Events Diary Autumn - Winter 2012-13
www.chawtonhouse.org
September
September
SEP
10.00 a.m. – 4.00 p.m.
08
Heritage Open Day: The Gentleman Farmer
SEP
19
6.30 p.m. drinks reception for 7.00 p.m. talk
Evening Lecture: Professor Philip Olleson ‘The World of Susan Burney’ To mark the publication by Ashgate of The Journals and Letters of Susan Burney: Music and Society in Late Eighteenth-Century England, Chawton House Library invites you to an evening devoted to Susan Burney. Philip Olleson, Emeritus Professor of Historical Musicology at the University of Nottingham, and the editor of the volume, will introduce Susan with an account of her life and times, accompanied by a selection of readings from the journals by Karin Fernald, a speaker, actor and writer who is well known for her programmes of readings based on the life and works of literary figures.
Experience Chawton House Library in a new light as we bring you face-toface with the ‘Gentleman Farmer’. Discover the charity’s newly-restored eighteenth-century barn, complete with contemporary implements; walk the lime avenue; experience the Shire horses working on the estate, and speak to the woodsman. Learn more about Edward Austen, one-time owner of Chawton House, and what it meant to be a gentleman landowner. Children’s activities will be available, plus an exhibition in the house. The ground floor of the House will be open, including a display of Edward’s newly-conserved silk suit. Refreshments will be available and the gardens will be open to visitors. Free Entry
Susan Burney (1755-1800) was the third daughter of the music historian and man of letters Dr Charles Burney, and the younger sister, confidante, and soul-mate of the celebrated novelist Frances Burney. Susan’s journals and letters provide a vivid chronicle of her life and times from London and Surrey. The Journals and Letters of Susan Burney: Music and Society in Late EighteenthCentury England contains an extensive selection of annotated extracts from the journals and letters, together with an extended biographical introduction, and makes Susan and her world available for the first time. Copies will be available to purchase at a special discount rate.
SEP
10.00 a.m. - 12.00 p.m.
28
Macmillan Big Coffee Morning
We gratefully acknowledge the support of Ashgate for this event.
All monies raised support the work of Macmillan Cancer Care. The perfect excuse for tea and cakes with friends in spectacular surroundings - all in a good cause.
Tickets: £10 Adults; £7.50 Students / Friends
Free entry with donations for tea and cake.
To book: Visit our shop at www.chawtonhouse.org
Call 01420 541010 Email info@chawton.net
OCTOBER
OCTOBER
OCT
19
6.30 p.m. drinks reception for 7.00 p.m. talk. Book Launch: Uses of Austen: Jane’s Afterlives, edited by Gillian Dow and Clare Hanson
OCT
04
Gillian Dow and Clare Hanson invite you to Chawton House Library to celebrate the publication of their collection of essays, Uses of Austen: Jane’s Afterlives. Meet the editors, and authors of individual chapters, who will be discussing Austen’s legacy in the twentieth and twenty-first century. Copies of the book will be available on the evening at a discounted rate. Tickets: £10 Adults; £7.50 Students / Friends
6.30 p.m. drinks reception for 7.00 p.m. talk
Wordfest Evening Talk for Alton Wordfest by Sarah Parry, Education Officer at Chawton House Library: ‘Touring Northanger Abbey and Other Outrageous Country Houses’ Historic house visiting is central to Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey. Catherine Morland can hardly believe her good fortune that she is to visit the Tilneys’ country house, which has its origins in a medieval ecclesiastical building. Catherine’s overactive imagination and the influence of gothic novels lead her astray, and her expectations of what she hopes to find at Northanger provide many of the comic moments of the novel. Throughout the novel, Jane Austen has Catherine’s and Isabella’s imaginations driven by what they read in gothic novels, so by the time of Catherine’s arrival at Northanger Abbey her expectations have been raised to such unrealistic levels that what is to follow must surely disappoint.
OCT 10.00 a.m. – 4.00 p.m.
21
Open Gardens: The Autumn Gardener
What might Catherine have reasonably expected to see? What buildings might have fulfilled her fantasy? Sarah Parry takes her audience on a quest for the perfect abbey to satisfy the imagination of Catherine, examining the types of building that the fictional Northanger Abbey might have represented.
Seasonal fun with an historical twist on ‘National Apple Day’ in the Walled Garden and grounds of Chawton House. Activities for children plus displays and demonstrations throughout the day. A chance to enjoy the autumn colours and find out what has been growing in the garden this summer.
Tickets: £10 Adults; £7.50 Students / Friends
Tickets: £3 Adults; Children £1.50. Refreshments available
To book: Visit our shop at www.chawtonhouse.org
Call 01420 541010 Email info@chawton.net
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
NOV
OCT
25
08
6.30 p.m. drinks reception for 7.00 p.m. demonstration Evening Demonstration: Caroline Baker - ‘Picture Perfect: Conserving Paintings at Chawton House Library’
10.30 a.m. Tea, coffee and cakes for an 11.00 a.m. start Morning Talk & Optional Garden Tour : Rosamund Wallinger – ‘Gertrude Jekyll; Artist, Writer and Gardener’
Conservator Caroline Baker discusses her recent survey work on the beautiful collection of art at Chawton House Library. Using slideshows, close-ups, and demonstrations of conservation techniques, this is a rare opportunity to get close to some notable artworks and learn more about the artists, the care of these paintings, and examples of what can be achieved through conservation. Learn which young Austen scribbled on one of our landscapes; what is meant by ‘craquelure’; and where on a painting you might find a ‘cleavage’… A privileged look at significant works, not to be missed.
Having spent over 28 years researching and lovingly restoring one of the most important Edwardian gardens in the country - namely her own, which was designed by Gertrude Jekyll, Rosalind Wallinger is a noted expert on the life and work of this remarkable woman. Described by The Times as “something of a legend”, Rosamund Wallinger lectures both in the UK and abroad, and her new book Gertrude Jekyll; Her Art Restored at Upton Grey is soon to be published. The Head Gardener will be on hand to show people the gardens after the talk, weather permitting.
Tickets: Adults £10; Students / Friends £7.50 Members of the Art Fund can attend at the discounted rate.
Tickets: Adults £7.50; Students / Friends £6.50
OCT
30
OCT
NOV
31
3.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m.
Half Term Hallowe’en: Mystery Manor! Get mysterious with mask-making and a weird walk around our ‘Mystery Manor’. Suitable for very young children. Children £5 - all children must be accompanied by an adult. Accompanying adults are free of charge, additional adults £5.00 each. Booking essential. Refreshments available to purchase.
10.00 a.m. – 4.00 p.m.
17
Study Day: Dr Abigail Williams - ‘The Cheerful Companion’: Eighteenth-Century Poetic Miscellanies This interactive study day will explore the varied world of eighteenthcentury poetic miscellanies, popular collections of verse, prose and music that were the main way in which ordinary people consumed literature in contemporary society. With titles ranging from Laugh and be Fat to Elegant Extracts (read in Jane Austen’s Emma), these collections provided something for everyone. This study day will include a series of short talks and interactive sessions. Tickets: £35; Students £28. Includes refreshments and buffet lunch.
To book: Visit our shop at www.chawtonhouse.org
Call 01420 541010 Email info@chawton.net
NOVEMBER
DECEMBER
DEC
01
7.00 p.m. for 7.30 p.m. dinner Gala Dinner: Brick by Brick Theatre presents ‘A Christmas Feast: Dinner with a Literary Flavour’
Join us for a glittering candle-lit Christmas dinner in the panelled Dining Room, as members of Brick by Brick Theatre Company create a cast of characters between courses… Presented as an anthology, this intimate and novel way of experiencing prose, poetry and drama promises to fill the evening with a true taste of Christmas.
NOV
Dress code: Black tie. Tickets on a strictly first-come, first-served basis. £40 including three courses and champagne on arrival. Wine available to purchase.
22
DEC
15
6.30 p.m. drinks reception for 7.00 p.m talk Evening Talk and Book Launch: Kate Chisholm – ‘Wits and Wives: Dr Johnson in the Company of Women’ When Dr Johnson infamously asserted ‘a woman’s preaching is like a dog walking on his hind legs. It is not done well, but you are surprised to find it done at all’, it is assumed he was disparaging women who tried to be like men. Far from it. By looking at how he lived his life, rather than what he said, we can discover that he was actually a friend and mentor to many women who dared to publish, to criticise Shakespeare, to paint portraits, to stage plays. From his much-neglected wife Tetty to the scholar Elizabeth Carter, the artist Frances Reynolds (sister to Sir Joshua), the literary hostess Hester Thrale and philanthropist Hannah More, Johnson valued the friendship of women. Who were these women? What can they tell us about Johnson? How did they succeed in fulfilling their wit, their talent, their independence?
DEC
16
10.00 a.m. – 3.00 p.m. Open House: Montagu Knight’s Edwardian Christmas Chawton House Library welcomes the return of its supremely popular Edwardian Christmas – the perfect way to top up your Christmas spirit! Costumed staff welcome you to the ‘Great House’, where magic lantern shows, music boxes, costume displays and some seasonal surprises await in the decorated domesticity of each room… Tickets available on the door: Adults £4; Children £1
Kate Chisholm will be introducing her new book of the same title during the evening. Tickets: Adults £10; Students / Friends £7.50
To book: Visit our shop at www.chawtonhouse.org
Call 01420 541010 Email info@chawton.net
JAnuary / February
COming soon
JAN
23
12.00 start
Lunchtime Recital: The Steinway in the Stables Jane Austen’s Music Book Pianist and music historian Sam Carruso introduces an intimate piano and cello recital of an Austen-themed repertoire, in the Drawing Room of the Chawton House Stables. £15 a ticket to include cold finger buffet lunch
February 2013
Games Afternoon: Bridge Tea Popular event, back by demand! Relax and enjoy a game of bridge in the beautiful surroundings of the Great Hall and historic Dining Room at Chawton House Library. A perfect opportunity to socialise with friends in glorious surroundings. Light refreshments will be served during the afternoon, and as usual, there will be the chance to win some covetable raffle prizes. Book early to ensure your place. See www.chawtonhouse.org or call 01420 541010 for further details.
FEB
09
10.00 a.m. – 4.00 p.m.
Pride and Prejudice Study Day Celebrating the two hundredth anniversary of the publication of Austen’s famous novel. Speakers include: Dr Paula Byrne, Dr Shelley Cobb, Professor Kathryn Sutherland, Dr Bharat Tandon. Tickets: £40; Students £33. Includes refreshments and buffet lunch, and a visit to Jane Austen’s House Museum.
Chawton House Library, 4th-6th July 2013 Summer Conference: Pride and Prejudices: Women’s Writing of the Long Eighteenth Century. Spring 2013
Hands-On, Historical ‘Whodunnit’… Spring 2013
Taking Tea with Jane Pettigrew … Visit www.chawtonhouse.org to find further details of events, buy tickets and much more.
To book: Visit our shop at www.chawtonhouse.org
Call 01420 541010 Email info@chawton.net
Volunteers have free entry to evening lectures. To find out more about volunteering, please see the website at www.chawtonhouse.org and click ‘Get Involved’. Chawton House Library is available for weddings, corporate and private hire, and filming. Please contact Sarah.Cross@chawton.net or see online for details. Become a Friend of Chawton House Library online or by calling 01420 541010. Chawton House Library is a UK registered charity and depends on philanthropy to further its educational mission. If you can help, please donate or support our projects online, or call 01420 541010. Sign up online for our e-newsletter at www.chawtonhouse.org. TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE TO BUY ONLINE AT WWW.CHAWTONHOUSE.ORG OR BY CALLING 01420 541010.
Home to early English women’s writing Registered Charity No. 1026921 Chawton, Alton, Hampshire GU34 1SJ T: 01420 541010 F: 01420 595900