10.30am - 1pm 

The study morning includes two one-hour lectures with tea/coffee and cake in the interval.  This is a great opportunity to learn more about these wonderful 7th century treasures from an expert and in the company of a friendly group of people. 

The fee is £25 for members of the Arts Society Salisbury. Non members and members of other Arts Societies are very welcome at £30. If a non member joins The Arts Society Salisbury on the day they will receive a £5 refund.

Lecture 1 will concentrate on Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, where a great ship was dragged ashore from the river Deben in the 7th century. The ship was the burial place of a powerful Anglo-Saxon warlord buried with a mound of treasures from all over the known world. Fine weaponry, gold coins and exquisitely crafted metalwork reflected levels of sophistication which were a revelation. We will examine the finds in turn not just to appreciate them in their own right but also to explore what insights they offer about their world. As well as the treasures themselves we will talk about the famous 1939 discovery and excavation. We will also briefly cover the later excavations and discoveries. 

Lecture 2 will briefly discuss the Staffordshire hoard and summarise the conversion to Christianity. We will then focus on the Golden Age of Northumbria with particular reference to the Lindisfarne Gospels. The amazing work of smiths in the early part of the 7th century gives way to the wonderful work of scribes and calligraphers. These beautiful gospels were created on the island of Lindisfarne by monks from the monastery and they are now housed in the British Library. We will learn a lot more more about this beautiful illuminated manuscript, its creation and history. 

This detailed and thought provoking study day may encourage you to visit/revisit these wonderful places

* You may have been lucky enough to attend Mark's lecture in January this year entitled "A Photographic Odyssey: Shackleton's Endurance Expedition Captured on Camera". It was outstanding and for that reason we have invited him back!

Further information from Rita Robertson at ritarobertson993@gmail.com.

Places for this event can be booked in person at our July, October and November lectures. Alternatively it is quick and easy to reserve a place via our Ticket Tailor box office by clicking the link below.  There is no additional charge to subscribers via Ticket Tailor which conveniently accepts credit and debit cards..

Ticket Tailor box office link

Mark Cottle's Biography

I was born on the Isles of Scilly, educated at Truro School in Cornwall and graduated from Birmingham University with an MA in Late Medieval Society and Culture. I have spent my whole career, at home and abroad, teaching and lecturing in Further and Higher Education.

I joined The Arts Society (NADFAS) IN 2007and thoroughly enjoy it. Frankly, for a lecturer with a set of their own personal subjects, it is a privileged existence. My subjects tend to focus on the English medieval and the sixteenth century periods – both as lectures and Special Interest Days. In addition, I have two twentieth century topics which have been a personal interest for many years: Ernest Shackleton and Winston Churchill. My lectures always include an up-to-date annotated reading list and my Special Interest Days provide each participant with a detailed course file to underpin the day and encourage further study. My sincere intention is for each and every lecture and Special Interest Day to be interesting, enjoyable and thought-provoking.

I have lectured for The Arts Society throughout the British Isles and abroad, most recently in Germany and Australia (ADFAS). I have been invited back to Australia for another month’s lecturing tour in 2026. New Zealand (DFASNZ) has also kindly invited me for a lecture tour in the same year. 

The older I become, the more convinced I am of the importance of The Arts Society and the values it upholds. I am proud to be a part of this unique organisation.

Image - Sutton Hoo helmet

10.30am - 1pm 

The day includes two one-hour lectures with tea/coffee and cake in the interval. This is a great opportunity to learn more about this important and fascinating art movement from an expert and in the company of a friendly group of people.

Fee: £25 for members of The Arts Society Salisbury; non-members and members of other Arts Societies are welcome at £30, but can join on the day and receive a £5 refund.

Lecture 1 will cover the exposition in Paris 100 years ago; Lecture 2 will focus on its impact and we will see many examples of art deco designs from France and around the world including the UK.

Synopsis:

Art Deco triumphed at the 1925 Paris Exposition Internationale Des Arts Decoratifs et Industrials Moderne. A thoroughly French affair, it was dominated by the great designers Rene Lalique for glass, Edgar Brandt for metalwork, Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann for furniture and Jean Dunand for lacquer work. The great Parisian department stores, Galeries Lafayette, Primtemps, and Magasins du Louvre, built pavilions on the Grand Esplanade to entice their customers. Showcasing high fashion, the Pavilion of Elegance with fantastic interiors created by Armand-Albert Rateau, was dominated by famous couturiers Jeanne Lavin and the Callot Sisters. No expense was spared with luxury bespoke ensembles created by the most eminent architects and designers, notably at sea on the fabulous Ocean liners.

Conversely the Union des Artistes Moderne (UAM), founded in 1929, advocated functional architecture and furniture, mass production rather than luxury handmade products, simpler and cheaper materials and a little or no decoration. Robert Mallet-Stevens, its first president, had been a prominent contributor to Paris1925. Architect/designers Le Corbusier, Pierre Chareau, and Eileen Gray also promoted these modernist ideals, shaped by the ethos of the German Bauhaus. Mallet-Stevens’ Paris houses, on what is now Rue Mallet-Stevens, 14th arrondissement (1927–29), illustrate the new aesthetics as does the Villa Roche (1923-25), now the Fondation Le Corbusier. However, what really sounded the dead knell for luxurious Art Deco was the global economic depression that followed the Wall Street Crash in 1929.

Further information from Rita Robertson at ritarobertson993@gmail.com.

Places for this event can be booked in person at our January and February lectures. Alternatively it is quick and easy to reserve a place via our Ticket Tailor box office by clicking the link below.  There is no additional charge to subscribers via Ticket Tailor which conveniently accepts credit and debit cards..

Ticket Tailor box office link