Winterbourne House and Gardens and The Barber Institute of Fine Art, Birmingham

Date/Time
Date(s) - 6th Sep 2019
08:30-17:45

Location
Winterbourne House

Categories


Today we will travel to Edgbaston and the University of Birmingham campus to visit Winterbourne House, a notable and rare surviving example of an early 20th century high status suburban ‘villa’ and garden inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement.
The house was built for John Nettlefold in 1903, a pioneer of early housing reform in Birmingham at a time when the city had a serious lack of decent homes for working people. He was also part of the GKN family. John and his wife Margaret (niece of Joseph Chamberlain) were from prestigious local families who had made their living in industry. Choosing their house to be designed in the Arts and Crafts style reflected their modern outlook.
No guided tour is provided for the house but there are plenty of information boards available which tell you about the rooms, the previous owners and how the house came into the possession of the University.
Refreshments are available in the tearoom. Otherwise, a picnic can be enjoyed in the beautiful gardens, originally designed by Margaret Nettlefold, using the books of Gertrude Jekyll as a guide and inspiration, then developed by keen gardener John Nicolson who built the Japanese bridge and scree garden.
In the afternoon we will visit the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, founded in 1932 by Dame Martha Constance Hattie Barber in memory of her husband. The Grade II listed Art Deco building was designed by Robert Atkinson in the 1930s and opened by Queen Mary. It contains one of the finest small collections of European art in the world with works by Monet, Manet and Magritte; Renoir, Rubens, Rossetti, Rodin, Degas, Delacroix, Van Dyck and many more. We will have an introduction to the Barbers and enjoy guided tours by their experienced guides.
NB. For less mobile visitors: The Barber Institute is approximately a 7 minute easy walk from Winterbourne House. The coach will pick us up from outside the Barber Institute to take us home.
COST PER PERSON: £32.00.
PICK UP POINTS: Sixways: 08:30, Royal Well Coach Station: 08:45, Racecourse Park and Ride: 09:00. Our coach will return at approximately 17:45.

If you have any questions, please email events@friendsofthewilson.org.uk or ring Martha on 01242 526601.

Otherwise book your place by using the form below.  

There are three payment options:

1. You can pay by credit or debit card, as well as by PayPal, using the PayPal option (default).  If there are sufficient spaces still available this will automatically confirm your booking if the payment is accepted.

2. If you want to pay by cheque select the Off-line option from the payment methods but please send your cheque as soon as possible as your booking will not be confirmed until we have received the payment.

3. If you really don’t like filling in forms on-screen you can download a form, print it and post it with a cheque. A booking form can also be found in the Friends Newsletter (available May 2019). 

Cheques should be payable to Friends of The Wilson and sent with a SAE or clearly written email address Martha Alleguen, 7 Sydenham Road South, Cheltenham GL52 6EF.

 

Bookings

This event is fully booked, but if you would like to be added to our waiting list please email events@friendsofthewilson.org.uk.