MENU LECTURES
× Home Our Society
About Us Joining Us Where We Meet What Is The Arts Society? Committee Documents
Lectures Visits Tours Special Interest Days News Mail Diary Volunteering
Young Arts Arts Volunteers Heritage Volunteers Church Recorders Trails
Gallery Web Page Links
Useful Links Culture Links
Contact Us


Click here for previous lectures



Click here for previous lectures

22 October 2026"How Great Design Influenced the Railways"
26 November 2026“A Play Towards” Shakespeare from Page to Stage
01 December 2026Christmas Lecture / /Luncheon: "A Dickens of a Christmas and God Bless Us Everyone"
28 January 2027The Patricia Fay Memorial Lecture: Princess Louise: an Aesthetic sculptor locked away in the Royal Archives
25 February 2027"Eric Ravilious and the Lure of the Everyday"
25 March 2027"Miniature Masterpieces: Late Antique and Early Christian Ivory Carvings"
22 April 2027"Chinese Ceramics and the Willow Pattern Story"
27 May 2027"Kathleen Scott- Sculptor of Antarctica. Heroism and Controversy"
24 June 2027"Thomas Gainsborough - Sick of Portraits?"
23 September 2027"James Whistler - the Gentle Art of Making Enemies"

Click on a row and scroll to display more details about the lecture

Lecture: "How Great Design Influenced the Railways" Lecturer: Mark Ovenden Thursday 22 October 2026

From those gorgeous 1930s travel posters, through nationalisation of the railways in 1948, with their bright regional colours, to the creation of the famous BR Double-Arrow symbol in the 1960s...it's surprising how British railways have led the way in terms of design. In this lecture we reminisce over those beautiful graphics, bygone days of railway architecture and travel. We'll pay homage to the wonderful Tube map by Harry Beck and look to the future of train and station design. So get your tickets ready for inspection: we're on the right track!