Diary dates 2010

For more details of all events see the Diary.

Sunday 15 August 2010

BEWICK'S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS AT CHERRYBURN

Thomas Bewick said that his birthday was on Lammas Day, the 12th of August, so we will have to be forgiven for celebrating three days late with our after lunch conversation. However, this is an excellent opportunity to meet the experts of the Bewick Society, show them your collection and maybe join in the after lunch conversation. There may even be a Birthday Cake!

Date and time: Sunday 15 August from 1.30 pm. The Conversation starts at 2.30 pm.
Venue: Cherryburn, Station Road, Mickley Square, near Stocksfield, Northumberland NE43 7DD.
Admission: Admission charges apply. National Trust and Bewick Society members free on production of a valid card

Tale-Pieces

The Blog of the Bewick Society. Keep up to date with latest events and news stories. Click Here.

The Newsletter

Download a PDF copy of our popular newsletter by clicking here.

Cherryburn Times

Copies of recent issues can be downloaded in PDF format by clicking here.

E-mail

To contact The Bewick Society by e-mail use this address, bewick.society@ncl.ac.uk

Social Networking

FacebookFacebook link

Twittertwitter link

Join us

Interested in becoming a member of the Bewick Society? You can find all the relevant information here.

New Media

For information about some new Bewick books and a recent video click the links.

Photographs

We now have a page on Flickr, click here.

For pictures of the 250th birthday celebrations in 2003 click here.

Library Checklist

To download A Provisional Checklist of the Library of Thomas Bewick by David Gardner-Medwin click here (March 2010 version, .rtf 1.31mb).

To go to the online version click here.

Constitution

You can read the Constitution of The Bewick Society by clicking this link (PDF document, 32k).

Wycliffe View

 

Bewick Society trip to Wycliffe.

 

Thomas Bewick began work on his planned "History of Birds" (sic) by visiting the private museum of the recently deceased Marmaduke Tunstall of Wycliffe Hall in July-September 1791. On the 8th May 2010 a band of Bewick enthusiasts visited the area to retrace the engraver's steps. We were able to identify the houses at which Bewick had his board and lodging and the church he attended.

 

"At the beginning of this undertaking I made up my mind to copy nothing from the works of others, but to stick to nature as closely as I could ; and for this purpose, being invited by Mr. Constable, the then owner of Wycliffe, I visited the extensive museum there, collected by the late Marmaduke Tunstal, Esq., to make drawings of the birds."

 

"I lodged in the house of John Goundry, the person who preserved the birds for Mr. Tunstal; and boarded at his father's, George Goundry, the old miller there."

 

"Whilst I remained at Wycliffe, I frequently dined with the Rev. Thomas Zouch, the rector of the parish. He watched my going out of church on the Sundays, where I attended, accompanied by old Goundry, to invite me to dine with him. On these occasions he often made the character of his late neighbour, Mr. Tunstal, and of George Goundry, the subject of his conversation, and dwelt with great pleasure on the excellence of both. Mr. Tunstal was a Roman Catholic, and had a chapel in his own house ; Mr. Zouch was a Church of England minister; and George Goundry was a Deist ; and yet these three uncommonly good men, as neighbours, lived in constant charity and good will towards each other. One might dwell long with pleasure on such singularly good characters. I wish the world was better stocked with them."
Thomas Bewick, A Memoir Chapter 13

 

You can view a set of photographs of the trip on the Bewick Society page on Flickr, click here.

 

 

The Bewick Society

The aim of the Bewick Society is to promote an interest in the life and work of Thomas Bewick and related subjects, especially with regard to wood-engraving. The Society publishes a journal called the Cherryburn Times, normally twice a year. This provides a forum for the activities of the Society and keeps members informed about the latest research into the life and work of Bewick and his apprentices. Members publish articles about their own special interests where relevant to the Society. The Society also arranges visits to special collections, some of which are not normally open to the general public. It encourages the development of facilities for conservation and display of Bewick related materials, including wood-engraving as practised by those following in Bewick’s footsteps.

 

Cherryburn Cottage

Membership of the Society also gives free admission to the museum at Cherryburn, where Thomas Bewick was born, now in the care of the National Trust.

More information can be found on this page at the National Trust website.