Previous Visits 2010-11

May 2011

This was our first overseas tour. The trip included organised tours and visits to museums, galleries and places of interest. The city has 18 Museums with 2.5 million works of art. Visits included the Wawel Castle district and the University and Collegium where Copernicus worked and developed some of his theories on astronomy.

The trip was interesting and informative but also a lot of fun!

There was an optional visit to Auschwitz on the third day. There was also a visit to the Salt Mines that we learnt about in our May Lecture from Douglas Skeggs where dozens of statues and an entire chapel were carved by miners out of rock salt.

You can view more Photos of Krakow on our Flicker page at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fyldedfas/

April 2011

Those who enjoyed the Churches of Lytham St Annes trip in November last year had an even greater treat in store as we extended our horizons to wider parts of the Fylde and Wyre. This was another great opportunity to learn about the history of church architecture and the diversity of design that can be found in our local churches. St Chads Poulton le Fylde

The format of the trip was once again a whistle-stop tour  led by our resident expert Philip Bailey. The churches were a revelation but without Philip to point out many of the outstanding features we wouldn’t have got half so much from the visit.

The tour included Wrea Green Parish Church, three Kirkham Churches, St Michaels on the Wyre, St Helens in Churchtown, St Chads in Poulton and two Blackpool Churches. It covered a vast historical period ranging from the Druids to the present day.

Among other things we discovered that St Michaels on the Wyre is a late medieval church with a blue slate roof above the chancel and nave. St Michaels in Kirkham, built in 1822 by Preston Architect Robert Roper  has a 150ft spire added in 1844 by Edward Sharpe.

St Chads (pictured above right) is a beautiful Georgian church built on Norman remains with an amazinCeiling of the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, Blackpoolg wood panelled gallery full of family pews.

Our Lady of Lourdes Thanksgiving Shrine in Whinney Heys Road in Blackpool builit in the 1950s by Francis Xavier Verlarde in Portland Stone is a hidden gem that I am sure many of us have driven past without paying it much attention. Now owned by the Historic Chapels Trust who are raising money for its renovation it featured pillars in gold mosaic, a ceiling in red, blue and gold  (pictured left) and bronze altar rails with an art deco design.

Philip’s knowledge is impressive and he is entertaining enough to warrant his own TV show. He explained so many aspects of architecture that we all came away having learnt something (though I’m still not sure I can give a coherent account of Picturesque Functionalism!). We stopped mid-tour for an enjoyable lunch at the Grapes at St Michaels and as usual everyone was friendly and sociable. It was a really good day out and I hope we haven’t run out of churches because it left us all wanting more. Thanks again to Philip for allowing us to benefit from his expertise.

View more photos from this churches trip on our Flickr Page. You can also view them as a slideshow.

March 2011

On Wednesday, 23rd March 2011 a full coach of members and friends went to Salts Mill in Saltaire, Shipley, Yorkshire in the morning and in the afternoon on to East Riddlesden Hall, a National Trust house in Keighley.

The Mill was built in 1853 by Titus Salt to manufacture fine wool fabrics.    The Mill now incorporates the 1853 Gallery which hosts a permanent exhibition of works by David Hockney and on the same floor the Burmantoft Pottery Exhibition.   On the second floor, there are various shops selling books, jewellery, clothing and kitchenware, Gallery 2 with paintings and drawings of Saltaire and an Exhibition of the history of Saltaire with many fascinating personal treasures of the Salt family.     The Mill, Saltaire United Reformed Church and Saltaire Village are now a UNESCO World Heritage site.    Whilst some members explored the village guided by Bill Cartmell approximately 25 of us were treated to an excellent dramatized talk about the life and times of Saltaire residents in the 1800′s by Maria Glot in the beautiful United Reformed Church.   The village incorporates houses of different sizes reflecting the status of their nineteenth century residents, a school, almshouses, an institute, a hospital and allotment gardens.    Titus Salt provided all these benefits to provide a healthy and strictly moral environment for his workers.

After a quick lunch we travelled to East Riddleden Hall in Keighley.    We divided into 4 groups and with our excellent National Trust guides we enjoyed an informative tour of this 17th Century Manor House, the Tithe Barn in the grounds and the well stocked gardens and lake.    The house comprises well restored living accommodation on two floors with beautiful furniture, embroidery, a priest hole and rose windows.    We all enjoyed a variety of cakes and scones with a welcome drink in the Tearoom before leaving for the journey home.

November 2010

This was a great opportunity to take part in a guided coach tour of the churches of Lytham St Annes and discover the heritage on our doorstep.

Vice Chair of DFAS and Expert in Church Architecture, Philip Bailey, was our guide for the day, providing a running commentary, both on the coach and in the churches.

This was a half-day whistle-stop tour of around 14 churches. Most of them we viewed from the coach while Philip pointed out items of archiitectural interest. We went inside five: St Cuthberts; St Josephs RC; St Annes Parish Church; Lytham Methodist Church, and the White Church at Ansdell which is to be the subject of Fylde DFAS’s first church recording exercise

Philip helped us to identify items of interest such as the Burne Jones/William Morris stained glass window in St. Cuthberts in Lytham which is well worth a visit. Once the window was pointed out to us it was clear how different in style it was from the other windows and we could see its Pre-Raphaelite influences. The stained glass in the White Church is also quite spectacular and many of us were embarrassed that we had walked past this church many times without being aware of its beautiful interior.

Although the churches were built at roughly the same time we came to see that they have a wide variety of character from the gothic style St Josephs designed by Pugin and Pugin to the neo-classical Methodist Church.

Other features of interest included a giant tapestry on display in the Parish Church of St Annes, embroidered by the Church Broderers Guild in the 1990s, which shows places and events of note in the history of St Annes-on-Sea and its church.

This was a really interesting and absorbing trip and we all felt we’d learnt a lot about our local heritage. It was also an absolute bargain – transport costs only!Philip is hoping to do another one early next year when we can travel further afield.

The December lecture on stained glass gave many of us an appetite to see more and I will definitely be signing up for future trips. Our thanks to Philip and also to all those who opened up the churches for us.

November 2010

The Assembly Rooms, Dicconson Terrace, Lytham

This was a fundraising event in support of Fylde DFAS Young Arts Project, ‘Mr Lowry in Lytham St Annes’. The feedback so far is that the evening was a great success and everyone seemed to have a good time.

The refreshments on offer were advertised as ‘nibbles’ but this was something of an understatement. Barbara Weston and her crack team of caterers worked tirelessly in the kitchen to produce a lavish display of snacks, entrees and finger food which kept people more than satisfied until the arrival of Pizza from Pizza Express. The table settings looked professional and the ambience was warm and inviting with Italian posters on the walls and soft music playing in the background. We were served wine and food at our tables by Committee members and volunteers – all for £12.50 a ticket including the lecture. This, of course, was the focal point of the evening.

Celebrated artist and lecturer, Hugh Ellwood delivered a lecture on the Italian Renaissance which was interesting and illuminating with high quality images. His subject knowledge was impressive and he kept our interest throughout. Hugh kindly offered his services free for this fundraising event and he struck just the right note for an evening lecture, making it as entertaining as it was educational.

It was a good to get members together in a friendly social setting and many brought friends along. Tickets were sold out very quickly so this may set a precedent for future events – a prospect viewed with some trepidation by the organisers.

We are currently working out how much we raised at this event but it is in excess of £600 – the raffle alone raised £165 so thanks to all who bought tickets and donated prizes. Thanks also to Barbara and Gerry who masterminded the event and everyone else who gave time and effort to make the event a success. It was a great team effort.

Oct 2010

Am: Visit to Manchester Museum exhibition ‘China: Journey to the East’
Pm: Visit to the L.S. Lowry Collection in Salford.

This trip was specially arranged to complement both our October lecture, ‘The Chinese Gentleman as Collector and Connoisseur,’ and the Special Interest Day on  L. S. Lowry at Wrea Green on 10th November 2010.

On Wednesday, 20th October 2010, an enthusiastic 43 members of Fylde DFAS travelled to Manchester for the day.

We arrived at the Manchester Museum just after 10.40a.m.and the majority went immediately for coffee etc in the excellent café on the ground floor of the Museum.     Completely refreshed we proceeded to the China Exhibition also conveniently situated on the ground floor.

The exhibition had some absolutely fantastic objects from the British Museum on show.    These included some of the world’s earliest porcelain to shadow puppets, afterlife jam tarts and a pillow wishing everlasting peace.   (This was a hard block of shaped wood and most of us thought we would be very lucky to get any sleep at all if we had used it!)

Some of the objects on display were 3,000 years old and were in excellent condition. All the items on display were very comprehensively labelled although the majority of us would have appreciated them larger and more accessible.

Having viewed the China Exhibition we had time to explore some of the other excellent departments in this small museum i.e. Ancient Egypt, Pre-historic Life and the Manchester Gallery, many expressing the intention to visit again.

At lunchtime we then returned to our coach and soon arrived at The Lowry, Salford.   After lunch we were able to view the 20 minute film of L.S. Lowry’s life which showed a fascinating glimpse into his life.   This talented man appeared to have lead a very sheltered and quite sad, lonely life which in the long years up to his mother’s death, totally revolved around the person who never appreciated his art.   We all enjoyed the talk then given by a member of the Lowry Exhibition staff.   We moved through the different galleries whilst he gave an extremely interesting descriptive interpretation of various paintings on display.   I think we all really enjoyed this talk which had been advertised as a 10 minute talk but actually lasted 35 minutes.    Much appreciated.

Before departing for home some of your members managed to fit in a little shopping at the Lowry Outlet centre, visited the Imperial War Museum North (just across the Manchester Ship Canal) or just relaxed with a coffee break before the journey home.

I think we all had an interesting, enjoyable day out and I would like to thank everyone who participated and I look forward to seeing you on our next excursion.

Christine Cockburn
Visits Coordinator

Useful Links

The Manchester Museum Exhibition

The Lowry, Salford

Our thanks to Christine for organising this enjoyable and interesting visit