Past Events
This page displays Victorian Society events that have already taken place.
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March
From Palaces of Art to the Studios of Bohemia: Artists’ Houses in Victorian Kensington and Chelsea, by Jo Banham
Successful Victorian artists, like Leighton and Luke Fildes, earned incomes that meant they were able to commission magnificent, purpose-built studio houses in the leafy suburbs of Holland Park and Kensington. The less wealthy and more unconventional, like Rossetti and Whistler, gravitated towards Chelsea, occupying picturesque old buildings in the area. This lecture reviews the two most famous artists’ colonies – Melbury Road, Kensington and Cheyne Walk and Tite Street, Chelsea – and explores the lives and interiors of the painters who lived there.
More informationJune
George Edmund Street Bicentenary Symposium – Day 1
G E Street (1824-1881), the bicentenary of whose birth we celebrate this year, was one of the most prolific architects of the nineteenth-century gothic revival. This symposium at St James the Less, celebrates Street’s work and achievements through a programme of talks in the morning, and visits to his works in the afternoon.
More informationGeorge Edmund Street Bicentenary Symposium – Day 2
G E Street (1824-1881), the bicentenary of whose birth we celebrate this year, was one of the most prolific architects of the nineteenth-century gothic revival. This symposium at St James the Less, celebrates Street’s work and achievements through a programme of talks in the morning, and visits to his works in the afternoon.
More informationJuly
Visit: Golders Green Crematorium, led by Hilary Grainger
A unique opportunity to visit Golders Green crematorium described as ‘London’s first crematorium and England’s first purpose-designed crematorium landscape,’ (Grade II listed) designed by Sir Ernest George in 1902. Professor Hilary J Grainger, Chair of the Victorian Society. She is the leading authority on Sir Ernest George and the architecture of UK crematoria.
More informationVisit: Hampton Court in the 19th Century
Hampton Court Palace is renowned as the finest surviving Tudor palace in the world. The history of the Palace in the Victorian era is often overlooked, but is equally as fascinating.
More informationVisit: ‘The Cathedral of Sewage’ – Crossness Pumping Station
Discover one of London’s most extraordinary interiors in this outing where we discover the Victorian’s solution to sewage.
More informationVictorian Short Story Reading Group: ‘The Pestilence at Noonday’ by Cornelia Sorabji
The Victorian Short Story Reading Group has regular meetings to explore some of the exciting material from the golden age of the British short story, which began during the latter part of the nineteenth century. The current theme is colonial short stories, starting with stories from India.
More informationAugust
Walk: Exploring Victorian Clapham, led by Christopher Claxton Stevens
Clapham became part of the Metropolis with the coming of the underground in 1900. This walk will cover the earlier background of the area and focus on the grander Victorian architecture that still remains
More informationSeptember
Walk: Liverpool Street Station and its Environs, led by Steven Brindle
This walk explores Liverpool Street Station and its environs, to see how the north-eastern City developed in the Victorian age, how the historic streetscape has fared in modern times, and what impact the proposed over-development of the station, which the Society strongly opposes, would have on this many layered and sensitive area.
More informationWalk: Exploring Brixton’s Victorian History
In this walking tour, led by the Brixton Society, we will explore the fascinating retail heritage of Brixton.
More informationWalk: Merton Park, “The Original and Most Unique Garden Suburb”, led by Tony Woolfenden
Tony Woolfenden leads a walk around John Innes’ Merton Park estate, “the original and most unique garden suburb” (to quote the estate company’s advertisements).
More informationOctober
Victorian Short Story Reading Group: ‘The Postmaster’ by Rabindranath Tagore
The Victorian Short Story Reading Group has regular meetings to explore some of the exciting material from the golden age of the British short story, which began during the latter part of the nineteenth century. The current theme is colonial short stories, starting with stories from India.
More informationTalk: Lost Gardens of London, by Todd Longstaffe-Gowan
This talk will focus on and celebrate the evanescence of the metropolis’s vast and varied garden legacy.
More informationVisit: RIBA Drawings Collection at the V&A
The visit will start with an introductory talk on the history of the RIBA Drawings Collection by curator, Charles Hind followed by a look at a selection of Victorian drawings from the collection, including several by Alfred Waterhouse for the Natural History Museum. We will move across to the Museum to look at the exterior and the Great Hall.
More informationNovember
Visit: All Saints’ church, Putney Common – G E Street Bicentenary
All Saints’ church, Putney, was opened as a chapel of ease in 1874. The interior is richly polychromatic and the many Morris & Co windows are of outstanding quality. This visit is our final look at a church by G E Street.
More informationVictorian Short Story Reading Group: ‘The Salt Inspector’ (Namak ka Daroga) by Munshi Premchand
The Victorian Short Story Reading Group has regular meetings to explore some of the exciting material from the golden age of the British short story, which began during the latter part of the nineteenth century. The current theme is colonial short stories, starting with stories from India.
More informationWalk: Westminster by Gaslight Walk, led by Elan Walks
Discover the magical gas lamps of Westminster and marvel at their fascinating history and world-changing legacy.
More informationDecember
Visit: Palace of Westminster
Join us on a crisp winter morning as we discover one of London’s best known buildings.
More informationVictorian Short Story Reading Group: ‘The Dâk Bungalow at Dakor’ by B. M. Croker
The Victorian Short Story Reading Group has regular meetings to explore some of the exciting material from the golden age of the British short story, which began during the latter part of the nineteenth century. The current theme is colonial short stories, starting with stories from India.
More informationOnline Lecture: Street Closure: A Discussion about Recent Visits to Buildings by G E Street
Join Neil Jackson as he examines the themes that have been raised from these visits.
More informationJanuary
Visit: An 1890s House in Clapham
This is a rare opportunity to see the colourful and atmospheric candlelit interiors of this house in Clapham.
More informationVictorian Short Story Reading Group: ‘The Ghost upon the Rail’ by John Lang
The Victorian Short Story Reading Group has regular meetings to explore some of the exciting material from the golden age of the British short story, which began during the latter part of the nineteenth century. The current theme is colonial short stories, with stories from Australia.
More informationFebruary
Visit: Royal Albert Hall
This is a rare opportunity to go behind the scenes of Grade I listed building and see parts of the Royal Albert Hall that are normally off limits to the public.
More informationVictorian Short Story Reading Group: ‘The Dead Witness’ or ‘The Bush Waterhole’ by Mary Fortune
The Victorian Short Story Reading Group has regular meetings to explore some of the exciting material from the golden age of the British short story, which began during the latter part of the nineteenth century. The current theme is colonial short stories, with stories from Australia.
More informationMarch
Walk: Westminster by Gaslight Walk, led by Elan Walks
Discover the magical gas lamps of Westminster and marvel at their fascinating history and world-changing legacy.
More informationVictorian Short Story Reading Group: ‘The Drover’s Wife’ by Henry Lawson
The Victorian Short Story Reading Group has regular meetings to explore some of the exciting material from the golden age of the British short story, which began during the latter part of the nineteenth century. The current theme is colonial short stories, with stories from Australia.
More informationVisit: Makers of Modern Gothic: A.W.N Pugin and John Hardman Jr: Curators’ Tour
Join Angus Patterson & Max Donnelly, co-curators of Makers of Modern Gothic: for a exhibition talk at the V& A museum, London.
More informationArtistic Houses: London’s Pre-Raphaelite Interiors by Jo Banham
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood not only challenged conventional definitions of beauty within the fine arts, they also rejected many of the fashions associated with the mid and late Victorian home. This lecture explores the decoration and lifestyles associated with these and other famous Pre-Raphaelite homes.
More informationVisit: A Guided Tour of Two Temple Place, London
Discover this extraordinary Victorian building and its history.
More informationApril
Visit: Abney Park Cemetery, Stoke Newington including a Visit to the Restored Chapel
Join us on a tour of Abney Park, one of London’s ‘Magnificent Seven’ cemeteries, as we discover its history.
More informationVictorian Short Story Reading Group: The Cast-iron Canvasser’ by Banjo Paterson
The Victorian Short Story Reading Group has regular meetings to explore some of the exciting material from the golden age of the British short story, which began during the latter part of the nineteenth century. The current theme is colonial short stories, with stories from Australia.
More informationVisit: Tour of Stanley Arts in South Norwood
Discover this delightful Grade II listed building hidden in the depths of south London.
More informationVisit: A Guided Tour of Guildhall Art Gallery, London – Morning
Looking at one of the country’s best collections of Victorian art at the Guildhall Art Gallery, London.
More informationVisit: A Guided Tour of Guildhall Art Gallery, London – Afternoon
Looking at one of the country’s best collections of Victorian art at the Guildhall Art Gallery, London.
More informationMay
Victorian Short Story Reading Group: ‘Promotion’ by Guy Boothby
The Victorian Short Story Reading Group has regular meetings to explore some of the exciting material from the golden age of the British short story, which began during the latter part of the nineteenth century. The current theme is colonial short stories, with stories from Australia.
More informationWalk: A Lutyens walk in Mayfair, led by Paul Waite of the Lutyens Trust
Explore the buildings of Victorian architect Edwin Lutyens, and his associates, which can be seen in the Mayfair area of London.
More informationWalk: Angel Islington to Smithfield Walk, Led by Alec Forshaw
Discover the stunning Victorian and Edwardian buildings to be found in the Angel neighbourhood during this evening walking tour.
More informationWalk: The Thames Path, from Tower Hill to Canary Wharf, Led by Steven Brindle
A chance to discover the Victorian heritage along the Thames path from Tower Hill to Canary Wharf.
More informationVisit: Woking, England’s First Crematorium: A Visit led by Prof Hilary J Grainger
A unique opportunity to visit the UK’s first crematorium, designed by Edward Francis Channing Clarke in 1885.
More informationJune
Online Lecture and in person: The Magnetic Margot Gayle , by Joshua Mardell
This lecture will (re-)introduce the American metallurgist, politician and preservationist Margot Gayle (1908-2008), who co-founded the Victorian Society in America on the advice of Nikolaus Pevsner in 1966, and established the Friends of Cast-Iron Architecture in 1970.
More informationVisit: Lutyens, Flockhart, Waterhouse and Voysey Day – Visit to Goddards
A unique visit to explore the architecture of Goddards and surrounding buildings.
More informationVictorian Short Story Reading Group: ‘The Golden Shanty by Edward Dyson
The Victorian Short Story Reading Group has regular meetings to explore some of the exciting material from the golden age of the British short story, which began during the latter part of the nineteenth century. The current theme is colonial short stories, with stories from Australia.
More informationVisit: ‘The Cathedral of Sewage’ – Crossness Pumping Station
Witness this extraordinary interior on a steaming day at Crossness Pumping Station. Join us as we go on a tour of the site to discover the historical context and impetus for Bazalgette’s revolutionary sewage system for London
More informationJuly
Victorian Short Story Reading Group: ‘Billy Skywonkie’ by Barbara Baynton
The Victorian Short Story Reading Group has regular meetings to explore some of the exciting material from the golden age of the British short story, which began during the latter part of the nineteenth century. The current theme is colonial short stories, with stories from Australia.
More informationAugust
Visit: St Saviour, Aberdeen Park, London
Explore the Grade I listed Victorian church by William White.
More informationSeptember
Walk: The AMAZING architecture of Tooley Street! Led by Benedict O’Looney
An evening architecture walk the length of Tooley Street highlighting 700 years of riverside architecture.
More informationVisit: Skinners’ Hall
Discover this fascinating building and its changes across the centuries.
More informationOctober
Talk: Late Victorian and Edwardian Furnishings in Kensington & Chelsea Churches by Fr Evan McWilliams
A lecture by Fr Evan McWilliams exploring furnishings such as altarpieces, font covers and stained glass in Kensington and Chelsea
More informationVisit: St Andrew, Kingsbury, London With introductory talk by Kit Wedd
Join Kit Wedd as we discover St Andrew’s church (Grade II*; 1844-47)in Kingsbury.
More informationVictorian Short Story Reading Group: ‘The Two Sisters’ & ‘The Siwash Rock’ by E. Pauline Johnson
The Victorian Short Story Reading Group has regular meetings to explore some of the exciting material from the golden age of the British short story, which began during the latter part of the nineteenth century. The current theme is colonial short stories, with stories from Canada.
More informationNovember
Visit: Special event at the Royal Academy of Music
Join us for privileged access to the Royal Academy of Music buildings and historical collections with Susana Caldeira, RAM’s Head of Collections, as our guide.
More informationVictorian Short Story Reading Group: ‘The Red Girl’s Reasoning’ by E Pauline Johnson & ‘The Epaulettes’ by Gilbert Parker
The Victorian Short Story Reading Group has regular meetings to explore some of the exciting material from the golden age of the British short story, which began during the latter part of the nineteenth century. The current theme is colonial short stories, with stories from Canada.
More informationDecember
Victorian Short Story Reading Group: ‘The Gerrard Street Mystery’ by John Charles Dent.
The Victorian Short Story Reading Group has regular meetings to explore some of the exciting material from the golden age of the British short story, which began during the latter part of the nineteenth century. The current theme is colonial short stories, with stories from Canada.
More informationJanuary
Victorian Short Story Reading Group: ‘Do Seek Their Meat from God’ & ‘Strayed’ by Charles G D Roberts
The Victorian Short Story Reading Group has regular meetings to explore some of the exciting material from the golden age of the British short story, which began during the latter part of the nineteenth century. The current theme is colonial short stories, with stories from Canada.
More informationVisit: Nineteenth-Century Furniture at the V&A. A Visit led by Max Donnelly
Max Donnelly, Curator, Furniture and Woodwork 1800-1915, will present a gallery talk at the V & A museum.
More informationVisit: An 1890s House in Clapham
This is a rare opportunity to see the colourful and atmospheric candlelit interiors of this house in Clapham.
More informationSpring Lecture Series 2026: Heroines and Heroes of the Arts and Crafts Movement – 7 talks for 6
Our speakers will be drawing on a large amount of new research, much of which is highlighting the often-neglected role played by women.
More informationSpring Lecture Series 2026 1: Philip Webb by Max Donnelly
Max Donnelly will discuss Phillip Webb’s works as a designer of domestic interiors.
More information