Summer event and AGM, 2025
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Applications are now invited for our summer event and Annual General Meeting on Saturday 4th October 2025.
Introduction
This year's summer event and Annual General Meeting will be held in the headquarters building of the Art Workers' Guild.
The Guild was founded in April 1884 by a group of young architects and designers, many of whom were prominent figures of the Arts and Crafts Movement. Voysey was elected as a member on 5th December of that year. He was a member of the committee responsible for arranging the first exhibition of the Guild in 1895. In 1902 he joined a Guild group visiting the Netherlands, his first overseas trip, and made a second visit with the Guild in 1906. In 1924 he was elected Master. His portrait by George Vernon Meredith Frampton RA (1894-1984), along with those of other Masters, hangs in the Hall.
The Hall of The Art Workers' Guild.
Voysey's portrait is in the centre of this view, immediately to the right of the Master's chair.
The venue
The Guild's building is listed Grade II*. It is a former terraced house of about 1713, which was the home of Martin Folkes, President of the Royal Society and of the Society of Antiquaries, until 1763. It was refronted in the later 18th century, with alterations and additions (including the Hall) by Francis W. Troup for the Guild in 1914. Our annual lecture in November this year will be about Troup.
Programme
All times following the start are approximate.
- 11.00: Arrive
- 11.15: Welcome and introduction
- 11.30: Annual General Meeting
- 12.00: Talk on "Voysey and the Art Workers' Guild", by Dr Catherine Sidwell
(Catherine is a design historian and a Trustee of the Voysey Society.) - 12.40: The Voysey song (prepared for his installation as Master of the Art Workers' Guild in 1924) – anyone wishing to avoid embarrassment may leave the room!
- 12.50: Lunch
- 13.50: Talk on "W.A.S. Benson – an influential pioneer of the Arts & Crafts Movement", by Professor Ian Hamerton
(Ian is Professor of Polymers and Composites at the University of Bristol, and Honorary President of the Voysey Society. He is the author of W.A.S. Benson: Arts & Crafts luminary and pioneer of modern design (Antique Collectors' Club, 2005).) - 14.50: Concluding discussion
- 15.00: Depart
It is hoped that there will then be an optional opportunity for a small group to visit a recently restored interior at 29 Harley Street, designed by Voysey in 1918-19 for the ophthalmic surgeon Leslie Paton. This address is 30 minutes on foot from the Art Workers' Guild. Further details to follow.
Charges
There is no charge for members wishing to attend just the AGM, 11.30-12.00 with no catering, although booking is still required.
For the full day's programme including lunch the charge will be £25 per head. Numbers are limited. If space permits, we are happy to accept members' guests at this event.
Directions
The address of The Art Workers’ Guild is 6 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AT.
The nearest Underground stations are Holborn (on the Central and Piccadilly lines) and Russell Square (on the Piccadilly line).
- From Holborn, turn right out of the station along Southampton Row, then right down Cosmo Place into Queen Square. Turn left and the Art Workers’ Guild is a few doors down on the left.
- From Russell Square, turn left out of the station, then left down Herbrand Street and left down Guilford Street. Take the first right down the short passage just after the entrance to the car park, and then right around Queen Square. The Art Workers’ Guild is on the right.
Parking is available in Queen Square, payable by meter until 18.30, free in the evening.
How to apply
Please complete our online application form.
Lamp by Benson. (Benson also made the table at which the Master of the AWG currently sits.)
Please note our photography guidelines. We shall assume that attendees consent to their own inclusion in photographs taken on the day unless they advise the group leader otherwise.
You participate in events at your own risk, and neither the Voysey Society nor its officers or other volunteers accept any liability whatsoever, however arising. The Society reserves the right to cancel, alter or postpone events if necessary. Before applying for an event, take into account any possible difficulty you may have because of weather, health or other conditions. In hot weather, consider bringing water and protection from the sun.
Photographs: interior, courtesy of the Art Workers' Guild; exterior, Basher Eyre on Wikimedia Commons, reproduced under this licence; lamp, Ian Hamerton.
Page last amended 18th August 2025