Interested in Architectural History? Join Our Friendly Study Group!

We are a small, self-taught group with a shared curiosity about historical architecture — no specialist knowledge required!

Our meetings are relaxed and informal. Sometimes a member gives a short introduction on a theme, followed by examples and discussion. 

📅 When: 3rd Thursday of each month, 2:00 pm (No meeting in August)

📍 Where: Members’ homes or on location

If you have an interest in architecture — whether you know a lot, a little, or nothing at all — you’ll find a warm welcome with us.

Our next planned meetings are:

Thursday 16 July  2pm
Cinemas and theatres - You might have enjoyed the performances inside a cinema or theatre but what about the outside? Which cinema building appeals to you without seeing the film inside? Who designed that building? Bring along an example and tell us about it.

Thursday 17 September  2pm
Sport Stadiums - Have you ever admired a grandstand that you've sat in? Or wondered what a hippodrome would have looked like in ancient times? Find an example of any area or stadium linked to any sport and take a look at it's architecture. Why and where was it built? Were there any design specifications or problems that needed to be overcome? Then bring along your research to share with the group

✨ Come along, share your curiosity, and discover the world of architecture in good company!

Past meetings have been:

January 26 Postcards - Our members each brought along a few pictures and some information about any building in the world that sparked their interest.

February 26 Railway Stations - It's been 200 years since the start of the railways in Britain and a lot of stations have been built since then. Our group gave a brief overview of a railway station that interested them.

March 26 Libraries  - Library buildings have housed archives for empires, sanctuaries for sacred writings and depositories of literature and chronicles. We'll find out more on their architecture with a presentation by Cynthia exploring their history.

April 26 More libraries - Following last months overview of architectural interesting libraries each of the group members bought a short piece on various libraries from the oldest to newest libraries, those planned for the future (Trump Presidential Library in Miami), scholastic libraries, city libraries and a local one in a church it showed how libraries continue to be important in our lives as buildings not just a place to borrow a book.

May 26 Museums - What's your favourite museum?  Investigate its history with regards to architecture.  Tell us who designed it and why you like it so much.

June 26 Museums and Art galleries - What a wide variety of places we looked at from the 16th century (Uffezi in Florence) to one not opening until later this year (Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles). Some were very small as in the Deal Timeball Tower museum or further away as The Mauritshuis in the Hague. We also looked at the Natural History Museum in London as well as others around the world.

Updated 16/04/26