I lead tours in London, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire looking at aspects of architecture and history that are beyond the obvious. This means that you might join me in looking for traces of the lost palaces which lined the Strand in London in the 17th Century. Alternatively you could join me in looking at architecture and history in a market town or visiting a less well known country house to discover its hidden treasures.
If my schedule doesn’t suit yours I will take bookings for private tours for individuals or groups of up to 20 people at £200 per tour. Please have a look at my list of tours and contact me to arrange a time and date; my diary is often quite full but if I can fit you in at short notice I will alternatively I’m used to taking bookings weeks or months into the future.
My tours usually last two hours and are suitable for those aged 10 and over with an interest in buildings and the past. Individuals can book onto scheduled tours, but remember places are limited to a maximum of 20 people.
My current programme of tours and visits is below with prices. Please email me at zilphahistory@gmail.com to book places or if you have any queries.
2.00 – 4.00 p.m. Monday 16th March : An Architectural Walk in Aylesbury.
It would be easy to assume that the extensive redevelopment of central Aylesbury has left little of interest to the architectural historian. There may not be many major architectural set pieces but there is still much to take pleasure from in houses and public buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries. (Walk previous held September 2021), £10 per person.
1.30-3.30 p.m. Tuesday 14th April : Developing Bloomsbury From the 17th to the 19th Century.
Starting on Tottenham Court Road, near the site of the beer flood of 1814, we will explore how this part of London was developed and redeveloped by landowners including the Dukes of Bedford. This created an area which ranged from slums in the south to elegant squares further north. We will also see how the British Museum came to be fitted into this district. £12.50 per person.
11.00 a.m. – 1.00 p.m. Monday 11th May : Rousham House and Gardens.
Rousham House, in North Oxfordshire, was built in the 1630’s and then remodelled by William Kent a century later. Kent also designed the landscape gardens which are a very important and well preserved example of how in the 1730’s English gardens were moving away from formal plans. We will be given a tour of the house, which only opens to groups, before exploring the gardens. You will be free to continue exploring the gardens or to enjoy them with a picnic when the visit ends at 1.00. Please note there is no café or shop at Rousham. £30 per person, final date for booking 1st May (there will be a maximum of 20 places for this visit).
11.00 a.m. -12.30 p.m. Tuesday 19th May: St. Michael and All Angels Church, Waterford, Hertfordshire.
Consecrated in 1872 this small church just outside of Hertford is a good example of Henry Woodyer’s high church architecture. The exterior does not prepare you for the richness of the interior decoration particularly the stained glass which includes windows designed by Edward Burne Jones and made by Morris and Co. We will be given a guided tour to fully appreciate this little known gem. £15 per person (includes £5 donation to the church).
10.00 a.m. – 4.00 p.m. Wednesday 10th June, Dayschool : Buildings and History in Great Missenden.
This dayschool will look at what buildings can tell us about local history. The morning will consist of two lectures looking at some of the clues we can discover from buildings by looking at style and materials to help in dating and to think about the intentions of the builders. In the afternoon we will walk through Great Missenden to apply some of the ideas discussed in the morning. £30 per person. N.b. the venue has parking and is accessible by rail and bus. Morning refreshments provided.
2.00 – 4.00 p.m. Wednesday 17th June. Walk : Between the Strand and the Thames; Traces of Palaces.
Unsurprisingly the Strand, as the street connecting London and Westminster, was by 1600 lined with houses of enormous ambition which have almost entirely vanished. We will find traces of these great houses, an echo of them in the exterior of Astor House and a replacement in Somerset House. (Walk previous held December 2022), £12.50 per Person.
2.00-3.30 p.m. Wednesday 15th July : Kimbolton Castle, Cambridgeshire.
From 1615-1950 Kimbolton was the seat of the Montagus; Earls and Dukes of Manchester. The house was substantially rebuilt between 1690 and 1720 including much work by Sir John Vanbrugh; the 300th anniversary of whose death is being marked in 2026. The house combines the baroque, including murals by Pellegrini, with what Vanbrugh termed “something of the castle air”. Kimbolton has been a school since 1950 and occasionally opens to the public but is in a little known corner of west Cambridgeshire north of Bedford. £22 per Person (there will be a maximum of 30 places for this visit).
1.30-3.30 p.m. Monday 27th July. Walk : Rebuilding after the Blitz, Piccadilly to Soho.
This walk will look at a mix of buildings redeveloped in the 1930’s and those restored or built after the Second World War. We will start at Piccadilly Circus and take in Leicester Square, St. James’ Piccadilly before ending at St. Anne’s Soho. (Walk previous held November 2022) £12.50 per Person.
Bookings.
To book a place on the above lectures, walks or visits please contact me at Zilphahistory@gmail.com with details of which events you would like to book and for how many people, I will then confirm that places remain and invoice you. Payment will confirm the booking.
Cancelations.
In the unlikely case of my having to cancel an event everyone who has paid will be refunded in full or the credit carried over. In cases where a participant would like to cancel a place a full refund will be given if I am able to resell the place(s).