St Peter's College, Oxford, is a fascinating collection of buildings which was unified by the Chavasse family and became St Peter's Hall in 1929. This talk will cover the college’s early history and its architecture before leading you to the SCR Dining Room and the home of the JWM Collection of artworks by Duncan Grant (1885-1978). Generously loaned to the college by an alumnus, this collection of Grant's work is one of the largest in the UK, containing over 90 pieces from throughout his career. A celebrated artist and designer, Duncan Grant is particularly associated with the Bloomsbury Group and these works present an overview of his life and work, ranging from watercolour portraits of famous Bloomsbury members to still-life paintings of his Sussex home and from figure studies to flamboyant designs for opera costumes.

Lizzy Rowe is an art historian who studied at the Courtauld Institute in London before joining English Heritage as a guidebook editor. She currently lives in Oxford where she teaches Art History in primary schools, as well as giving guided tours and talks.

Picture: View of St Paul's Cathedral from the basement of a bombed building, with another bombed church to the right of the composition. Oil on canvas, 1941, Duncan Grant

Doors open at 7.15pm. Free to paid-up members, visitors £5. Refreshments follow the talk.

Once again we welcome the ever-popular Gillian White, this time to tell us about the origins and history of the humble teddy bear and how it is linked to some of the most influential people of the times.

Doors open at 7.15pm. Free to paid-up members, visitors £5. Refreshments follow the talk.

Teddy bears welcome.

Picture: Edward Bear (Jo Huckvale)