The 49th annual London Summer School program provides an invaluable opportunity for graduate students, heritage professionals, and knowledgeable enthusiasts to explore the history of British architecture, design and interiors from 1837-1914.\u00a0 Led by Kit Wedd along with a distinguished array of expert curators, academics and historians, it features a detailed study of public monuments, private venues and the history of the built environment in London, the Midlands and the West Country.\u00a0 The course\u2019s unique and engaging combination of lectures, guided walks, and behind-the-scenes tours aims to reveal not only the rich variety of architecture and design encompassed by this period, but also to develop participants\u2019 awareness and understanding of its principal designers, materials and styles.<\/p>\n
In\u00a0London<\/strong>, participants will explore many of the sites and events that made the capital a vast and wealthy centre of commerce, culture and Empire. Tours have included the Palace of Westminster, St Pancras Hotel, 2 Temple Place, the Royal Courts of Justice, All Saints Margaret Street and Crossness Pumping Station. Topics also cover London\u2019s railways, the East End, domestic interiors, and artists\u2019 houses, and include visits to reserve collections to examine wallpapers, textiles and stained glass.<\/p>\n Liverpool, Birmingham, and Manchester\u00a0<\/strong>embody the contradictions of England\u2019s industrial heritage \u2013 incorporating majestic civic buildings as well as factories, warehouses and terraced housing.\u00a0 Highlights have included Liverpool\u2019s St George\u2019s Hall, the Lady Lever Art Gallery and Port Sunlight, Manchester Town Hall, and the Gothic Revival churches of St Giles, Cheadle, and All Hallows, Allerton.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Arts and Crafts Movement\u00a0<\/strong>is explored in visits to important buildings such as William Morris\u2019s Kelmscott Manor, Standen, and \u00a0Rodmarton and Wightwick Manors.\u00a0Day trips to Oxford and Surrey examine Gothic Revival and Pre-Raphaelite gems like Keble and Worcester colleges and the Ashmolean, and country houses by Lutyens and Voysey.<\/p>\n Course Director: Kit Wedd<\/p>\n Assistant Director: Anne Mallek<\/p>\n Possible Lecturers include: Rosemary Hill, Joanna Banham,\u00a0Ayla Lepine, Joseph Sharples, Simon Bradley, Justine Hopkins and Christine Lalumia<\/span><\/p>\n Tuition for the 2025 London Summer Schools* will be $7,000, and includes expert instruction, course materials, 15 nights\u2019 hotel accommodation, entrance fees, full English breakfasts, teas, receptions, and some lunches.\u00a0Accommodation throughout the program will be in single-occupancy rooms with en-suite facilities.\u00a0Full and partial scholarships are available.<\/strong>\u00a0Please email Anne Mallek, Summer Schools Administrator, at Admin@VSASummerSchools.org, with any additional questions.<\/p>\n