Beckford Lecture 2019

The Beckford Lecture and Dinner will be held at the Travellers Club on Thursday 17th October 2019 at 6:30pm. A booking form has been enclosed with the newsletter mailing and is also available here.

Old Fonthill Abbey Open Days 2019

The grounds of Old Fonthill Abbey will be open to the public this year on Sunday 5 and Sunday 19 May.

Visitors will be able to follow a series of walks and tracks around Bitham Lake and through the American Garden, and circuits to Stops Beacon and further points. The first date should be best for bluebells, and the second date for the rhododendrons.

Tea and coffee, and homemade cakes are available all day, along with homemade soup and prize-winning bangers on the barbecue. Dogs on leads are very welcome.

Donations for entrance and, as in previous years, will be shared between Parkinsons UK and local charities.

Entrance from 10.00am is by Stone Gate (SP3 6SP) on the Hindon to Newtown Lane.

NB. In the event of dangerously high winds, visiting will be cancelled. The NT Stourhead website will be followed.

New book on John Rutter

John Rutter (1796 – 1851) is possibly best known as the author and publisher of Delineations of Fonthill and its Abbey which gives a detailed account of the Abbey and its estate following Beckford’s decision to sell.

Rutter was a man of many talents and achievements which are revealed in John Stuttard’s The Turbulent Quaker of Shaftersbury, which has just been published by Hobnob Press on behalf of the Shaftesbury & District Historical Society.

More details are available in this PDF flier.