Award-winning historian, author and broadcaster Bettany Hughes OBE will start a series of online talks at Pitzhanger Manor in Ealing. You can book now.
The renowned architect Sir John Soane, upon whose original vision the recent restoration of the house was based, used Pitzhanger Manor to entertain friends, celebrities and potential clients, creating interesting encounters and enlightening debate.
Inspired by this, Pitzhanger Perspectives is a new series of conversations with contemporary thinkers. You can book now for online talks with Bettany Hughes on 31 March; former Ogilvy boss and arts patron Miles Young on 22 April; Oscar-winning filmmaker Vikram Jayanti on 18 May; and diplomat, author, explorer and politician Rory Stewart on 16 June.
In the first conversation with Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, chairperson of Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery Trust, Bettany Hughes will discuss her recent book Venus & Aphrodite: History of a Goddess, which charts ancient art, evocative myth, archaeological revelations and philosophical explorations to reveal why Venus endures through to the 21st Century. She will consider the lasting importance of classical civilisation which significantly influenced Soane, as evident in the classical references seen at Pitzhanger.
You can watch the video above to see what Pitzhanger means to Bettany on a personal level, remembering her Ealing childhood days and more.
Book tickets
You need to book tickets online (£7, or £5 concessions) to join the conversation with Bettany Hughes, which is on 31 March at 6.30pm.
More on Pitzhanger Manor
- Watch a video and view photos of the building taken just as it was due to reopen after the restoration in 2019.
- Watch our video made in 2017 during the thick of the restoration project and go on a little tour of discovery around Pitzhanger Manor. You can see details you might otherwise have missed, find out about historical detail uncovered during the work and even learn about a 200-year-old lucky shoe.
