SAMBOURNE & LEIGHTON HOUSES - 3RD DECEMBER
Sambourne house:
On the final day of our Twinning Event a group of us gathered to commence our Victorian house tour at Sambourne House, the former home of renowned illustrator and photographer Edward Linley Sambourne (1844-1910). Although he worked principally for Punch, the satirical magazine, during his career, he also illustrated books including The Real Adventures of Robinson Crusoe by F.C. Burnand and The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley. Linley and his wife Marion moved to Sambourne House at 18 Stafford Terrace, London, in 1874 and remained there for the rest of their lives.
Our guided tour would take us through the house and up the many staircases, introducing us to a unique museum. If the Sambourne’s stepped through their front door today they would feel totally at home, with everything left almost as they had left it. Linley’s home is a veritable time capsule of a Victorian family aspiring to be part of the Holland Park circle of artists - the group who built homes and studios in this fashionable area in the late 19th century.
The house is a stunning example of a ‘House Beautiful’, aesthetically designed in rebellion against mass production, elevating the status of furniture and furnishings to works of art. There are so many wonderful things to see from stained glass windows, fine ceramics, drawings from Punch magazine, an extensive photographic archive showing how Linley created his cartoons, along with Morris & Co wallpaper, Japanese, Chinese and Middle Eastern objects and many furnishings and hand crafted furniture. It is absolutely packed to the gunnels! Our experience was made all the better with our most knowledgeable guide.
By the time we had to depart many of us felt that we had so much more to see and learn however our next destination beckoned, Leighton House.
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Leighton house:
At the end of our Sambourne tour we made our way over in the winter sunshine to Leighton House. This purpose-built studio house was designed and built in 1865-66 by George Aitchinson RA for his friend, the great Victorian artist (and later President of the Royal Academy) Frederick, Lord Leighton, who was keen to promote the idea that painting could be seen as a respectable gentlemanly profession. It is another absolute undiscovered treasure! This was no ‘struggling artist’ residence but one filled with extravagant decor and artefacts from across the globe. Although the initial design was a modest residence, Leighton continued to extend the building creating the present day house.
As we were led through this beautiful home with quirky architectural details, we learnt that the house was very much designed not only to house his studio but also to be a showcase for his extensive art collection which includes works by George Frederick Watts, Burne-Jones, Millais, Corot and Lawrence Alma-Tadema. We saw a Rembrandt etching, a Tintoretto and the most magnificent Murano chandelier! What’s more the house is home to a very fine stuffed peacock which echoes the colours of its environment. He sits in the stairwell under a large scale reproduction of Michelangelo’s famous ‘Creation of Adam’. It was also such a privilege to see the prevalence of Leighton’s work which included over 80 paintings, notebooks, sketches, prints and watercolours.
We were fascinated by the three working fireplaces which are all situated beneath a window! The smoke from the fires was extracted via horizontal flues which are cleverly hidden beneath the windowsills. For many of us the highlight would be the extraordinary 2-storey Arab Hall, completed in 1881. This is breath-takingly beautiful and illustrates Leighton’s fascination with the Middle East. It displays his collection of 16th and 17th century Damascus tiles exceptionally, with mosaic floors and friezes which glimmer under a gorgeous gold guilded dome. The Hall is completed with a trickling fountain which used to house fish.
By the time we said our goodbyes we could all agree with Queen Victoria, “His house and studio charmed me immensely.”
TURNER & CONSTABLE - 3RD DECEMBER
Whilst a group from our two Clubs were exploring Sambourne and Leighton Houses, another group met at Tate Britain ending our Paris - London Twinning with a first major exhibition celebrating the 250th birthday of anniversary years of MMW Turner (1775-1851) and John Constable (1776-1831). These painters are two of Britain’s most revered landscape artists.
Thanks to our informative guide’s commentary we learnt more about their respective personalities and how they each challenged artistic conventions of their time. This magnificent exhibition traces the development of their careers in parallel. It also reveals the ways they were celebrated, criticised and pitted against one another, as well as moments when their work impacted on each other. Art history loves a rival! The London Magazine stated in 1829: “Mr Constable’s works present no stronger contrast…..than they do with Mr Turner’s…..the first is all truth, the last is all poetry: the one is silver, the other gold.”
During the tour of this definitive exhibition, with over 170 paintings and works on paper, we saw many highlights including Turner’s momentous ‘The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons’ (1835) which has not been seen in Britain for over a 100 years and ‘The White Horse’ (1819), one of Constable’s greatest artistic achievements.
Their innovations raised the bar for landscape painting and left a lasting legacy, some of which we were able to enjoy together as we experienced this once in a lifetime opportunity to explore the careers of Britain’s greatest landscape artists, side by side.
GALA DINNER - 1ST DECEMBER
On the first of December 2025, the London Club and the Paris Club of the International Association of Lyceum Clubs (IALC) met in London for a Gala Reception and Dinner to celebrate the formal twinning of the two clubs. This major milestone is a significant event in the history of two of the oldest clubs in the IALC.
Festivities for the Gala Reception and Dinner were held in the elegant surroundings of the Princess Marie Louise room and adjoining salon at the Oxford and Cambridge Club along Pall Mall in London. Members gathered for a delightful reception then enjoyed a
festive dinner of classic British holiday cuisine.
Over the course of the dinner, welcome speeches were given by Lauriane Bradford, President of the London Club, and Pascale Anderson Mair, president of the Paris Club. All guests witnessed the official twinning document signed by the two presidents of the clubs. Further speeches included a commemorative poem and reciprocal thanks celebrating the gathering together for the twinning, the warm hospitality extended to all.
Both London and Paris Clubs look forward to future twinning events.
Credit Photo: Colette Hewitt
WALLACE COLLECTION - 1ST DECEMBER
On Monday 1st December our Twinning programme of events began with a visit to the Wallace Collection at Hertford House, in Manchester Square, a national museum housing unsurpassed masterpieces of sculpture, paintings, furniture and porcelain. It is also one of the finest collections of princely arms and armour.
This collection was bought together by the first four marquesses of Hertford and Sir Richard Wallace, the likely illegitimate son of the 4th Marquess. It was bequeathed to the nation by Sir Richard’s widow, Lady Wallace in 1897 and opened as a museum to the public in 1900. The former private residence was converted into a public museum with galleries replacing stables, coach-houses and the smoking room and even some of the private rooms on the first floor. Since then further renovations have been made to ensure a welcoming place for successive generations of visitors, but the collection composed mostly of 18e and 19e century French and English fine arts has remained intact.
Once we had removed our coats we began an extremely informative tour of the ground and upper floor of Hertford House having separated into French and English speaking tour groups. We learnt a little of the history of the family’s association with the house which began in 1797, when the 2nd Marquess of Hertford took up residence there.
Our guides took us on an incredible journey through many beautiful rooms adorned with breathtaking works of art. Some of the artworks in the collection that we would see were acquired in the 18th century by the 1st and 2nd Marquesses (e.g. some paintings by Boucher, Gainsborough, Canaletto and Reynolds) but the first Marquess to show real interest in art was the 3rd Marquess. He was a friend of the Prince Regent (later King George IV) and acquired magnificent examples of Sèvres porcelain, gilt bronzes, French furniture and important 17th century Dutch paintings. However it was his son, the 4th Marquess whom we really need to thank for the essential character of the Wallace Collection. His collection combined English and French tastes and his enormous wealth enabled him to indulge that taste to the full. He was also a fantastic opportunist wealthy enough to buy exceptional works of art. One of those occasion was during A more fitting place to bring our Paris Lyceum sisters we could not have found.
Following our tours we came together in the glazed courtyard to enjoy a traditional English cream tea, with delicious freshly baked fruit and plain scones with spoonfuls of cream and rich strawberry jam. The discussion inevitably led to the question of cream or jam first! Not only was this an opportunity to enjoy the tea and rest our feet, but it was a great chance to get to know one another, sharing conversation and laughter, particularly when the President of the Parisian chapter of the Lyceum revealed her new leather gloves!
A wonderful starter on the menu of our Twinning Days!