The Thames west of London has been the resort of royalty, aristocrats, artists, writers and wealthy property owners for centuries. As well as building elegant villas, they developed gardens which provided a feast for the senses and supplied food for the table. In our own times, issues of the sustainability of food production and equity of its distribution are hot topics. In this series of 14 talks, we explore how food was produced and consumed in the past by our Luminaries to help inform discussions on the future of food and drink. Much food was produced locally; great houses such as Chiswick House and Fulham Palace had their own kitchen gardens and Alexander Pope boasted of the sources of his meat supply: 'To Hounslow Heath I point, and Banstead-Down, / Thence comes your Mutton, and these chicks my own.' Yet modern luxuries such as tea and coffee stretched supply chains around the globe. Wining and dining also provided hosts with opportunities to display their hospitality and particular taste through the choice of menu and table setting. This varied banquet of 14 talks will thus also explore cultural dimensions of food and drink. The series runs from 5th October to 17th November 2022 and details of the other talks can be found at ticketsource.co.uk/luminaries. 

Boston Manor House was built in 1623 and has witnessed many changes in society and its relationship with food and drink. In this talk we will look at what was eaten and drunk at Boston Manor House over the centuries and explore what was produced on the estate for the house's

residents and beyond.

John Collins is the Senior Manager for Historic Houses at the London Borough of Hounslow and has overseen Hogarth's House since it reopened to the public after a major refurbishment in 2011. Most recently John has been a key figure in the Mulberry Garden project at Hogarth's House, a five year National Lottery Heritage Fund funded scheme which saw a new learning studio built and a redesigned exhibition garden both open to the public in 2021.

Before this John was Community Development Manager at Imperial War Museum North and has a background in the field of community engagement with historic sites and their collections.

Admission to this talk is free but but we encourage you to make a £5 donation for each talk, if you are able, which will be divided equally between the six participating organisations. If you wish to request tickets for more than one talk, please note that you can checkout and pay for them all in one go by clicking on 'continue shopping' at the bottom of the screen in which you select your delivery option. Alternatively, we offer a combined ticket for the last 7 talks in this series for a single £25 donation or £45 for all 14 talks. See ticketsource.co.uk/luminaries for details.

The talk will start at 7 pm and last for approximately 20 minutes with time being allowed for questions and answers at the end. It will be chaired by Judith Hawley who is Professor of Eighteenth-Century Literature in the Department of English, Royal Holloway, University of London. 

The event will end at or before 8 pm. It will be delivered using Zoom so you will need a computer or tablet with the Zoom program/app on it. 

You will be sent a link by email an hour before the lecture begins and you should follow this link at the appropriate time to join the audience. If you haven't used Zoom before, you will be prompted to download the appropriate software as soon as you try to join .

Are you buying a ticket for someone else? If so, send us a message with their name and email address and we'll make sure they get the link before each lecture. 

This event is supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Please note that booking will close one hour before the talk starts.