Excursions 

Built as a priory in the twelfth century, the beautiful Gothic setting of Newstead Abbey later became famous as Lord Byron’s ancestral home, where he lived between 1808 and 1814. As well as being able to access the poet’s private rooms and browse an extensive collection of his memorabilia, visitors can also explore 300 acres of grounds. These encompass over nine themed gardens and a large lake, and are home to peacocks, swans and geese.

Wollaton Park, 500 stretching acres of parkland and woodland, is home to Wollaton Hall, a Grade I listed Elizabethan mansion. The parkland is locally renowned for the herd of deer that freely wander the grounds – 90 red deer and 120 fallow deer – and the Hall itself houses Nottingham’s Natural History Museum as well as fully-restored Tudor kitchens.

Within the Derby Museums and Art Gallery collections, you will find a wide array of historical and arts exhibitions. Of particular local interest are the Joseph Wright gallery, dedicated to the internationally-renowned eighteenth-century Derby painter; and the Soldiers’ Gallery, detailing the lives of three local regiments through two world wars as well as housing artefacts from Waterloo and the Boer War. The Museums also house exhibits on subjects ranging from archaeology and ceramics through to Ancient Egypt.

Romantic Facts and Fantasies - This exhibition chronicles the sixty-year history of Romanticism with a particular focus on the East Midlands, from the engineering innovations of Richard Arkwright to the exploits of Lord Byron at Newstead Abbey. Exhibits on display include original correspondence, artefacts, sketches, and travelogues from the period 1780-1840, evoking the Romantic heritage of the Midlands and beyond. 

BARS delegates might be particularly interested in work by or associated with some of the major authors and artists of the period, including Amelia Opie, Maria Edgeworth, Henry Kirke White, Robert Southey, Sir Walter Scott, Richard Arkwright, Joseph Wright, Mary Howitt, Percy Shelley, William Blake, and Lord Byron - the exhibition includes a first edition of his supernatural drama Manfred.

Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire, is an opulent neoclassical eighteenth century mansion, built for the Curzon family to rival Chatsworth as a showpiece for the arts and entertainment. Architecturally magnificent, with extensive pleasure grounds, the Hall is also home to Lord Curzon’s ‘Eastern Collection’, a collection of hundreds of treasures and unique historical pieces Curzon gathered while Viceroy of India.