The total cost including return coach fare will be £50 per head.

If you are interested please email: outings.asthames@gmail.com , thank you.

Home to the Stonor family for over 850 years, Stonor Park is one of oldest occupied houses in England.

Behind the warm red brick façade, Stonor is actually a collection of much older buildings. In fact its origins go back to Medieval times. dating from the late 12th Century, with the Chapel added around a hundred years later. Since then, a series of additions and renovations, including the adoption of the E-shape in around 1540 have evolved into the extraordinary building you can see and explore today.

Highlights include the grand Gothic revival hall, atmospheric 17th century library and the dramatic long gallery opening on to beautiful Italianate gardens. The fortunes of the house and chapel are strongly tied to the travails of the Catholics in Britain. When Henry VIII formed the Church of England in the 1530s Catholics, including the Stonor family were forced to take a much-reduced part in public life. At Stonor there is a poignant reminder of these times in the roof space and priest hole where Sir Edmund Campion hid whilst printing the famous Ten Reasons’ pamphlet in the 1580s.

Our visit there will include coffee and biscuits on arrival, a sit-down lunch, private tour and free time to discover the beautiful gardens.

June and September sign-on for Chevenage visit October

Sign on for this visit is on 11th April 2024 

Inspired by Mughal architecture from the Indian subcontinent, the house is like an adapted, scaled-down version of the Taj Mahal melded with a traditional English country house. It also boasts extensive gardens in the “Hindu” style, designed with the help of Humphrey Repton.   Sezincote is credited with influencing the design of the Brighton pavilion after a visit by The Prince Regent in 1807. The Estate is run to traditional English standards with a mixed farming enterprise. After seeing all we want to see at Sezincote we shall go to the nearby Batsford Arboretum where there is a unique collection of the world’s most beautiful and rare trees, shrubs and bamboos spread across 60 acres. We can also have lunch in their cafeteria.

The coach will leave Bourne End Community Centre at 9.00 am and return about 5.30. The price of the ticket, £41.00, to include a guided tour of the House at Sezincote, entry and introductory talk at Batsford and our coach journey.

Jane Jackson/Visits Co-ordinator

(sign on - Thurs. 8th February 2024)

An opportunity to visit the special Charleston Farmhouse, East Sussex which was a gathering point for the 20thcentury’s most radical artists, writers and thinkers known collectively as the Bloomsbury group,  and also to see the studio of the painters Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant. It is where they all came together to imagine society differently and has always been a place where art and experimental thinking are at the centre of everyday life. We will be able to see their decorative style within a domestic context, representing the fruition of more than sixty years of artistic creativity. In addition to the house and Artists' Garden, two restored barns are home to The Threshing Barn café run by Caccia and Tails.  Also, if time I am planning to visit  the very interesting local Berwick Church where there are paintings, etc associated with the Bloomsbury Set. This involves a little walking as the coach cannot park in the church grounds.

The cost will be £36.00 which includes coach travel, entry and visiting the local Church/Chapel.   At the Farmhouse we will have access to a digital guide via our mobile phones using our own small headphones  -  this will enable us to go at our own pace. The Threshing Barn now a cafe run by Caccia and Tails is where we can relax over both morning coffee and lunch and will meet all our refreshment requirements. The coach will leave the Community Centre at 9.00 am and we plan to be back by 6.00 pm.

Jane Jackson ( clovercottage@hotmail.com )

A visit to Parham House west Sussex is planned, to see a uniquely restored family home with all its treasurers including the Long Gallery which runs the entire length of the House and the Great Hall which is at its heart and where there are many Tudor and Stuart portraits.

The foundation stone was laid in 1577 by the 2-year-old Thomas Palmer, and Parham House has been a family home ever since. In January 1922 the Hon. Clive Pearson and his wife Alicia (followed by their daughter) restored the House and it was opened to visitors in 1948. With its walled garden and ancient deer park (descendants of the original herd first recorded in 1628) it is a wonderful place to see.

The cost is £41 to include travel, coffee/tea on arrival and guided tour of the House. There will also be time to wander round the lovely gardens. A cafe is available for lunch or you can bring your own. The coach will leave Bourne End at 9 am and return back by about 6 pm.  Cheques please to be paid at the meeting on 8th June or if you cannot attend paid intoThe Art Society Thames account.

Jane Jackson, Visits Co-ordinator (clovercottage@hotmail)

Sign-on:  Thursday 9th March

Hatfield House is set in a large park, the Great Park, in Hertfordshire. The present Jacobean house, a leading example of its time, was built in 1611 by Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury and Chief Minister to King James I in the grounds of the old palace where Queen Elizabeth I spent much of her childhood. Steeped in over 400 years of history, Hatfield House is home to many treasures, including those associated with Queen Elizabeth I.  The picture perfect gardens offer 40 acres of tranquillity and date from the early 17th Century.

The coach for this visit will leave Bourne End Community Centre at 9.15 am. The price pp will be £38 to include coach, tea/coffee on arrival, entry, guided tour of the House and access to the gardens.

Jane (Visits Co-ordinator)

clovercottage@hotmail.com

Sign-on 12th January 2013

 I am planning a visit to the National Gallery, London on Thursday, 20th April. The National Gallery are re-hanging paintings for 2023 and some of these new hangings will enable us to compare old and new paintings of the same genre. I have organised a guide to help us appreciate and inspire us. Our guide will give us at least an hour of their time looking at the different hangings, and after we can wander round at our own pace.   I am planning that on arrival we will have coffee in one of the eateries and after, meet up with our guide for an introductory talk and tour.

We can have lunch at one of the eateries at the Gallery or go outside, whichever we wish.  Please can you give me a ‘heads up’ as soon as possible if you would like to join me on this visit as I will need to have an idea of numbers before booking the coach and guide.

The cost to include coach travel and guide will be £33.00.

Jane, Visits Co-ordinator 07774621731 or clovercottage@hotmail.com

Discover the extraordinary house and museum of Sir John Soane, one of the greatest English Architects who built and lived in it two centuries ago. The museum is as it was at the time of his death in 1837 and displays his vast collection of antiquities, furniture, sculptures, architectural models and paintings.  We will have a guided tour through this amazing house and learn about the remarkable Sir John and his home which he left to the Nation - but things didn’t go exactly as planned!

We will have coffee/tea and biscuit on arrival at the Museum and a guided tour in two separate groups.  After the tour which will take about an hour, we can wander round the Museum at our own pace.  There are cafes, pubs, restaurants close by where we can have a light lunch or something more substantial. We will leave Bourne End Community Centre at 9.15 am arriving at the Soane at about 10.30 and departing from there at about 3.30 pm. 

Tickets will cost £35 and sign-on for this visit is on Thursday 8th September (our first meeting back after the summer break) so bring your cheque books.

Jane

07774621737

Image from Wikipedia. Attribution Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK

Chastleton House and Garden which is considered one of the finest and most complete Jacobean houses in England. This visit will take place on Thursday 23rd June 2022.

We will be travelling by coach to nearby Moreton-in-Marsh, Oxfordshire

The Watts was the home of the famous victorian-era painter and sculptor George Frederick Watts and his wife Mary who was also a remarkable artist.

Thirty of us are looking forward to this visit which is a 'full house' on this occasion but if anyone would like to go on the waiting list in case of cancellations, please contact Jane Jackson through this website.

This is an on-line visit vai Zoom at 11.00 am

This is an on-line visit via Zoom  at 11.00 am

The Sir John Soane' visit is cancelled until further notice

This visit has been cancelled

Some of these visits were cancelled due to covid-19

The unique and outstanding Watts Gallery/Artists' Village is in the heart of the beautiful village of Compton, near Guildford in Surrey. It is dedicated to the work of the Victorian-era painter and sculptor George Frederic Watts and his wife, Mary. The three sites of the Watts Gallery Artists village are the Gallery, Limnerslease House, which was built for the Watts as their home and studio, and the spectacular Memorial Chapel constructed under Mary's guidance and decorated by local craftsmen.

The Gallery will be showing 'Two Hundred Years of John Ruskin' which is touring Europe after exhibiting in the USA. This features works by J. M. W. Turner, John Everett Millais, Edward Burne-Jones and other leading artists of the nineteenth century, and examines Ruskin's legacy as a social reformer, ecological thinker, and educator. The Gallery is also host to a permanent exhibition of the De Morgan collection of art and ceramics by Evelyn and William de Morgan, respectively. The Watts and the De Morgans were close friends.

On arrival we will have an introductory talk with tea/coffee biscuits followed by guided tours to understand the layout of the village, the House, Studios and Chapel. For this we will be split into 2 groups. There will be free time to explore and this includes the Ruskin Exhibition. Everyone is to bring a packed lunch which will make best use of our time. Half an hour has been set aside for this which we will have together in the Old Kiln. You will need comfortable shoes as there will be some walking. Coach will leave Bourne End Community Centre at 9.15 am and return by about 5.30 pm. Tickets cost £32 per person.

Our guided tour will take us back over 1700 years where we will learn about the history of St Alban, discover the incredible architecture,  the story behind the finest set of wall paintings in any medieval cathedral in England  and meet the many fascinating characters who make up the wonderful history of this building,

Tickets will cost about £32.00  to include coffee/tea on arrival, one and a half hours guided tour, lunch in the Abbots Kitchen. the opportunity to wander round the Cathedral at leisure or maybe take in some shopping in St Albans.  Coach will leave Bourne End Community Centre at 9.15 am and we aim to return by 5.30 pm.  

(sign-on Thursday, 13th June)

Kelmscott Manor which is in a village setting was the inspirational Cotswold retreat of William Morris. He signed a joint lease for the property with his friend and colleague Dante Gabriel Rossetti.  The Manor contains an outstanding collection of paintings,  possessions and works of Morris as well as of his friends and family. We will see furniture, original textiles, pictures and paintings, carpets, ceramics and metalwork. Our visit will be fully guided so we shouldn’t miss anything.  We also plan to look in on nearby Buscot Park and gardens now a National Trust property. Built in the 1780s it has played a part in our history, often crammed with politicians, painters and friends.  (So please bring your National Trust membership cards)

Tickets for the day cost £39.00. to include coach, tea/coffee on arrival, introductory talk, guided tour and light lunch. Coach leaves the Community Centre Bourne End at 9 am arriving back at about 5.30 pm.

Jane/Jeanette 07774621737

(Sign-On Thursday 14th February)

The Higgins Bedford holds a wonderful collection of art and artefacts. It is the result of combining the Bedford Museum with the Higgins Art Gallery. The latter resulted from the bequest of Cecil Higgins, a local philanthropist and collector of fine art, ceramics, glass, and objects. This Museum/Art Gallery is housed in the buildings of the Higgins Brewery close to the centre of Bedford. The collections include the bequest of Edward Bawden of the contents of his studio, the history of the local airship industry, water colours and oil paintings, and a fine collection of the furniture of architect/designer William Burges.

The coach will pick us up at 9.00 am at the Community Centre as usual.  On arrival at The Higgins coffee/tea and biscuits will be served. We will then divide into two groups for The Higgins Tour which will give an overview of all there is to see. After our tour we will have lunch altogether in the Higgins Pantry Restaurant. Then after lunch we will be free to wander round the exhibitions:  'Edward Bawden - Home and Abroad',  'The Journey from Bunyan to the Brickworks,' and 'Round and Round the Garden - A celebration of Horticulture in Art.'

Adjacent to the Higgins is the John Bunyan Museum and Library. This excellent small Museum is primarily dedicated to the life, times, and works of John Bunyan. There is a separate entrance charge of £3 for this, to be paid on the day. A visit is recommended.www.bunyanmeeting.co.uk  Also nearby are the Panacea Museum panacea.org and the centre of Bedford. Departure from The Higgins will be at 4.00pm.

The cost for the trip including coach, coffee etc., lunch, and The Higgins Tour will be £34.00. Places are limited to 40 members.

At sign-in would you please have your choice of lunch menu ready. We only require the letter and number in bold along with any dietary requirements.

Mains:

• M1 Chicken Cesar Salad   
• M2 Ciabatta with salmon and lemon mayo  
• M3 Ciabatta with steak and Stilton  
• M4 Aubergine parmigiana with side salad (v) 

Desserts:   

• D1 New York Vanilla cheesecake  
• D2 Torta della Nonna 
• D3 Lemon sorbet

Russia, Royalty and The Romanovs Exhibition
Thursday, 21st March 2019 visit
(Sign-on for this visit is 10th January)

We shall be visiting the Queen’s Gallery to see this wonderful Exhibition.  On arrival we will have coffee/tea and biscuits and an introductory talk. We can then wander round the exhibition at leisure with an audio cassette.  After we have immersed ourselves in this glorious exhibition we plan to have lunch.  We have researched the eateries in the Restaurant Mall opposite and they are numerous and varied.  So everyone can make their own choices for lunch. Nevertheless, Jane and myself are very happy for people to join us. There is something for everyone and all reasonably priced.
 
The ticket price of £30.00 will include:  coach travel to and from the Queen’s Gallery, entry, coffee/tea/biscuits on arrival, introductory talk and audio guide. As usual we shall leave Bourne End Community Centre at 9.00 am. 
 
An Add-on if time and for those who wish, is to visit the Royal Mews next door to Buckingham Palace where we can see the Royal carriages. The entry for this is £9.00
 
Jane/Jeanette

This is a wonderful opportunity to visit Woburn Abbey the historic  home of the Earls and Dukes of Bedford for nearly 400 years.  Uncover the family’s fascinating stories set against the backdrop of over 250 exceptional works of art displayed in more than 20 rooms.  We will also have a chance to explore the gardens designed by gardener Humphry Repton.  There will be a one and a half hours guided tour of the House. On arrival we shall have coffee/tea and later a light lunch.

As usual pickup is at the Bourne End Community Centre 9.00 am. on Thursday 18th October.  The ticket is £45 to include:  travel by coach, entrance ticket, coffee/tea on arrival, guided tour and light lunch.

The first ‘sign on’ for this trip will be at the Community Centre, Bourne End on Thursday, 30th August between  2 pm – 3.45 pm when we can enjoy a cup of tea & cake together.   Please remember to bring your cheque book

Jane/Jeanette

We have an early start of 8.15 to travel by coach to Longford Castle, near Salisbury for our Pre-designated guided tour which starts promptly at 10.30. This tour promises to be a fantastic day and we shall have some time for their sumptuous garden as well.  Later we shall lunch at the nearby Radnor Arms. The menu will be available on booking.

Cost of ticket £41 to include coach, lunch, guided tour and gardens.

The history of Longford begins with Laurens Des Bouverie who fled from Lille to Frankfurt to avoid Protestant persecution.  He was employed in the Silk business and later married his employer's niece.  They settled in Sandwich, England.    Edward Des Bouverie was the first of sixteen descendants who were named Jacob alternating with William and Edward.  In the early years they traded in the Levant region and Constantinople.   The first to be named William was appointed Governor of the Bank of England in 1707 and knighted by Queen Anne in 1713.   He died the year his son purchased Longford Castle.

As a family they are very long lived with some reaching 90 years and 70 years of age being the norm.  One even wrote to George Washington approving of his fighting for and winning freedom for America, the reply is still held at Longford.  Other Bouverie descendants went into the military and even Parliament.  The fourth Earl oversaw the comprehensive rebuild and refurbishment of Longford Castle with Anthony Salvin overseeing the project.

There are many paintings by Rubens, Gainsborough, Reynolds, Van Dyck as well as Brueghel the Elder.  We are very fortunate to visit here as normally bookings are only taken via the National Gallery. 

The Sheldonian Theatre is a unique Grade I listed building, designed by Sir Christopher Wren and situated in Oxford’s city centre. It is the official ceremonial hall of the University of Oxford. We will have a guided tour of the Theatre and learn about it’s history and it’s many uses over the years. After our guided tour of the Sheldonian Theatre we will visit the Weston/Bodleian libraries and have a guided tour to learn about the oldest public library in the world and quite possibly the most impressive one you will ever see. On this tour there will be many stairs to climb as lifts are not available so comfortable shoes are a must. Our tour will include coffee/tea on arrival and sandwich lunch so we will need to know of special dietary needs.

Signing on for this visit is at the next lecture meeting on 8th February. The cost for the day will be £36. Cheques to be made payable to: The Arts Society Thames.

As usual we shall be leaving Bourne End Community Centre at 9.00 am and plan to return to Bourne End by 5.15 pm.

Jane/Jeanette

The Sheldonian Theatre, located in Oxford, England, was built from 1664 to 1669 after a design by Christopher Wren for the University of Oxford. The building is named after Gilbert Sheldon, chancellor of the University at the time and the project's main financial backer. It is used for music concerts, lectures and University ceremonies, but not for drama until 2015 when the Christ Church Dramatic Society staged a production of The Crucible.

What came to be known as the Sheldonian Theatre was Wren's second work and was commissioned by Gilbert Sheldon, Archbishop of Canterbury. With the triumph of the Restoration and with it the Church of England, Dean Fell,Vice-Chancellor of the University, sought to revive a project proposed in the 1630s by the late William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury: a separate building whose sole use would be graduation and degree ceremonies.

In the past these increasingly rowdy occasions had taken place in the university's church of St. Mary-the-Virgin-on-High. "The notion that 'sacrifice is made equally to God and Apollo', in the same place where homage was due to God and God alone, was as repugnant to Fell and his colleagues as it had been to Laud"; with this in mind they approached the Archbishop of Canterbury Gilbert Sheldon, for his blessing, his assistance, and a donation.

Sheldon was forthcoming with all three. He initially gave an impressive £1,000 (£140,412 today) and pledged to gather the needed money from like-minded sponsors. He had little luck, however, and ultimately financed nearly the entire £14,470 (£2,031,757 today) himself, in an age where a mid-level craftsman's wage was typically between £2 and £4 per year.

Wren's initial designs for the Sheldonian probably included a proscenium stage that did not survive his revisions. The building that was constructed was a sharp, unmistakable break from the Gothic past. According to Wren's son, Wren designed the Sheldonian based on Serlio's sixteenth-century engraving of the D-shaped Theatre of Marcellus erected in Rome in the first century BC.

Like any Mediterranean theatre of that time, the Theatre of Marcellus had no roof: the audience relied on a temporary awning for inclement weather. But 17th century Oxford was not ancient Rome, and the Theatre needed a permanent roof. The span of the D-shaped roof was over 70 feet (21 m). However, no timbers existed that were long enough to cross that distance, and Wren dismissed the obvious solution of a Gothic roof. Instead, he decided to use the "geometrical flat floor" grid developed twenty years before by Oxford professor John Wallis.

NOTICE OF AN AD HOC VISIT

Thursday, 7th December 2017
Coach leaving Bourne End Community Centre
10.00am returning by 4pm

This is an opportunity to visit ‘Waddesdon at Christmas’. There will be a Christmas Fair where you can do some Christmas shopping and you will also be able to look around the festively decorated rooms in the Manor itself.  I’m told it is a wonderful opportunity to buy gifts for those friends and relatives who are difficult to buy for.
The cost to include coach and entry will be:

For National Trust members £13.50
For non National Trust members £25.50

There will be places to eat and drink and a friend/partner is also welcome.
We will need to know numbers by Wednesday 8th November so please let me know if you would like to come and let me have your cheque (payable to TDFAS) as soon as possible. 

Mrs Jeanette Pearson
9 Wynne Grove
Hazlemere
Bucks HP15 7LY

Here is an opportunity to visit The Dulwich Picture Gallery, the world’s first purpose-built public art gallery. The Gallery is a vibrant cultural hub hosting some of the UK’s leading exhibitions.  We will have a guide to show us around and tell us about its architecture and exhibits.  

The coach will leave Bourne End Community Centre at 9.00am and arrive back at about 5.30pm The cost per ticket to include coach travel, coffee/tea on arrival (at a nearby restaurant), entry and tour guide is £22.

Afterwards you will have the opportunity to wander round Dulwich Village and/or enjoy lunch at one of the local eateries.

Special 50th Anniversary tour

A unique opportunity to visit Westminster Abbey - hear about it's secrets and listen to music sung by the Old Choristers and dine within the Cloisters. The waiting list for this visit has been several years so here is your chance.

You will hear about the history and architecture of the Abbey in some detail, moving from one location of interest to the next, including the Quire, Sacrarium, High Alter, the CosmatiPavement (unique in this country), Edward Confessor's Shrine, Henry VII chapel and Poet's Corner. There will be pauses for members of the Purcell Club (Old Choristers) to sing suitable musical items for us. 

On arrival we will have a 2-course buffet style meal in the Cellarium Cafe located within the Cloisters. The meal will commence at 5.45pm which will give us time to be ready to start the tour at 6.45 pm.

Please note the tour will be on foot and there are some stairs to be negotiated, so sensible shoes are a good idea.

The ticket price of £60 will include coach travel to and from the venue, supper and the entry fee, for what will be a wonderful trip

Tickets will be available on the following dates 13 April and 11 May 2017.

We will be visiting Spencer House, a beautiful private palace and indeed the only eighteenth century town house in London to survive in tact today.  Began in 1756 by the First Earl Spencer and overseen by John Vardy with beautiful interiors and furnishings.

Should you so wish, after visiting Spencer House there will be free time for shopping or a relaxed luncheon of your choosing. Our coach will return us home later.

Tickets will be available on the following dates 9 February and 9 March meetings.

9.00 a.m. from Bourne End.

The Geffrye Museum, located in Shoreditch, is set in beautiful almshouse buildings of the Ironmongers’ Company dating from 1714.   It is surrounded by gardens – a much-loved oasis in the heart of inner-city London.  The Geffrye explores the ‘home’ from 1600 to the present day.   Evocative displays of London living rooms and gardens illustrate home life through the centuries, reflecting changes in society, behaviour, style and taste.

Our visit to the Museum will include coffee/tea and biscuits on arrival, introductory talk and lunch (see menu choices below).

We will also take the opportunity to visit nearby Sutton House in Hackney (time permitting), a National Trust property.  Sutton House is a rare example of a red-brick building from the Tudor period and was home to a succession of merchants.  Please bring your National Trust membership cards. If you are not a NT member, you will need to pay £5.00 for entry on the day.

The cost for the day will be £34 per head.

 Tickets will be on sale at the next TDFAS meeting on the 8th September.   Cheques only please, made out to TDFAS.  The menu will also be available to see at the meeting on 8TH September, and for you to make your choice then. 

If you cannot get to the meeting and would like to go, please contact Jane Jackson at clovercottage@hotmail.com

ALTERNATE MENUS

1. Tortilla (potato, spring onion and red peppers), beetroot and salad leaves 

Mini brownie and flapjack bites, tea or coffee

2. Chicken & Israeli couscous salad, chicory, lemon, parsley and pomegranate

Mini brownies and flapjack bites, tea or coffee

3. Poached salmon fillet, new potatoes with butter & chives and fine green beans

Mini brownie and flapjack bites, tea or coffee.

4. Warm savoury tart, new potatoes with butter & chives and green salad:

Choices: Leek, gruyere cheese & thyme or Mushroom and goats cheese or Red pepper, brie & thyme

Mini brownie and flapjack bites, tea or coffee

5. Other drinks to be paid for individually on the day

After lunch our coach will take us to Sutton House where we will spend about 1 to 1.5 hours

Our coach will pick us up from Sutton House at 4 pm ready for the return journey home.

The summer trip is to Hampton Court. On arrival we shall be met by Linda Collins, a well-known NADFAS lecturer, who will explain the agenda for the day. This includes a guided tour through the apartments of Henry VIII with special emphasis on the Tudor Art of the Royal Collection and the rooms designed by Christopher Wren for William III that were so devastated by a fire. The afternoon is free for us to wander at will.

Tickets will be on sale  for the next TDFAS visit at the 12 May 2016 meeting.

They  are priced at £38 to include coach transfers from Bourne End Community Centre to and from Hampton Court and include coffee and pastries on arrival,entrance fee and we shall be guided by two professional guides.

Our group will be split in half and with the knowledge of  two guides we shall be looking at Tudor Art in the Royal Collection and at the apartments of Henry VIII including the spectacular Great Hall where the Abraham tapestries hang, considered by many experts to be the most valuable tapestries in the world.

Meanwhile the other group will look at the apartments used by William III and designed by Christopher Wren and damaged by fire in 1986.  The guide will cover the restoration of the rooms too which is fascinating.  Afterwards the groups will swap so that each group sees the same things.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, our planned visit to the Weald and Downland Museum in April is being replaced by a trip to Arundel Castle and grounds. Set high on a hill in West Sussex, the Castle was founded at the end of the 11th century and has been the family home of the Dukes of Norfolk and their ancestors for nearly 1000 years, thus making it one of the longest inhabited country houses in England. Many of the original features such as the crenelated Norman Keep, gatehouse and barbican survive.

Between the 1870s and 1890s the house was almost completely rebuilt, and its magnificent architecture in Gothic style is considered to be one of the great works of Victorian England. The finely preserved interior is full of antique furniture, tapestries and a rare collection of paintings by renowned artists including Van Dyck, Gainsborough and Canaletto.