UPCOMING EVENTS/ACTIVITIES -

Welcome to the events page of The Rectory Society. During the year we arrange various events, lectures and activities that we feel will be of interest to our members. To support our organisation, for most events, we will ask that attendees be members of The Rectory Society. If you are not yet a member and would like to join, please click here for further information.

FUTURE EVENTS

Rectory Society Visits for 2010

The Society's Spring Visit to West Sussex will take place on Monday 24th May. We will see old rectories in Etchingham and West Firle and lunch at Firle Place. Further details and an application form will be enclosed in the March 2010 Newsletter.

The Late Summer Visit will be in Norfolk. Date to be confirmed but is likely to be in mid-September.

An Autumn Visit to London is also planned for the weekend of 16th/17th October. This is a new idea and the programme might include a dinner with a speaker on the Saturday evening at The Sloane Club in Chelsea, and a guided tour around a number of London parsonages on the Sunday.

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PAST EVENTS

Thursday 21st January 2010 Out AGM took place at 6.30pm, at The Grosvenor Chapel, 24 South Audley Street, London W1K 2PA. Our speaker was P. D. James. The talk given by this famous authoress is published in the pages of our March 2010 newsletter, which is also available to look at through this website, see Members Area.

15 September 2009 - VISIT TO YORKSHIRE.

We visited Shandy Hall, home of Laurence Sterne, author of Tristram Shandy. The Old Rectory at Settrington and the Old Rectory at Foston, once home of Sydney Smith.

6 July 2009 - GREATEST EVER VICARAGE TEA PARTY

Members and their friends attended a vicarage tea party in a marquee, courtesy of Lady Archer at The Old Vicarage, Grantchester. After tea, Jonathan Race of the Very Useful Donkey Theatre performed a monologue drawing from the letters and poetry of Rupert Brooke.

12 May 2009 - VISIT TO BERKSHIRE

We visited the Old Rectory at Englefield and The Old Rectory at Farnborough.

12 March 2009 - VISIT TO WESTMINSTER ABBEY AND THE DEANERY

We attended Sung Evensong at Westminster Abbey, followed by drinks and canapes with the Dean in the Jerusalem Chamber. Then we had a look at College Hall and the Dean kindly gave us a tour of his deanery.

15 January 2009 - ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING/LECTURE

We held our AGM at St George's Church, Hanover Square, London, which was addressed by our Ecclesiastical Patron, The Rt Revd and Rt Hon Dr Richard Chartres, Bishop of London. To read a copy of his speech, please click here.

10 September 2008 - VISIT TO DERBYSHIRE

We visited the vicarage home in Edensor of our Patron, The Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, who gave us lunch afterwards in a marquee in her garden. The vicarage is divided in two and we looked around the other part of it which is lived in by Andrew and Bridget Fleming. We also visited the parish church of St Peter in Edensor.

After lunch we went by coach to Longford Grange, a Georgian rectory and home of John and Elizabeth Bather and had a look at the church of St Chad in Longford. During the coach journey there was a talk by Mr Maxwell Craven. We also visited the Church of St Chad in Longford.

22 May 2008 - VISIT TO WILTSHIRE AND DORSET
Details of this visit will follow shortly.

29 January 2008 - ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AND LECTURE
Our keynote speaker this year was Lady Mary Keen, renowned gardener, designer and writer, who spoke about the character of parsonage gardens.

20 September 2007 - LIFE IN THE RECTORY IN THE 19TH CENTURYThe first Rectory Society outing was a day in Oxfordshire and Berkshire. The day began with a morning visit and lunch at Sarsden Glebe, nr. Chipping Norton (home of Rupert and Amanda Ponsonby). It was the former Churchill Rectory designed by Humphrey Repton and built by his son George in 1818. Set in parkland and rambling gardens we will also saw its recently restored kitchen garden.

After lunch we travelled by coach to Kintbury, nr. Newbury to visit The Old Vicarage (home of Robert and Gill Harris), a Victorian gothic vicarage built in 1860 by Talbot Bury for the Dundas family. During the coach journey there was a talk on the history of rectories by James Miller, former Deputy Chairman of Sothebys and presenter of Hidden Treasure Houses.

10 January 2007 - RECTORY SOCIETY INAUGURAL LECTURE
An inaugural lecture was given by Miss Lucinda Lambton to 'launch' the new society. It was held at St George's, Hanover Square, London. To read a copy of Miss Lambtons's lecture please click here.