Lectures - Trust Annual Report 1982
The Annual General Meeting last September was held in the Guildhall in the presence of an audience which filled the Council Chamber in order to hear Mrs. Barbara Carpenter Turner's fascinating commentary on a changing Winchester. Subsequent meetings were held as usual at the Royal Hotel, where informal discussion can take place in the bar before and after lectures.
The talk by Dr. F. M. Ackerman in October revealed to a large group of members how Romsey and District Preservation Trust manages to purchase and rehabilitate old properties, inspiring our own Trust to attempt similar projects. In November there was an illustrated discussion on Urban Design in Winchester, between the Director of Planning, Jack Thompson, and Michael St. John Parker, Headmaster of Abingdon School and one-time history master at Winchester College; mixed criticism and praise of recent buildings by all present ensured a lively and memorable evening. The January meeting took place during the rail strike which prevented Aileen Adams coming from the Royal College of Art, so her colleague Roger Standen from Portsmouth deputised most admirably, showing a range of slides to explain how the Schools Council project 'Art and the Built Environment' had been taken up by schools in Hampshire. The importance of the art school in society was persuasively explained by David Sherlock in February, speaking from his wide experience and current position as principal of the Winchester School of Art. The last event of the season was as enjoyable as anticipated, when George Perkin returned to illustrate his entertainingly personal look at recent British Architecture with his own superb slides; an informative discussion followed on the use of artificial stone in 20th century building.
In the 1982/3 session there will be six meetings, the extra one being in December when the County Architect, Colin Stansfield Smith, will speak to the Trust about 'Design in an Historic Context'; it is some years since we last saw him and in the intervening time the County Architect's Department has earned an enviable reputation for good design, so this is an occasion not to be missed. Apart from the March visit to the Hampshire Record Office, and the AGM when Sir Peter Ramsbotham, our new Vice President, will address the Trust, all meetings will take place at the Royal Hotel.
In October, Arthur Percival, founder of the Faversham Heritage Centre and author of 'Understanding our Surroundings', will talk to the Trust about this most topical of subjects, and in November the Chief Executive, David Cowan has kindly agreed to speak about his work in Winchester. In January and February the series continues with a talk on the work of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, (the original amenity society founded by William Morris), and a hopeful look at the future of the City by Christopher Wright of the National Federation of the Self Employed.