Tuesday 2nd February 2010 – 15.30-17.30

Tour of the BBC Television Centre followed by optional supper at a local restaurant. 

Thursday 26th November 2009 - Apprentice Event - Visit to the Oxford Union 

Saturday 14th November 2009 - Lord Mayor's Show (Click for full details) 

Wednesday 28th October 2009 - Installation Dinner at Famers' and Fletchers' Hall (Click for full details)

Sunday 6th September 2009 - Shuttleworth Pageant Air Display (Click for full details)

Saturday 6th June 2009 - Colonel's Review (Click for full details) 

Friday 8th May 2009 - St Paul's Triforium Tour (Click for full details)

 February/March 2008 � Apprentice Event (Date to be confirmed)

The Old Pauline Club & St Paul�s League (St Paul�s Old Pupils) invite GMS Apprentices to participate in one of their regular Business Networking Forums; Evening includes drinks & light refreshments. Advance booking is essential.

S.J. Aylett, 113 Arbury Road , Cambridge CB4 2JD (Tel: 020 7535 9814)

 Saturday 1st March 2008 � 14.00-16.30: Performance by the Guildhall School of Music & Drama at Bridewell Theatre

Performance by the Guildhall School of Music & Drama at Bridewell Theatre

S.J. Aylett, 113 Arbury Road , Cambridge CB4 2JD (Tel: 020 7535 9814)

 Saturday 17th May 2008 � 18.00-20.30:

By kind permission of Mr & Mrs J. Cenci di Bello, a private visit to their beautiful Jacobean home at 41 Cloth Fair, with light refreshments served 

S.J. Aylett, 113 Arbury Road , Cambridge CB4 2JD (Tel: 020 7535 9814)

The Guild Master and Apprentice Warden�s Luncheon for Schools� Common Room Liaison Staff

S.J. Aylett, 113 Arbury Road , Cambridge CB4 2JD (Tel: 020 7535 9814) 

 June 2008 � City Visit for Apprentices:

Details to be advised

S.J. Aylett, 113 Arbury Road , Cambridge CB4 2JD (Tel: 020 7535 9814)

 Thursday 17th July 2008 � 12.00-16.30:

Guided tour of Sutton House, Hackney, the oldest house in East London

S.J. Aylett, 113 Arbury Road , Cambridge CB4 2JD (Tel: 020 7535 9814)

 Saturday 6th, 13th, 20th or 27th September 2008 � 10.30-12.30:

A guided tour of the State Rooms at Clarence House (One of the above dates will be offered once the Royal diary is confirmed)

S.J. Aylett, 113 Arbury Road , Cambridge CB4 2JD (Tel: 020 7535 9814)

Thursday 16th October 2008 � Court Meeting & Installation Dinner:

Details to be advised

S.J. Aylett, 113 Arbury Road , Cambridge CB4 2JD (Tel: 020 7535 9814)

Saturday 8th November 2008 � 10.30-12.30:

Meet at Gresham College for an Informal escorted visit to the Lord Mayor�s Show and light lunch afterwards

S.J. Aylett, 113 Arbury Road , Cambridge CB4 2JD (Tel: 020 7535 9814)

Private visit to Coutts Bank, 440 Strand, followed by optional lunch

S.J. Aylett, 113 Arbury Road , Cambridge CB4 2JD (Tel: 020 7535 9814)

Lunch at The George Inn, Borough High Street, which dates back to 1676, followed by a visit to London Fire Brigade Museum in Southwark

Our third trip of the year takes us to the London Fire Brigade Museum in Southwark. Visits to the museum are by appointment only and so our guide will tailor the tour to us. The museum holds a wealth of information and exhibits depicting the history of firefighting in London from the Great Fire of 1666 to the present day, including fire engines and uniforms from across the centuries.

For those wishing to eat before the tour, we will meet at noon at The George Inn, 77 Borough High Street, Southwark, for a hearty lunch in their Talbot Room. The George is London's only remaining original galleried inn, with the present building dating from 1676; it is now owned by the National Trust but still run as a pub and restaurant. Lunch will be a three course meal, with a choice of either a steak, mushroom & ale pie or roast loin of pork as the main course; please indicate if you have other dietary requirements.

The tour itself will start at 2pm and will last up to two hours. Lunch will cost �20, with drinks to be purchased separately; the tour costs �3 per person.

Deadline for applications: Monday 12`h November. Please note that it will not be possible to make refunds for any cancellations notified after this date. A pour memoire, confirming final details, will be posted or e-mailed to you in due course.

S.J. Aylett, 113 Arbury Road , Cambridge CB4 2JD (Tel: 020 7535 9814)

Visit to Eltham Palace and Gardens, Court Yard, London SE9 5QE

Eltham Palace, located at Court Yard, London SE9 SQE, was originally a manor house, bought by Edward II in 1305, and subsequently developed over the years, including the addition of the Great Hall in the late 15th Century. It was used as a royal palace until the 1630s, falling into neglect during the English Civil War. In the 1930s the lease was acquired by Stephen and Virginia Courtauld, who built a new Art Deco home on the site, incorporating the Great Hall. It was restored in the late 1990s by English Heritage and is now the only Art Deco house open to the public, set in nineteen acres of richly planted moated gardens.

Midway between Eltham and Mottingham stations, the house and grounds open at l0am and we will meet for a guided tour of the house at l lam, lasting approximately ninety minutes, following which you may wander the gardens until they close at 5pm. Lunch may be taken at leisure in the Eltham Palace Tea Room.

A souvenir guidebook is available at a further cost of �3.99. Members of English Heritage or the National Arts Collection Fund are admitted free and will only pay for the tour itself.

Deadline for applications: Wednesday 29th August. Please note that it will not be possible to make refunds for any cancellations notified after this date. A pour memoire, confirming final details, will be posted or e-mailed to you in due course.

S.J. Aylett, 113 Arbury Road , Cambridge CB4 2JD (Tel: 020 7535 9814)

Wednesday 1st August 2007: a boat trip on the Grand Union Canal

Narrow Boat Cruise with supper from Horsenden Hill Visitor Centre, Greenford, Middlesex

S.J. Aylett, 113 Arbury Road , Cambridge CB4 2JD (Tel: 020 7535 9814)

Friday 29th June 2007: City Visit for Apprentices from Abingdon School & Walsall College

More details to follow

S.J. Aylett, 113 Arbury Road , Cambridge CB4 2JD (Tel: 020 7535 9814)

21st June 2007 - 60th Anniversary Installation Dinner, Mercers Hall

The Master Elect, Mr David Harvey, is delighted to invite you, and your guests, to join him at the Installation Dinner on 21st June 2007. as this installation marks the Guild's 60th anniversary, we are delighted to be holding it at Mercers' Hall, Ironmonger Lane, London, EC2V 8HE. We hope that as many members and guests as possible will be able to join the celebrations at what should be a splendid and memorable occasion in the history of the Guild.

Mercers' Hall, the home of the Mercers' Company, is the third building since the Company bought the site (a former monastery and the birthplace of St Thomas Becket) in 1542. the Company itself is established by various Royal Charters, the earliest in 1394, and the Company is recorded as existing before that, with the earliest records in 1348. for more information please see the Company's website at www.mercers.co.uk

The Dinner is at 6.30 pm for 7.00 pm Dress Black Tie. We look forward to welcoming as guest of honour, Mrs Pauline Halliday, the Chief Commoner of the City of London. The Dinner will be preceded by a short Service of Thanksgiving at 6.00 pm in the chapel of Mercers' Hall, and I would be grateful if you would indicate whether you intend to join us for this.

The costs for this year have been held as low as possible, and are �80.00 for Full Members, �85.00 for Country Members and all Guests, and �40.00 for Apprentices. It is hoped that all can support our premier event of the year. The total capacity of Mercers' Hall is 156 and, as previously advised, if we are unable to accommodate all applicants, priority will be given to those who gave prior notice of their attention to attend.

S.J. Aylett, 113 Arbury Road , Cambridge CB4 2JD (Tel: 020 7535 9814)

20th May 2007, 10:20 hrs  - Visit to Spencer House and Lunch at Oxford & Cambridge Club

Following the highly successful visit to Spencer House and the Oxford and Cambridge Club last October we are repeating the event on 20 May 2007   Preference for places will be given to those who were disappointed last time.  Spencer House (27, St James�s Place, London SW1A 1NR) is situated some 5-10 minutes� walk from Green Park tube station.  Overlooking Green Park , it is London �s finest surviving eighteenth-century town house and was built in 1756-66 for the first Earl Spencer, an ancestor of Diana, Princess of Wales.  After a painstaking ten-year restoration this magnificent private palace has regained the full splendour of its late-eighteenth century appearance.  Eight state rooms are open for viewing.  Designed by John Vardy and James �Athenian� Stuart, these rooms were amongst the first neo-classical interiors in Europe   Vardy�s Palm Room, with its spectacular screen of gilded palm trees and arched fronds, is a unique Palladian set piece, while the elegant mural decorations of Stuart�s Painted Room reflect the eighteenth-century passion for classical Greece and Rome   Stuart�s superb gilded furniture has been returned to its original location in the Painted Room by courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum and English Heritage.  There is also a fine collection of eighteenth-century paintings and furniture, specially assembled for the house, including five major Benjamin West paintings lent by the Queen. Further details are available on www.spencerhouse.co.uk.

We shall assemble at 10.20 a.m. for our guided tour which will last about one hour.

The Master was especially interested to have a look inside Spencer House as he regularly walks past it on his way to the Oxford and Cambridge Club where he has been a member for twenty-five years.  After our tour of Spencer House we shall accompany him on the short stroll to number 71, Pall Mall for a look around that splendid clubhouse which was purpose built in 1838 to the design of Sir Robert Smirke (best remembered today for the British Museum ).  The Master hopes that you will then be able to join him for Sunday lunch in the Coffee Room (as the principal dining room is called) and some post-prandial relaxation.  Further description of the Oxford and Cambridge Club can be found on the website:  www.oxfordandcambridgeclub.co.uk.

Logistics for the tour of Spencer House and for lunch will again limit numbers to a maximum of 20 at each venue and we shall need to allocate places on a first come first served basis.  Preference for lunch will be given to those visiting Spencer House.  However, if anyone would like to come just for lunch, and there are places available, you will be most welcome.

For members and guests, the cost will be �10.00 per person for the tour of Spencer House and �20.00 per person for the three course lunch at the Oxford and Cambridge Club.  The fixed price menu will offer a choice of dishes, including a vegetarian option.  We shall arrange wine with lunch as required on the day and that will be charged for separately.

2nd May 2007, 14:15 hrs  - Tour of the Charterhouse, Charterhouse Square, London, EC1

The Charterhouse, or to give it its formal name, Sutton�s Hospital in Charterhouse, will provide us with a truly fascinating visit.

Situated just to the north-west of Charterhouse Square (near Barbican Underground station) the Charterhouse is remarkable both as a complex of buildings and as an institution.  In 1348-9 Sir Walter de Manny, one of Edward III�s bravest knights, bought 13 acres of ground adjoining Pardon Churchyard and gave it to the City as a burial ground for victims of the Black Death.  A small chapel stood on the site of Charterhouse Square   In 1370 Manny founded a Carthusian monastery on the site and in 1371 the �House of the Salutation of the Mother of God�, otherwise known as Charterhouse, received its foundation charter.  Substantial fragments of the monastic buildings are incorporated in the present fabric (though little of the original layout survives intact).  The priory was dissolved by Henry VIII in the 1530s, notable savagery being meted out to the prior and a number of the brethren.

Most of the Charterhouse was pulled down after the Dissolution and redeveloped as a mansion for one of the king's henchmen, Sir Edward (later Lord) North.  In November 1558 Queen Elizabeth stayed for five days with North and received homage from her nobles and assembled ambassadors.  She left in splendid procession to spend a vigil in the Tower before her coronation.  In July 1661 Elizabeth stayed again with North for three days and made another royal progress through the City even more splendid than the first.  After this North, ruined financially by the visit, retired to live in the country and in 1565 Charterhouse was sold to Thomas Howard, 4^th Duke of Norfolk, who renamed it Howard House.  Eventually, in May 1611, Thomas Sutton, �esteemed the richest commoner in England �, bought the house for �13,000 as a school for 44 poor boys and a hospital for 80 poor gentlemen.  He died in December that year and was eventually buried in the Charterhouse Chapel.  The first boys were admitted in 1614.  The school enjoyed fluctuating fortunes over the years and, having gradually recoverd its reputation, moved to Godalming in Surrey in 1872.  (Interestingly, in the light of our lunch at Central Hall Westminster on 17 March, John Wesley was one of many well known alumni.)  The school was famously portrayed by Thackeray in The Newcomes as 'Grey Friars'.  However, although the school has left the site, the almshouse remains providing a home for 40 men over the age of 60 � the �Brothers�.  Of recent Brothers, one of the best known was Simon Raven, the novelist, who had been a pupil at Charterhouse School

Devastated by fire during the Blitz, the Charterhouse underwent extensive restoration and reconstruction in the 1950s. The work, a pragmatic but sensitive scheme, constrained by post-war shortages of materials and a tight budget, was carried out by Seely and Paget, the leading conservation architects of the day.

Our tour will be conducted by one of the Brothers.  Numbers are limited to a maximum of 25 and places will be allocated on a first come first served basis.  (In the event that we do not take all 25 places we may be joined on the tour by others from outside our group.)  Tours are available only on Wednesday afternoons at 2.15 p.m. Although it is appreciated that this might not be the most convenient time for everyone the Master, who has visited before, is confident you will find any inconvenience amply rewarded.

The charge for this event to Guild members and guests will be �12.00 to include the tour of Charterhouse.  Tea at a venue to be arranged nearby will be taken at members� own expense on the day.

Our first visit of the New Year takes us to one of the most evocative sites in Central London !  In 1938, at the instigation of Winston Churchill and others, the basement of the Civil Service buildings between King Charles Street and Parliament Square was converted and reinforced for use as Cabinet Offices in the event of war.  By the end of the war, the Underground War Rooms covered more than 3 acres and were able to accommodate up to 528 persons.  In the sub-basement were a canteen, a hospital, a shooting range and other services, with a warren of rooms used as sleeping quarters, devoid of outside light and with ceilings so low that the occupants could not stand upright.  There was more headroom but little more space or comfort on the basement level where the senior officers slept and where the offices vital to the war effort were to be found.  Here was the sound-proof Cabinet room, where the War Cabinet could, and did, meet if raids or other dangers threatened.  Close by was the Map Room, where the map information of all the war fronts was co-ordinated for the Cabinet and Chiefs of Staff: Churchill, when Prime Minister, visited it every day that he was in London during the war.  Nearby are Churchill�s occasional bedroom and a tiny anteroom with a direct line to Washington   These rooms and others have been not so much reconstructed as preserved as they were at the end of the war.   

The Cabinet War Rooms have also now created the first ever museum dedicated to the complete life and times of Winston Churchill (the greatest Briton ever, according to a BBC poll).  The Churchill Museum opened at the Cabinet War Rooms site on 11 February 2005 It creates an intimate and multifaceted portrait of him, one that reveals the private as well as the public man, his talents and flaws.

The Churchill Museum is divided into five chapters:

1. Young Churchill (1874-1900)

2. Politician to Statesman (1900-1929)

3. Wilderness Years (1929-1939)

4. War Leader (1940-1945)

5. Cold War Statesman (1945-1965 and legacy)

The exhibition examines Churchill�s many roles as a leader, statesman, politician, soldier, father, husband and son.  Visitors will gain a real insight into Churchill�s lesser-known qualities and traits as well as his celebrated role as one of the greatest leaders of his time.

The Churchill Museum offers a real opportunity for visitors to immerse themselves in Churchill�s life. A 50-foot long �Lifeline� - an interactive chronicle of Churchill�s life - provides the visitor with a unique hands-on experience. This personally operated exhibit gives visitors the opportunity to access the details of Churchill�s daily life at their own pace and with as much depth as required.

The museum provides a wealth of material in a variety of media:

Over 150 original objects in the exhibition. These include Churchill�s: baby rattle, pistol used during his escape in the Boer War, trench periscope used on the Western Front, red velvet siren suit and painting materials.

Over 200 facsimiles of documents including Churchill�s school reports.

Over 1,500 scanned documents and 1,000 photographs in the Lifeline alone.

Over 70 audiovisual and interactive displays, each with their own film, photo and sound content.

For more information, visit the web site of the Cabinet War Rooms at

http://cwr.iwm.org.uk

We shall assemble to commence our visit at 11.00 a.m.   All visitors are provided with a personal �Acoustiguide� sound guide which will enable people to tour the Rooms and Museum at their own pace.  (There is a cafeteria on the site if anyone requires something to keep them going until lunch.)

After the tour we shall make our way to Wesley�s Caf� in the nearby Central Hall Westminster (Storey�s Gate, Westminster , SH1H 9NH ) where space has been reserved for lunch at 2.00 p.m.   (A varied menu is available with hot main dishes at �6.50, desserts at �2.00 as well as sandwiches etc.)  Members are asked to confirm how many people are expected to join the group for lunch so we can confirm numbers to Wesley�s Caf�.

The charge for this event to Guild members and guests will be �11.00 to include admission to the Cabinet War Rooms and Churchill Museum   Lunch at Wesley�s Caf� will be taken at members� own expense on the day.

15th October 2006 - Visit to Spencer House and Lunch at the Oxford and Cambridge Club

Following our trip to Denbies Wine Estate and barbecue we are back in Town for a guided tour of Spencer House (27, St James's Place, London SW 1 A 1NR) - 5-10 minutes' walk from Green Park tube station. Spencer House is London's finest surviving eighteenth-century town house and was built in 1756-66 for the first Earl Spencer, an ancestor of Diana, Princess of Wales. After a painstaking ten-year restoration this magnificent private palace has regained the full splendour of its lateeighteenth century appearance. Eight state rooms are open for viewing. Designed by John Vardy and James "Athenian" Stuart, these rooms were amongst the first neoclassical interiors in Europe. Vardy's Palm Room, with its spectacular screen of gilded palm-trees and arched fronds, is a unique Palladian setpiece, while the elegant mural decorations of Stuart's Painted Room reflect the eighteenth-century passion for classical Greece and Rome. Stuart's superb gilded furniture has been returned to its original location in the Painted Room by courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum and English Heritage. There is also a fine collection of eighteenth-century paintings and furniture, specially assembled for the house, including five major Benjamin West paintings lent by the Queen. Further detailed information is available on the website: www.spencerhouse.co.uk

We shall assemble at 10.20 a.m. for our guided tour which will last about one hour. The Master is especially interested to have a look inside Spencer House as he regularly walks past it on his way to the Oxford and Cambridge Club where he has been a member for twenty-five years. After our tour of Spencer House we shall accompany him on the short stroll to number 71, Pall Mall for a look around that splendid clubhouse which was purpose built in 1838 to the design of Sir Robert Smirke (best remembered today for the British Museum). The Master hopes that you will then be able to join him for Sunday lunch in the Coffee Room (as the principal dining room is called) and some post-prandial relaxation. Further description of the Oxford and Cambridge Club can be found on the website: www.oxfordandcambridgeclub.co.uk.

Logistics for the tour of Spencer House and for lunch will limit numbers to a maximum of 20 and we shall need to allocate places on a first come, first served basis. The cost will be �30.00 per person, for members and guests, to cover the tour of Spencer House and a three course lunch at the Oxford and Cambridge Club. The fixed price menu will offer a choice of dishes, including a vegetarian option. We shall arrange wine with lunch as required on the day and that will be charged for separately. If lunch is not required the cost will be � 10.00 to cover the Spencer House tour.

Please return the application form, with your cheque, and with either a stamped, self-addressed envelope OR details of your e-mail address, as soon as possible, but to arrive no later than Thursday, 21^St September to:

S.J. Aylett, 113 Arbury Road, Cambridge CB4 2JD. (Tel: 020 7535 9814)Please note that it will not be possible to make refunds in respect of the Spencer House tour for any cancellations notified after 21" September.

Pour memoires, confirming final details. will be posted. or e-mailed. in due course.

29th July 2006 - Visit to Denbies Wine Estate and Barbecue

The Master hopes that you, and your guests will be able to join him on a visit to Denbies Wine Estate, Dorking, Surrey and afterwards a barbeque in nearby Ashtead.

www.denbieswineestate.com

1st June 2006 - The Installation Dinner

The 2006 Installation Dinner will be held on the 1st June after the Midsummer Summer Day Court at the Honourable Artillery Company, City Road.Click on image for more info.