The Society for the History of Collecting is delighted to announce a fascinating day in Bath, beginning at 11.00 with a tour of the new Schroder Gallery at the Holburne Museum with Timothy Schroder, followed by a tour of Beckford’s Tower, and finishing with a visit to a private collection in an eighteenth-century Bath town house.
Renowned historian of silver- and goldsmiths’-work Timothy Schroder has kindly agreed to give us a tour of the new Schroder Gallery at the Holburne Museum. The Schroder family’s collection is one of the finest private collections of Renaissance silverware, paintings, bronzes, maiolica and gems. Among the highlights of the gallery, which takes inspiration from historic treasuries, are The Schwarzenberg Nef and TheAldobrandini Tazza.
Following some free time for further exploration of the Holburne or elsewhere of your choice, and an independent lunch, we will visit Beckford’s Tower and Museum.
Beckford’s Tower and Museum, Lansdown Road, Bath BA1 9BH
Built by the celebrated collector William Beckford (1760-1840) as a library and belvedere between 1824 and 1827, the Italianate villa is placed on the hill at the edge of Bath and just above his home at 20 Lansdown Crescent. Beckford had moved to Bath in 1824, after the famous sale of his home in Wiltshire, Fonthill Abbey, bringing with him many of his most important treasures. Upon his death, the house and contents were inherited by his daughter, Susan Euphemia, wife of Alexander, 10th Duke of Hamilton and the house sold, eventually to be bought in the 1970s by Dr and Mrs Hilliard, who set about acquiring works of art, memorabilia and furniture from Beckford’s collection. The tower thus remains a most vivid survival of Beckford’s setting for his collection. The tower and museum were closed until March 2024 after capital works (made possible by the National Lottery Heritage Fund) transformed the museum, restored the Tower and reconnected the tower and the surrounding landscape.
Our visit will be led by Dr Amy Frost, Senior Architectural Curator of the Bath Preservation Trust, who has kindly agreed to show us the collection, open furniture and bring some of Beckford’s books for us to examine. If there is time, she has also offered to take us through the gardens to see the restored grotto, where she can explain about how it fits into Beckford’s overall vision for his landscape and buildings.
After the visit, we are kindly invited to a private eighteenth-century Bath town house with an interesting collection of furniture, silver, paintings and drawings for tea and drinks.
The Summer outing is limited to 15 participants, and the cost is £36.50 per person for the visits. Registration is initially open to members only. Members can book up to two places, one for themselves and one for another member or non-member. Members’ registration will close on Tuesday 30 June. If you are a non-member and would like to attend, but you are not registered to accompany a member, you can email us (events@societyhistorycollecting.org) to put your name on a waiting list and will hear whether there is availability for you to register after members’ registration closes on 30 June.
If you will be travelling from London by train, it is recommended that you travel on the 09.00 train from Paddington to Bath Spa, arriving at Bath Spa at 10.19, and join up with other participants on that train to share a taxi to the Holburne Museum. Early booking for the train is advised. The last visit of the day is scheduled to begin at 17.15 and is expected to last for about an hour to 90 minutes. It will be within walking distance of the station. Depending on the type of train ticket you book, you may have flexibility about the time of your return journey to London.
