December 2019
Lancing Chapel
Begun in 1868, the Grade I listed chapel at Lancing College is the largest school chapel in the world. Jeremy Tomlinson will describe the Gothic Revival architecture and the work being done to complete it. Jeremy Tomlinson worked at Lancing College for 41 years as a teacher of English, Head of Drama, Housemaster, Senior Master and Registrar. He is now Steward of the Chapel. A tour of the chapel, combined with a walking tour of nearby Steyning, will take…
Find out more »January 2020
The SPAB Approach and Honesty in Architecture
The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) was founded by William Morris, Philip Webb and others in 1877 to campaign for, advise on and support honesty in the restoration of old buildings. The society’s director will describe the principles and how they are put into practice. Matthew Slocombe was SPAB’s head of casework before becoming the society’s director. He is Secretary of the Joint Committee of the National Amenity Societies and a member of the Conservation Committee of…
Find out more »February 2020
Brighton College: The School of Science and Sport
As the new year begins, Brighton College’s £55m School for Science and Sport will open to pupils. Designed by world-renowned architects OMA, the centre will boast a cinema-style auditorium linked up to science departments across the globe, 18 university-standard laboratories, six break out spaces for personal research and tutorials, a 25 metre pool, a strength and conditioning suite, a rooftop running track with panoramic views and a double-height sports hall. Brighton College have granted the Regency Society a tour of…
Find out more »Regency Society Conversation: Brighton and Hove, a city for people
Let's talk about the kind of city we would like to live in! This evening is a social, convivial event where we will chat about the kind of city we would like to encourage Brighton and Hove to become and what the RS might do to help. Everybody will have a chance to have their say whether you are an experienced 'expert' or not. Every opinion counts. This is a social event. You do not need to book a place…
Find out more »March 2020
A Prince’s Treasure, From Buckingham Palace to the Royal Pavilion, The Royal Collection Returns to Brighton
A spectacular loan from Her Majesty The Queen is on display at the Royal Pavilion. The culmination of a collaborative venture between Royal Collection Trust and the Royal Pavilion & Museums, over 120 remarkable decorative works of art that were originally commissioned by the Prince Regent have been relocated from Buckingham Palace and re‐united in their previous setting of the Royal Pavilion. For the 2020 Regency Society’s Anthony Dale Lecture, Nicola Turner Inman, Assistant Curator of Decorative Arts (Projects) at…
Find out more »April 2020
AGM & lecture on 1 April POSTPONED until further notice
Annual General Meeting followed by the John Small Lecture POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE The society’s annual general meeting will be held at 7pm on Wednesday 1st April at the Friends Meeting House, Ship Street, Brighton BN1 1AF. The formal notice and agenda for the AGM can be found here. The Society’s annual report and accounts can be found here. Printed copies will be available at the AGM. There will be elections for the posts of Honorary Treasurer. and up to seven trustees. …
Find out more »June 2020
Day tour of Lancing College Chapel and Steyning CANCELLED
Due to the coronovirus pandemic we have cancelled this event Morning Tour of Lancing College Chapel, To complement the talk given on 4 December 2019, Jeremy Tomlinson will lead a guided tour around the chapel. Afternoon Tour of Steyning Dr Janet Pennington will lead a walking tour of Steyning. Jeremy Tomlinson is Steward of Lancing College Chapel. Janet Pennington is a Steyning historian and member of the Wealden Buildings Study Group, who has researched much of the town’s long…
Find out more »September 2020
Seaside Seduction: How the Moderns lost their stays
It gives me great pleasure to introduce our first lecture of the 2020/2021 lecture series and also our first online lecture. Online lectures have several advantages over the traditional format - not least that you can listen to them several times if you wish. Many members will remember Alan Powers' engaging lecture on John Piper's Brighton Aquatints in 2018. This thought-provoking follow up contextualises Piper in the artistic and architectural traditions and wider attitudes of the 1930s. If you would…
Find out more »October 2020
Brighton Workhouses
This lecture is no longer available You can read more about the Regency Society's use of Youtube here. This talk seeks to discover what life was like for the thousands of people who passed through—and in many cases died in—the town’s workhouses: Church Hill and Elm Grove, and the children’s industrial school in Woodingdean. Who were these people? How did they end up in a workhouse? And how do Brighton’s workhouses compare to those portrayed by Charles Dickens? Wherever possible…
Find out more »November 2020
The Lost Streets of Brighton in the James Gray Collection
This online lecture is also available on the Regency Society's Youtube channel for as long as the lecturer is happy for it to be available. https://youtu.be/iQmyexhLRdw You can read more about the Regency Society's use of Youtube here. James Gray was particularly fascinated by sights which were about to become demolition sites. In the mid twentieth century in particular several entire streets in Brighton disappeared to be replaced by new development. These streets feature strongly in his collection. Where were…
Find out more »December 2020
The Making of a Modern City: Brighton & Hove 1875-1914
David Fisher presents this deferred John Small lecture. It is available on this page and on the Regency Society's Youtube channel for as long as the lecturer is happy for it to be available. It has two parts: Part 1: https://youtu.be/gFfj-pUKk2k Part 2: https://youtu.be/KxxxsdaKiek At the end of the 19th century the Regency core of Brighton was surrounded by a much larger town of terraced housing, churches, schools, shops, parks, railways, trams, theatres and other amusements. Since the…
Find out more »January 2021
Hippodrome History
David Fisher presents this lecture which is available to view here: https://youtu.be/f3JdWu6bzx4 It is also available on the Regency Society's Youtube channel for as long as the lecturer is happy for it to be available. Brighton Hippodrome may be on the verge of a new life. New owners have been carrying out urgent repairs and are considering the way forward for the magnificent but derelict Grade II* building. David Fisher, who has worked on the project for a…
Find out more »February 2021
An illustrated walk around Old Steyning Town
A recording of this talk by Dr Janet Pennington was previously available to view here but has now been removed. This is a chance to browse the streets, lanes and twittens of a small country town in West Sussex with a history that goes back well over a thousand years. This virtual walk leads you through much of Steyning’s history – the beautiful Norman church, the town’s foundation legend of St Cuthman and his wheelbarrow, as well as the Grammar School…
Find out more »March 2021
Brighton c1830-1855 – from successful Regency resort to troubled early Victorian one (part 1 of a 2 part talk)
by Dr Sue Berry. In the mid 1820s, Brighton was a large and prosperous resort with a long, famous frontage and some very striking leisure buildings where visitors could meet. The Pavilion, revamped in an Indian style, and the Chain Pier became popular subjects for prints and paintings. A secure future beckoned. Yet, by the late 1820s, all was not well. Building slowed down, some projects stopped. A national recession, and the need for the resort to improve its public…
Find out more »Brighton and Hove c1855 – 1870 – a successful Victorian seaside resort with controversial health issues (Part 2 of a 2 part talk)
By Dr Sue Berry. Between the later 1850s and 1870, Brighton’s expansion greatly affected the surrounding parishes, particularly Hove. This took place in spite of the controversies which appeared in the national press such as the poor sanitation and its links with infections in all social classes, and the unsuccessful attempts to quash Anglo-Catholicism in Brighton, which became a major centre of it. In spite of controversies, Brighton flourished and development spread into the parishes to the north and west. …
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