Out & About March 2017

In September 2016 , long-standing member of the Newbury National Trust Ian Hopper kept a record of the group’s five-day trip to the north west of England.

Inside Lady Lever Art Gallery . Left background is The Wedding Morning , 1892, by John Henry Frederick Bacon (1866-1913). Leverhulme bought this painting from the 1892 Royal Academy private view to use in an advertisement for Sunlight Soap. In the advertisement, bars of Sunlight Soap were substituted for the clock on the mantelpiece and for the cup and saucer on the table.

Beatles Statue . On Liverpool’s Pier Head. Donated to the city by the Cavern Club, and coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ last concert in their home city when they played at the Liverpool Empire.

Little Moreton Hall . Said to be the finest half-timbered manor in England, it evolved into a top heavy, irregular structure and was described as “a fairy story, gingerbread house” and a “a stranded Noah’s Ark”.

H’Boro Scrolls and Medals . Inside Liverpool Town Hall, the display in the main ballroom on the first floor. The 100 Freedom of the City scrolls and medals were awarded to the families of the 96 Hillsborough victims and the four key campaigners for justice.

Anglican Cathedral . Visible in the distance over the west doors is Tracey Emin’s controversial pink, neon sign – in her handwriting – “I felt you and then I knew you loved me”.

Crosby Beach . Antony Gormley’s 100, life- size, self-replicating sculptures.

There are plenty of National Trust-owned places to visit within a 30-mile radius of Newbury. To find out more visit www.nationaltrust.co.uk

Other NT sites include: Sandham Memorial Chapel, Burghclere Home to large-scale murals by Sir Stanley Spencer Basildon Park, Reading 18th-century house purchased by Lord and Lady Iliffe in the 1950s Frensham Little Pond Bishops fish pond in stunning heathland and abundant wildlife. Long Crendon Courthouse Medieval courthouse Mompesson House, Salisbury 18th-century townhouse in Salisbury’s Cathedral Close. West Green House Garden, Hartley Wintney A delightful series of walled gardens surrounds

The grounds can be visited when the house is open and the woodland is open all-year-round, Saturday to Thursday.

Ashdown House, Lambourn Unusual Dutch-style house on the Berkshire Downs, built by William Craven as a house fit for the queen he loved, Queen Elizabeth of Bohemia, in 1662. Access to the house is by guided tour only. Pre-booking is not required, except for large groups. The house is tenanted and access is limited to hall, staircase (100 steps) and roof. There is a lacemaker at work and also woodland crafts demonstrations.

The Vyne, Sherborne St John Currently undergoing a major roof project, the history runs from its royal Tudor beginnings. On the ground floor, which is open to visitors, discover a rare pre- Reformation chapel once visited by Henry VIII and a classically-inspired 18th-century staircase hall.

the charming 18th-century house. Great Coxwell Barn, Faringdon 13th-century stone barn.

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