SIMON WHITEHOUSE: DICK WHITTINGTON: MAN OF MYTH AND MYSTERY
Please join us for this Special Interest Zoom event in the comfort of your own home.
This fascinating lecture by Simon Whitehouse will reveal the true Richard Whittington. Dick is considered a fictional pantomime figure with a cat but he was in fact a real person who lived over 600 years ago. During his lifetime (c. 1354–1423) he became a wealthy merchant and Lord Mayor of London three times. He was considered a medieval mover and shaker. We will just have to wait for the lecture to find out if he really did have a cat!
Simon Whitehouse has a background in professional theatre and has a gift for storytelling which entertains his audiences during lectures and London tours. Notably, he has worked as a guide lecturer in house at Shakespeare’s Globe, the Royal Opera House, the BBC and the National Gallery guiding both public and private tours. He also specialises in the Alexander Technique and as a voice teacher.
Cost: £12 members / £15 non-members.
FOR PAYMENT DETAILS AND TO REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT: Email our Secretary.
Above IMAGES: from wikicommons
..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................
THE SPANISH GOLDEN AGE AND ITS LEGACY - Lecturer: Isabelle Kent
Wednesday, 11 March 2026 - 10.30am to 3.15pm
St Andrew’s Church Hall, Bedford
Come and join us for this very special event which includes 3 lectures and lunch
Isabelle will cover three of her fascinating lectures which will concentrate on the following aspects of this glorious era of Spanish art.
LECTURE 1: DIEGO VELÁZQUEZ: PAINTER AND COURTIER FOR PHILIP IV
LECTURE 2: MURILLO AND BAROQUE SEVILLE: THE CITY OF FAITH, ART AND EMPIRE
LECTURE 3: THE OBSESSION FOR SPANISH ART IN BRITAIN: ARTWORKS AND COLLECTIONS IN THIS COUNTRY
Isabelle Kentis an academic and educator specialising in the baroque, with a particular focus on Spain and its empire. She received a BA and MPhil in History of Art from Trinity College, Cambridge, where she is currently completing her PhD on the art of Diego Velázquez and Francisco de Zurbarán. From 2017 to 2019 she worked as a curator at the Wallace Collection and in 2020 her book Collecting Bartolomé Esteban Murillo in Britain and Ireland was published by CEEH. She is also an expert guide leading groups around Spain and beyond.
Coffee at 10.15am for a prompt 10.30am start. Cost: £55 including 2 course hot lunch and tea/coffee
We do hope you will be able to join us for what promises to be an excellent SID. Book at our October and November lectures, and on application via email to our secretary.
Top Left: Diego Velázquez,The Waterseller, c. 1618. Apsley House, London/ Top Right: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Immaculate Conception, 1678. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid.