Bedrooms, Banquets and Balls
John Vigar
- Region:
- East of England
- Notice Period:
- Regular (more than one month's notice)
- Type:
- Professional
- Fee:
- Paid
- Category:
- History
- Updated:
- 30th March 2019
Bedrooms, Banquets and Balls This off-beat and amusing look at the development of the English Country House takes as its starting point the medieval Hall-House and follows architectural tastes and fashions to the mid twentieth century. It looks at the architecture of the houses, their furnishings and the way in which the rooms were used in different periods.
We also hear about the people who lived in these buildings – many of them eccentric and memorable – and discover the ways in which their whims fashioned the houses we see today. We will hear about exploding cakes, tight mistresses and exotic princes.
Some of the houses included in the lecture are open to the public, but several private homes offer a different vision.
John Vigar was personally encouraged early in his career by John Betjeman and is a Trustee of a national charity of which Betjeman was a founder. He is an architectural historian by profession. He also lectures for several universities and colleges and until his retirement worked for The Churches Conservation Trust.
He lectures extensively across Europe, and leads specialist tours in Britain, including some to private houses that are not open to the public.
Views: 1323 | Enquiries: 12About John Vigar
John has been a professional speaker for over 40 years. He lectured for the University of Kent from 1992 to 2010, teaching a variety of architectural and social history studies, and has worked on a sessional basis for many other academic institutions. He has been a regular tutor at Denman (the national college of the Women’s Institute near Oxford) for over 35 years. An enthusiastic and popular approach to his subject ensures that he has a large following of regular students.
In addition to his contracted lectures John is a popular speaker at meetings of many different groups including The Arts Society ( formerly NADFAS), the National Trust, and historical societies country-wide. His lecture tours to public Libraries and Colleges in Germany where he speaks on English literature and its links with topographical history are also well received.
John Vigar`s specialist subject is ecclesiology – the study of church architecture and associated topics. He has written extensively on the subject and regularly leads tours to churches across England, both as part of his own programme of activities, and for other organisations. John has written the guidebooks for several hundred churches and is the author of books on the historic churches of both Kent and Sussex. He has visited and recorded over 13,000 of the 16,000 Anglican churches in England and Wales.
After retiring from university lecturing John worked for 13 years in the south-east region of The Churches Conservation Trust and he is a Trustee of the oldest church conservation body, The Friends of Friendless Churches. John is also a member of the Advisory Council of The Norfolk Churches Trust and has previously served as Hon Sec of the Ledgerstone Survey of England and Wales and as Photographic Curator of The Kempe Society.
He runs the www.kentchurches.info and www.hampshirechurches.co.uk websites
All lectures now available by Zoom.
Other Talks on SpeakerNet by John Vigar
- Leave No Stone Unturned
- Crenels and Merlons
- For Weddings, Baptisms and Funerals
- Murder Sex and Mayhem in English Churches
- Curious Kent
- Churches in Retirement
- Exploring Sussex Churches
- Exploring Kent Churches
- Britain with Betjeman
- Superior Seats - where did we sit in church?
- The Church's Restoration
- Treasures in Norfolk Churches
- A chip off Queen Victoria’s Block
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