined first-hand scientific observation with an imaginative hand-painted world of animals and gardens to become one of the most celebrated children’s authors.
In 1905 with the proceeds of her first ‘little books’, Potter bought Hill Top, a working farm in the English Lake District. She escaped from London as often as she could, to stay at her rural retreat, to draw, write, and immerse herself in country life. Beatrix drew inspiration from the house and nearly every room in the house is recognisable from her illustrations.
Many pieces of furniture were copied for her books: the dresser in Hall with its rows of blue and white plates that appeared in The Tale of Samuel Whiskers; the clock on the landing, next to the 18th century window, where Tabitha Twitchit stood; the dressing mirror that featured in The Tale of Tom Kitten.
In the garden, the green gate to the vegetable garden is unchanged from the days of Jemima Puddle-Duck. Today, Hill Top also tells the story of the author, her interests and activities through her collections of furniture, ceramics and artwork. In 1913, Potter married William Heelis and she turned to farming and raising sheep as she settled into married life. As Mrs. Heelis, Beatrix dedicated herself to the preservation of her beloved landscape and the traditional farming culture. Upon her death in 1943, she left a significant bequest of over 4,000 acres of land, 15 farms and cottages to the National Trust.
Alice Sage, Property Curator of Hill Top & Beatrix Potter Gallery, will talk about the author’s life and her devotion to the Lake District, often featured in her artistic works. She will lead us on a visual tour of Potter’s house and garden. She will highlight interior vignettes featured in her books and explain the hidden stories behind Potter’s treasured possessions.

Alice Sage, Property Curator of Hill Top & Beatrix Potter Gallery, National Trust

Alice Sage is a curator and cultural historian, interested in women artists, fantasy, and childhood.
Before becoming Property Curator at Hill Top in 2021, she held curatorial posts at the Edinburgh Museum of Childhood and the V&A Museum of Childhood. Over the years she has made exhibitions about fairies, dollhouses, automata, and children’s TV, and is fascinated with the different ways that we remember our childhoods and collect our memories.
At Hill Top, she creates an annual exhibitions of Potter’s original artwork and manuscripts, and leads the team that looks after Beatrix Potter’s beloved farmhouse for close to 90,000 visitors a year.

Test Event #4 8/28
2023-08-28 12:00 - 13:00 | Zoom Meeting

Virtual Test Event: Rental
2022-12-22 17:00 - 18:00 | Zoom Meeting

Virtual Test Event: Live
2022-12-21 17:00 - 18:00 | Zoom Meeting

Brooklyn, NY: Brooklyn Clubs, A (Mostly) Forgotten History
2022-06-09 16:00 - 17:30
By the start of the 20th century, the number of private clubs in Brooklyn rivalled that of Manhattan. From Brooklyn Heights to Bay Ridge, architectural historian Matt Postal will lead us on an illustrated talk of their evolution and (mostly) overlooked history; including lost, former, and still flourishing examples. Brooklyn’s first purpose-built clubhouse — the Hamilton Club (1884), by George B. Post, will be addressed, as well as the remarkable homes of the Germania and Crescent Athletic clubs, both by Frank Freeman, who has been called “Brooklyn’s greatest architect.”
Join Royal Oak as we pay particular attention to the extant structures and when possible their impressive interiors. Such as the former Lincoln Club (Rudolph Daus, 1889), a Queen Anne style gem in Clinton Hill, the Venetian-Gothic Montauk Club (Francis Kimball, 1891), displaying an extraordinary continuous terra-cotta frieze in Park Slope, and the Heights Casino (Boring & Tilton, 1905) in Brooklyn Heights, boasting the nation’s earliest indoor tennis court.

LIVE
Thursday, June 9 | 4:00 p.m. ET
Online via Zoom Webinar
$30 members and $40 non-members

RENT
From Friday, June 10 to Friday, June 17
Rent the recorded lecture to watch at your leisure
$30 members and $40 non-members

Isle of Wight—England in Miniature
2022-06-01 17:00 - 18:30
Take a digital journey around the fabulous Isle of Wight with tour guide Rob Smith. The Isle of Wight is a few miles off the coast of Hampshire but a journey there feels like a step back in time with quaint thatched cottages and country lanes. On this online journey we’ll visit historic Carisbrooke Castle, the National Trust Gardens at Mottistone, and Brading’s Roman Villa, with its wonderful mosaics.
The island has such a varied coastline, it is like England condensed into one small island. There are the majestic cliffs at the Needles so loved by Tennyson and strangely used in Britain’s space program. And the silent marshes of Newtown where the National Trust looks after the Old Town Hall that was at the heart of a political scandal. We will, of course call in at Queen Victoria’s favourite vacation spot – Osbourne House. Rob has been visiting the Isle of Wight since childhood and will take you to all his favourite spots.

LIVE
Wednesday, June 1 | 5:00 p.m. ET
Online via Zoom Webinar
$30 members and $40 non-members

RENT
From Thursday, June 2 to Thursday, June 9
Rent the recorded lecture to watch at your leisure
$30 members and $40 non-members

Portland, ME: Monument Square to Munjoy Hill, A Virtual Historical Walking Tour of Downtown Portland Maine
2022-05-25 16:00 - 17:30
Join Royal Oak as the Maine Historical Societytakes us on a guided tour of downtown Portland, named after the Isle of Portland, Dorset. This city’s seal aptly depicts a phoenix rising from the ashes, a homage to its resilience and recovery from multiple devastating fires. In this tour we will explore Portland’s rich maritime heritage and authentic character.
Through historic and contemporary photographs, we will discover how Maine’s largest city has changed over the past 400 years as we touch upon famous city residents, industries, architecture, historic landmarks, social history, and of course the Great Fire of 1866.
LIVE ONLY
Wednesday, May 25 | 4:00 p.m. ET
Online via Zoom Webinar
$30 members and $40 non-members

‘A Heaven on Earth’: William Morris’ Kelmscott Manor Revived
2022-05-24 14:00 - 15:30
Kelmscott Manor, Oxfordshire, is a rambling, limestone-built farmhouse that was the country home of writer and designer William Morris from 1871 until his death in 1896. It was also home to his wife Jane (‘Janey’), their children Jenny and May, and his friend, poet and artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti, who shared it with them from 1871 until 1874. William Morris’s life and work as poet and designer, conservationist and socialist campaigner have made Kelmscott Manor internationally famous.
Morris thought of it as ‘a Heaven on Earth’, and loved every aspect of its ancient stone architecture, its barns, and meadows, and the village houses and landscape around it. The house remained the home of Morris’s wife Jane until her death in 1913 Their daughter May bequeathed the house after her death in 1938 to the University of Oxford. In the 1960s it passed to the Society of Antiquaries of London. Kelmscott has undergone a major programme of research and refurbishment, including returning some lost colour schemes, and recreating lost hangings and hand blocked wallpaper. The house will re-open to the public in April 2022.
Historian Jeremy Musson, FSA, author of the new guidebook on Kelmscott Manor will tell the story of the house and its remarkable owners, William and Jane Morris. He will illustrate the interiors and talk about the artistic and creative connections of this architectural treasure.
Jeremy Musson, FSA
Jeremy Musson is a leading commentator and authority on the English Country House. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and sits on a number of boards and trusts including the Country House Foundation. He was awarded an M Phil in Renaissance History at the Warburg Institute, University of London, in 1989 and was Architectural Editor of Country Life from 1995-2007. Before joining Country Life in 1995, Mr. Musson was an assistant regional curator for the National Trust in East Anglia, curating historic houses such as Ickworth House, and at the same time setting up the research and interpretation of new sites such as, the ex-bomb testing range and nature reserve at Orford Ness in Suffolk. He has written and edited hundreds of articles on historic country houses, from Garsington Manor to Knebworth House.
Mr. Musson also presented 14 programmes on BBC 2, making up two series called The Curious House Guest, in 2005-07, and he also lectures and supervises for academic programmes with Cambridge University, London University and Buckingham University, and the Attingham Summer School. Among his books include Up and Down Stairs: The History of the English Country House Servant (2009), English Country House Interiors (2011), Robert Adam: Country House Design, Decoration & the Art of Elegance (2017), The Country House: Past, Present, Future: Great Houses of the British Isles (2018), and Romantics and Classics: Style in the English Country House (Rizzoli, 2021).

LIVE
Tuesday, May 24| 2:00 p.m. (ET)
Online via Zoom Webinar
$15 members; $20 non-members

RENT
From Wednesday, May 25 to Monday, June 6
Rent the recorded lecture to watch at your leisure
$15 members; $20 non-members

Inspiring Walt Disney: The Animation of French Decorative Arts
2022-05-17 17:00 - 18:30
Pink castles, talking sofas, and a prince transformed into a teapot: what sounds like fantasies from the pioneering animation of the Walt Disney Animation Studios were in fact the realities from the colorful salons of Rococo Paris. Join Royal Oak and Friends of the Louvre as Wolf Burchard, Associate Curator in the European Sculpture and Decorative Arts Department at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, will give a virtual tour of the museum’s first-ever exhibition this past Spring that explored the work of Walt Disney and the hand-drawn animation of the Walt Disney Animation Studios. If you missed it at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the show, Inspiring Walt Disney: The Animation of French Decorative Arts, is on view at the Wallace Collection, London from April 6, 2022 – October 16, 2022.
The exhibition examines Disney’s personal fascination with European art and French visual culture. Dr.Burchard will explain the use of French art and architectural motifs in Disney’s films, and draw parallels between the studios’ magical creations and their artistic models. Focusing on three French fairytales retold by Disney in animation (Cinderella, 1950; Sleeping Beauty, 1959; and Beauty and the Beast, 1991) Burchard will discuss tapestries, furniture, Boulle clocks and Sèvres porcelain and compare them to production artworks and designs from the collection of the Walt Disney Archives and Walt Disney Family Museum.

LIVE
Tuesday, May 17 | 5:00 p.m. ET
Online via Zoom Webinar
$30 ROF and American Friends of the Louvre members and $40 non-members

RENT
From Wednesday, May 18 to Wednesday, May 25
Rent the recorded lecture to watch at your leisure
$30 ROF and American Friends of the Louvre members and $40 non-members

Awaking the Sleeping Beauty: Edward Burne-Jones and his Art
2022-05-16 18:00 - 19:30 | The General Society Library, 20 W. 44th Street, New York City, 10036, United States
When hosting in-person events, Royal Oak must comply with current state and local laws regarding vaccine card requirement to gain admittance.

Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones (1833-1898), the son of a humble Birmingham picture framer, became perhaps the most exceptional and versatile figure of the English Aesthetic movement. He excelled as a painter, draughtsman, designer of furniture, stained glass, and tapestry, and succeeded in spreading his reputation well beyond England to the Continent and America. Nowhere is this more evident than in Burne-Jones’s Briar Rose paintings, an extraordinary series of works, which occupied the artist for more than half his lifetime. In 1864, Burne-Jones was commissioned to design a set of ceramic tiles for artist Myles Birket Foster’s house, The Hill, in Witley, Surrey. The theme was to be the Briar Rose, the “Sleeping Beauty” story derived from Alfred Lord Tennyson’s 1842 poem, The Day-dream, which evoked England’s medieval past.
“She sleeps, nor dreams, but ever dwells,” wrote Tennyson, “a perfect form in perfect rest.” These lines perfectly paralleled the Aesthetic aims of Burne-Jones, and of his friend William Morris, to create “Art for art’s sake”—an ideal object, with no greater purpose than its own beauty, displayed within a setting distinctly suited to itself. These extraordinary, vibrant tiles, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, evidently pleased Burne-Jones, as he returned to the theme in 1869, with three small-format Briar Rose paintings. Four years later, Burne-Jones revisited the subject yet again with a larger scale series of paintings for the saloon at Buscot Park, Faringdon.
Join Country Life and Vanity Fair contributor Patrick Monahan to discover the Sleeping Beauties of one of Victorian England’s artistic geniuses—paintings which echo a distant, enchanted past.
Patrick Monahan
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 Mphil 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.
Instagram: @thepatrickmonahan

LIVE
Wednesday May 16, | 6:00 p.m. (ET)
The General Society Library, NYC
$35 members; $40 non-members and guests

RENT
From Thursday, May 19 to Monday, May 30
Rent the recorded lecture to watch at your leisure
$20 members; $25 non-members and guests

Spitalfields: From Huguenots to Hipsters
2022-05-11 14:00 - 15:30
Brushfield Street, Spitalfields
London is a city of constant change and nowhere is this better illustrated than in the history of Spitalfields. Formerly the fashionable home of Spanish ambassadors to the English Courts of the 16th and 17th centuries, its first major development was courtesy of the Huguenots fleeing the religious persecution of Protestants in France in the late 17th century. They laid out a grand estate of well-appointed terraces designed specifically for their trade and “Weaver Town” was born and prospered.
Spitalfields became the landing point for various waves of 19th century migrants and became one of London’s notorious “rookeries” characterised by overcrowding and poverty. Then came the hipsters. Attracted by relatively cheap rents, “edgy” bars and restaurants started to move in. Independent retailerssoon followed; former industrial premises were re-purposed as event, pop-up, and creative spaces; and the entrepreneurs of the new digital economies moved in. “Hipster Town” was born.
Join Mark Rowland to hear the fascinating stories of Spitalfields that tell of hange, adaptation, decline and regeneration.
LIVE
Tuesday, May 11 | 2:00 p.m. ET
Online via Zoom Webinar
$30 members and $40 non-members
RENT
From Thursday, May 12 to Wednesday, May 18
Rent the recorded lecture to watch at your leisure
$30 members and $40 non-members

Hertfordshire: Countryside on London’s Border
2022-05-05 17:00 - 18:30
Within easy reach of bustling London lays the beautiful county of Hertfordshire. Known for its green landscapes and historical landmarks it is one of England’s smaller counties, but full of sights to see. Join Royal Oak as Rob Smith leads us on a virtual stroll through country walks that inspired Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. We will trapse through the enchantment of bluebell woods and see old pubs cast next to ancient churches that are sure to inspire writings of your own.
Highlights of the tour will include National Trust properties such as the Edwardian villa that was once home to one of the most photographed and quoted men of the world; playwright, politician, philosopher Bernard Shaw and the Ashridge Estate, a working estate continuing a 3,000-year tradition over its expansive 5,000 acres that supports a rich variety of wildlife.
LIVE
Thursday, May 5 | 5:00 p.m. ET
Online via Zoom Webinar
$30 members and $40 non-members

RENT
From Friday, May 6 to Friday, May 13
Rent the recorded lecture to watch at your leisure
$30 members and $40 non-members

Noble Ambition: The Fall and Rise of the English Country House after WWII
2022-05-03 14:00 - 15:30
As the sun set slowly on the British Empire, its mansions and great country houses fell and rose. Ancient families were reduced to demolishing the parts of their stately homes they could no longer afford, Dukes and Duchesses desperately clung to their ancestral seats, and a new class of homeowners bought their way into country life. For every impoverished country squire watching in horror as the taxman chipped away at the estate, there was another who managed to carry on.
Historian Adrian Tinniswood, OBE, will pull us into these crumbling halls of power, leading us through the juiciest bits of postwar aristocratic history—from Mick Jagger dancing at deb balls to the scandals of Princess Margaret or the the Marquess of Bath selling a village and buying lions. He will provide an illustrated tour of some English country homea after World War II—including National Trust properties Hinton Ampner, Mount Stewart, Hardwick Hall and Erdigg—and explain how swinging London collided with aristocratic values. Capturing the spirit of the age, Tinniwood proves that the country house is not only an iconic symbol, but also a lens through which to understand the shifting fortunes of the British elite in an era of monumental social change.

Adrian Tinniswood
Adrian Tinniswood, OBE is a Senior Research Fellow in History at the University of Buckingham. He is the author of 15 books on architectural and social history including the New York Times bestseller The Long Weekend: Life in the English Country House Between the Wars and Behind the Throne: A Domestic History of the Royal Household,The House Party: A Short History of Leisure, Pleasure and the Country House Weekend.
His most recent book is Noble Ambitions: The Fall and Rise of the English Country House After WWII. Tinniswood was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2013 Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to heritage.

LIVE
Tuesday, May 3, | 2:00 p.m. (ET)
Online via Zoom Webinar
$15 members; $20 non-members

RENT
From Wednesday, May 4 to Monday, May 16
Rent the recorded lecture to watch at your leisure
$15 members; $20 non-members

The Glessner House Chicago, IL
2022-04-28 16:00 - 17:30
Principal bedroom with De Morgan tiles by James Caulfield
Join Royal Oak as we virtually tour the Glessner House. The house was built on Chicago’s most prestigious residential street Prairie Avenue in 1885 by architectHenry Hobson Richardson, and was later designated a historic landmark in 1970. A radical departure from traditional Victorian architecture, the structure served as an inspiration to architects such as Louis Sullivan, Mies van der Rohe, and the young Frank Lloyd Wright and helped redefine domestic architecture. Richardson, eager to develop a style of architecture that would reflect what he saw as the musculature of the fast-growing United States, the late-19th-century architect developed what would be called the Richardsonian Romanesque style.
The Richardsonian Romanesque style took elements of European Romanesque architecture from buildings constructed in the 11th and 12th centuries, and adapted them to American idioms. This was the last residence Richardson would work on as he died three weeks after its completion at the age of 48. We will focus on the influence of the English Arts and Crafts Movement, William Morris, and his contemporaries. The house has original features including the William De Morgan tiled fireplace. It also features the recreation of the Morris wallpapers, textiles, and rugs.

LIVE
Thursday, April 28 | 4:00 p.m. ET
Online via Zoom Webinar
$30 members $40 Non-members
RENT
From Friday, April 29 to Friday, May 6
Rent the recorded lecture to watch at your leisure
$30 members $40 Non-members

Spirit of England: Gin’s Intoxicating History
2022-04-26 14:00 - 15:30
Today gin is one of the most popular spirit drinks in England and It has enjoyed a huge revival in recent decades. This is witnessed not only in the burgeoning sales of the spirit every year, but also in the rise of craft gin makers in many parts of the country. Its long history as a preferred English tipple can be traced back to the early 17th century when soldiers in King Charles’s army brought the Dutch spirit to England after fighting in the 30 Years War in Holland.
By the end of the century gin drinking was so common, particularly in the capital that wages were sometimes paid in the spirit. By 1730, gin had replaced French brandy as the favourite English spirit and there were 7000 gin shops in London alone; by 1750, more than 10 million gallons of gin were being produced every year.
Such widespread use of the spirit, particularly amongst the working class poor, created huge social problems and Hogarth’s “Gin Lane” of 1751 gives a dramatic picture of the scale of the problem. Only after legislation to control production was passed by Parliament in that same year did the consumption of gin gradually abate, but only for it to enjoy another revival in the 19th century when the rise of the Gin Palace became a feature of cities and towns up and down the land.
In this presentation, historian Ian Cox traces the fascinating history of gin drinking in England from the 17th century to the present day, highlighting the ebbing and flowing of its popularity and its prospects for the future.

Ian Cox
Ian Cox studied at the Universities of Keele, London and Glasgow. He developed his career as a decorative arts historian in the 1980s and was the Director of the Christie’s Decorative Arts Programme at the University of Glasgow and then Director of Studies for Christie’s Education in London. Ian also ran a prestgious Decorative Arts Summer School for Christie’s in New York and was Co-Director of the Victorian Society of America London Summer School. Ian has published widely in the history of the decorative arts, particularly on furniture and ceramics. In more recent times, he has directed cultural holiday programmes for the ACE foundation in Cambridge and is a regular round the world lecturer for the Seabourn and Silverseas cruise lines. He has been a lecturer for The Royal Oak Foundation in the USA since 2006.

LIVE
Tuesday, April 26 | 2:00 p.m. (ET)
Online via Zoom Webinar
$15 members; $20 non-members
RENT
From Wednesday, April 27 to Monday, May 9
Rent the recorded lecture to watch at your leisure
$15 members; $20 non-members

Entertaining in Style: Nancy Astor and Nancy Lancaster
2022-04-22 18:00 - 19:30 | The General Society Library, 20 W. 44th Street, New York City, 10036, United States
When hosting in-person events, Royal Oak must comply with state and local COVID policies.

Two American born women and cousins, politician Nancy Astor and interior designer Nancy Lancaster, transformed 20th century British culture with their inspiration in creating the English country house style, as well as their gracious and sophisticated method of entertaining. Their descendants, designer Jane Churchill and photographer Emily Astor will discuss their relatives and show previously unseen family photographs from Cliveden, Nancy Astor’s country house, as well as several homes owned by Nancy Lancaster.
Their talk, based on their new book Entertaining in Style: Nancy Astor and Nancy Lancaster showcases both Nancy’s inspirations for the perfect entertainment.They will highlight glamourous menus from the private Mirador recipe collection (Nancy’s Virginia family estate) as well as from materials from Astor’s and Lancaster’s archives.
Both Lancaster and Astor gave parties with superb food combining classic English dishes with American Southern classics such as fried chicken and Pullman Salad. Churchill and Astor will also illustrate interiors and table settings featuring the family’s original china, silver, and décor. From menu cards, table diagrams, and private letters featuring witty repartee from Lancaster and Astor, the authors were able to reconstruct who came for dinner as well as what they ate.
Join Royal Oak at a presentation as we explore the legacy of two great women who left a lasting mark on English social history and style. As Emily Astor said, “both Nancys disrupted English menus just as much as they revolutionised women’s rights in politics and the workplace. But they did so with style, glamour, and buckets of laughter.” The presentation will be followed by Q&A with Carl Raymond, host of The Gilded Gentleman History Podcast(thegildedgentleman.com)
Jane Churchill
Jane Churchill, of Jane Churchill interiors, is the great great niece of Nancy Astor and great niece of Nancy Lancaster. Emily Astor, photographer and author, is Nancy Astor’s granddaughter. Carl Raymond, lecturer and writer is the host of The Gilded Gentleman history podcast, which focuses on the social and culinary history of America’s Gilded Age, France’s Belle Epoque and England’s late Victorian and Edwardian eras.
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IN-PERSON
Friday, April 22 | 6:00 p.m. (ET)
The General Society Library, NYC
Reception & book signing following
$35 members; $40 non-members and guests
RENT
From Saturday, April 23 to Wednesday, May 4
Rent the recorded lecture to watch at your leisure
$20 members; $25 non-members and guests

A Federal Home on the Hudson: Boscobel House and Gardens
2022-04-19 17:00 - 18:30
The Armour-Stiner (Octagon) House
Boscobel is a historic house museum in Garrison, NY, overlooking the Hudson River. Built between 1804 and 1808 in the Federal style, Boscobel was originally located in Westchester County and was the home of an American Loyalist to the British Crown, States Dyckman. While in London, Dyckman was influenced by neoclassical buildings and interiors by Robert Adam. He bought many furnishings and decorative objects, such as a Wedgwood dinner service, and his love of neoclassical style influenced the design of the house.
The Dyckman family lived in the house until 1920. By the 1950s, after falling into disrepair, restoration efforts by Friends of Boscobel moved the house 15 miles upriver. Today, Boscobel’s interiors display one of the finest collections of decorative arts—ceramics, silver, and glassware—and New York furniture from the Federal period. Executive Director and Curator, Jennifer Carlquist will lead Royal Oak on a digital tour of this amazing 19th century survival. We will explore its outstanding collection of decorative arts, learn about the family, and see a few “behind-the scenes” corners!

LIVE
Tuesday, April 19 | 5:00 p.m. ET
Online via Zoom Webinar
$30 members and $40 non-members
RENT
From Wednesday, April 20 to Wednesday, April 27
Rent the recorded lecture to watch at your leisure
$30 members and $40 non-members

Sense and Servility: Excess in the Regency
2022-04-18 14:00 - 15:30
In June 1811, the newly titled Prince Regent held a grand fete, raising his lips to the first glass of what would be many bottles of champagne. It was a sign of what was to mark this decade, as the King’s exuberance would often outstrip his pocket at the people’s expense.
Meanwhile, the country under his control slowly and terrifyingly burned – the Luddites destroyed their machines, the Weavers rioted, the Duke of Wellington played military whack-a-mole with Napoleon, and the Parthenon Marbles began to glint in the eye of Lord Elgin.
Art dealer Angus Haldane will examine the extraordinary decade of 1811-1820 in which a Prime Minister was assassinated, Pride and Prejudice was published, and the Battle of Waterloo was won.
A decade in which actresses charmed audiences with their talent on the stage and lived in fear (or hope) of being chosen as the next royal mistress. Years when The Prince Regent’s number of illegitimate children multiplied whilst Byron, Shelley, Walter Scott and Mary Wolstencraft intoxicated and challenged their readers with their words.
Angus will discuss works from this period by Lawrence, Raeburn, Hoppner, Constable and Turner. He will scrutinise Empire Line dresses, décolleté necklines, and fancy-dress frills as well as look at the architecture of John Nash, the Brighton Pavilion, and describe the excessive feasts which took place within. Join us as we learn how the Regency was a heady ten years of drama, intrigue, sex and politics!

LIVE
Monday, April 18 | 6:00 p.m. (ET)
Online via Zoom Webinar
$15 members; $20 non-members

RENT
From Tuesday, April 19 to Thursday, April 28
Rent the recorded lecture to watch at your leisure
$15 members; $20 non-members

Up and Downstairs: The English Country House Servant
2022-04-12 14:00 - 15:30
The story of domestic servants is inseparable from the story of the development of the English country house as it became an icon of power, civilization and luxury. English country houses from the 17th century to the 20th century were reliant on an intricate hierarchy of servants, each of whom provided an essential skill. This is particularly true with the great estates such as Chatsworth, Knole, Holkham Hall, Waddesdon Manor, Cliveden, and Wilton, among others. For centuries, these grand houses were admired and imitated around the world.
In this lecture, Jeremy Musson will look at 600 years of British country house life and discuss the activities and servant populations of country houses and the running of the daily life of a household. He will discuss how the presence of a large country house servant body influenced the planning and shaping of the houses architecture with the development of service zones of considerable sophistication. Drawing on both published and unpublished sources, Mr. Musson will celebrate the voices of the servants who ran these vast houses and made them work. Through extracts from memoirs and letters, he will explore some of the elaborate rituals and hierarchies of noble households right up until the late-20th century.

Jeremy Musson
Jeremy Musson is a leading commentator and authority on the English Country House. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and sits on a number of boards and trusts including the Country House Foundation. He was awarded an M Phil in Renaissance History at the Warburg Institute, University of London, in 1989 and was Architectural Editor of Country Life from 1995-2007. Before joining Country Life in 1995, Mr. Musson was an assistant regional curator for the National Trust in East Anglia, curating historic houses such as Ickworth House, and at the same time setting up the research and interpretation of new sites such as, the ex-bomb testing range and nature reserve at Orford Ness in Suffolk. He has written and edited hundreds of articles on historic country houses, from Garsington Manor to Knebworth House. Mr. Musson also presented 14 programmes on BBC 2, making up two series called The Curious House Guest, in 2005-07, and he also lectures and supervises for academic programmes with Cambridge University, London University and Buckingham University, and the Attingham Summer School. Among his books include Up and Down Stairs: The History of the English Country House Servant (2009), English Country House Interiors (2011), Robert Adam: Country House Design, Decoration & the Art of Elegance (2017), The Country House: Past, Present, Future: Great Houses of the British Isles (2018), and Romantics and Classics: Style in the English Country House (Rizzoli, 2021).

LIVE
Tuesday, April 12 | 2:00 p.m. (ET)
Online via Zoom Webinar
$15 ROF members; $20 non-members
RENT
From Wednesday, April 13 to Monday, April 25
Rent the recorded lecture to watch at your leisure
$15 ROF members; $20 non-members

Ladies Mile: Shopping in the Gilded Age
2022-04-07 16:00 - 17:30
During the Gilded Age, the Ladies’ Mile was New York City’s retail center.
Because of its popularity, women were able to shop unaccompanied by men for the first time. It was an area where finest objects in America were sold, from furs and French fashions to jewelry. King’s Handbook of New York City glowingly described the “fascinating, alluring, irresistible” shops that lined Broadway, 14th Street, and Sixth Avenue. The author demanded to know, “What are the Parisian boulevards, or even Regent Street, to this magnificent panorama of mercantile display?”
Join Royal Oak and architectural historian Matt Postal, for a closer look at the Ladies’ Mile Historic District and the lavish department stores and specialty shops that once flourished here. Starting with A. T. Stewart, who moved his trend-setting dry goods business to an entire block of Broadway at 10th Street in 1862, we’ll window shop and shop till we drop, stopping at masonry and cast-iron structures associated with Tiffany’s, Macy’s, Siegel-Cooper, Lord & Taylor and Stern Brothers — some of America’s first great retailers.

LIVE
Thursday, April 7 | 4:00 p.m. ET
Online via Zoom Meeting
FREE to ROF members only
RENT
Friday, April 8 to Monday, April 18
Rent the recorded lecture to watch at your leisure
FREE to ROF members only

Eleanor Coade and her Remarkable Stone
2022-03-30 14:00 - 15:30
Eleanor Coade was a successful Georgian entrepreneur who created artificial stone for use in monuments, which she called Coade stone. Inventing the recipe and the firing technique, Mrs. Coade bought an existing artificial stone factory in South London in 1769 and turned out Coade stone architectural detailing, urns, tombs, and statues for the next 50 years. She combined artistic flair with successful marketing skills and every architect of the time including Robert Adam, Sir John Soane, John Nash, and James and Samuel Wyatt commissioned her work for their projects. Her manufactory’s output was mostly classical in style, but also produced wares in Gothic, Egyptian, and Chinese styles. Mrs. Coade’s genius lay in her entrepreneurship—convincing designers that her product was better than natural stone for its durability and weatherproof nature.

In an era, when successful businesswomen were far from typical, Eleanor Coade was exceptional. Many examples of Coade stone made during and after the inventor’s lifetime remain in the UK and beyond, including the South Bank lion at the east end of Westminster Bridge The Landmark Trust’s historian, Caroline Stanford will talk about this successful 18th-century business woman and her business practice. She will illustrate how Coade stone transformed late-Georgian architecture, including its use in America. She will also feature Belmont, Coade’s own villa, rescued and restored by the Landmark Trust and available to rent.

Caroline Stanford
Caroline Stanford read Modern History at Jesus College, Oxford and has two Masters in Early Modern History from Birbeck College London and in Historic Conservation at Oxford Brookes. She has been The Landmark Trust’s historian since 2001 and writes and speaks extensively about the Landmark Trust’s buildings. She was research historian for the Landmark Trust’s 2015 restoration of Eleanor Coade’s seaside villa, Belmont in Lyme Regis. A Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, Caroline has also served on the committee of the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain. She co-authored Landmark: A History of Britain in 50 Buildings and has contributed to many television and radio programmes. She is currently working on a part time DPhil in Architectural History at Oxford University about Fired Artificial Stone 1650-1850 and is a leading Coade scholar.
Twitter & Instagram: @LandmarkHistory

LIVE
Wednesday, March 30 | 2:00 p.m. (ET)
Online via Zoom Webinar
$15 ROF members; $20 non-members
RENT
From Thursday, March 31 to Monday, April 11
Rent the recorded lecture to watch at your leisure
$15 ROF members; $20 non-members

Royal Flirt or Femme Fatale?: Elizabeth I
2022-03-23 14:00 - 15:30
Queen Elizabeth I, by English School. ©National Trust Images
Only the second crowned regnant Queen of England, Elizabeth I’s love life was no private matter. From the day she was born, Elizabeth was a pawn in the royal marriage game. Surprisingly, she managed to get through her father’s, her half-brother’s, and her halfsister’s reigns without being married to form an advantageous foreign alliance. That meant that the topic of her marriage was a prime consideration when she came to the throne.
Elizabeth I’s marital status was serious business. According to Count de Feria, the Spanish Ambassador, “Everything depends upon the husband this woman may take.” Most people thought a leading candidate was Elizabeth’s long-time friend and suitor Robert Dudley. Their relationship was the cause of international speculation and gossip that likely dulled the interest of some foreign prospects. But Dudley wasn’t the only man trying to win the Queen’s heart and hand.
With suitors from all over Europe, and plenty of willing candidates right at home, Elizabeth conducted domestic and international business by considering and gently declining marriage proposals. Did she ever plan to marry? Or did she spend her reign winning the game of courtly love, deliberately playing the men against each other, and remaining the ever-unattainable object of desire? Scholar Carol Ann Lloyd looks at the men who tried to marry the Queen and explores Elizabeth’s possible motives for claiming and keeping her title of Virgin Queen.

Carol Ann Lloyd
Carol Ann Lloyd is a popular speaker and author who specializes in Early Modern History, particularly English royal history, the Tudors, and Shakespeare. She has enjoyed speaking audiences across the country about Spies in the Tudor Court, Henry VIII and his Six Wives, Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots, the Wars of the Roses, Jane Austen, Mothers of the Monarchs, and Shakespeare. She is a popular speaker for Smithsonian, Royal Oak Foundation, Agecroft Hall, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at George Mason University, TEDx, and numerous community venues. She is a member of the National Speakers Association and holds graduate degrees in Education from the University of Virginia and English from the University of Utah. The former Manager of Visitor Education of Folger Shakespeare Library, Carol Ann now takes interactive Shakespeare programs into schools. She also delivers corporate communication workshops for organizations in the Washington, DC area and is the author of Building Relationships, One Conversation at a Time: A Guide for Work and Home. Carol Ann is currently writing a book about the Tudors and her Great Courses program about conversations. She loves traveling to London and experiencing history up close and personal.
LIVE
Wednesday, March 23 | 6:00 p.m. (ET)
Online via Zoom Webinar
$15 ROF members; $20 non-members
RENT
From Thursday, March 24 through Monday, April 4
Rent the recorded lecture to watch at your leisure
$15 ROF members; $20 non-members

Pomp & Circumstance: Royal Jubilees from George III to Elizabeth II
2022-02-28 13:00 - 2022-03-12 18:00
Online Lecture
Live and Recorded
$15 members | $20 non-members
Queen Elizabeth’s visit on May 3, 2007 at Colonial Williamsburg
While royal jubilees have been recorded since the 1300s, today the term is closely associated with the ceremony and spectacle surrounding the celebrations of the life and reign of the British Monarch.
The first British ruler to mark 50 years on the throne in any significant way was George III, followed by Queen Victoria, and HM Queen Elizabeth II. These Royal celebrations included feasts, speeches, fireworks, and commemorative memorabilia. King George III’s Golden Jubilee in 1809 was celebrated throughout England—one Oxfordshire village named every child born that year George or Charlotte after the King and Queen.
In 1897, the world’s attention focused on Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. The grand occasion was marked by the attendance of the crowned heads of Europe, and also by a poignant patriotic display across the world, a symbolic celebration of the vast empire that ruled close to a quarter of the earth’s inhabitants. Enterprising merchants capitalized on the event by printing the Queen’s profile on everything from porcelain beakers to picture postcards, cocoa tins to bottles of cod liver oil.
HM Queen Elizabeth II wearing the Diamond Diadem, by Cecil Beaton, 1955. Royal Collection Trust © HM Queen Elizabeth II 2012
Thousands lined London’s streets hoping to catch a glimpse of the imperial procession while the British, American elite enjoyed exceptional views along the route. HM Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Golden Jubilee in 2022 with tours of the UK and Commonwealth, processions, fireworks, and beacon bonfires. The Queen highlighted her 2012 Diamond Jubilee by traveling with Prince Phillip in the golden barge, Gloriana, the lead vessel in a 1,000-boat procession up the Thames. On February 6, 2022, Queen Elizabeth II will be first British Monarch to celebrate a 70-year reign—a Platinum Jubilee—with celebrations planned in June.
Join us for a lecture that is history in the making! Ms. Klingner’s talk will provide an insider’s view of past Royal Jubilees including the celebrations and the commemorative souvenirs. She will describe George III’s fete as well as share details of Queen Victoria’s spectacular event recorded by spectators and the queen herself. Ms. Klingner will also show rarely seen footage of Queen Victoria’s procession and video of Jubilee processions marking the current queen’s reign.
LIVE
Monday, February 28 | 6:00 p.m. (EDT)
Online via Zoom Webinar
$15 members; $20 non-members
RENT
Between Tuesday, March 1 and Saturday, March 12
Rent the recorded lecture to watch at your leisure
$15 members; $20 non-members
