The activities of the Furniture History Society are an opportunity for detailed study of furniture under the guidance of experts. A varied programme of events for the membership is organized every year by a sub-committee of the Council. These events often coincide with major exhibitions on the subject or the publication of relevant research and allow members the chance to converse with scholars and other parties involved in the study of furniture. Detailed reports of visits are published in the Newsletter.

Special visits and study days consist of a whole/half day visit to a country house, often with privileged access to private areas, or to an exhibition, museum or gallery, usually conducted by the responsible curator or noted academic in the specific field. The Society also arranges study sessions on techniques and construction.

Study weekends in Great Britain focus on a particular area or subject. For example, members have visited Edinburgh to study the work of William Trotter and Yorkshire to inspect the furniture of Thomas Chippendale. In recent years other weekends have included Norfolk with detailed study sessions at Houghton Hall and Holkham Hall, and Northumberland with visits to Seaton Delavel and Alnwick Castle. Longer tours of Scotland, Ireland and Wales have also been held.

International visits range from a long weekend to a full fortnight with the programme organized and led by a prominent academic. The itineraries are often intensive incorporating visits to palaces, private collections, museums and churches often under privileged conditions and with access to furniture not normally on view to the public. Groups usually number fewer than 30 people to allow for close inspection and discussion of objects. In the past members have toured Paris, Amsterdam, Bordeaux, Barcelona, Madrid, Munich, Vienna, Budapest, Charleston, Washington, Los Angeles, Rome, Venice, Sicily, Stockholm, Denmark, St. Petersburg, South Africa and India.


You can contact the Activities Secretary below.

Clarissa Ward
25 Wardo Avenue
London
SW6 6RA

Tel/Fax: 0207 384 4458 .

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