Sarah Bowles and Philippa Barton established Dilettanti in 1980 to promote the enjoyment and appreciation of the arts. Their aim is to bring alive the history, culture, taste and ideas of society from past ages through lectures and visits, combining a scholarly approach with a friendly and enjoyable atmosphere.

Dilettanti Events

Three programmes of lectures and visits are arranged each year, in Spring, Summer and Autumn, and these offer a diverse selection of events designed to appeal to a wide range of people with different levels of knowledge.

Lecture series, study days, short courses, private views to exhibitions and collections and all-day visits to historic houses, including those not open to the public, are held on weekdays and saturdays. Many of the special visits are preceded by introductory talks to add to the interest of the day itself. Numbers are kept to around twenty-five per visit.

Lunches

Coffee breaks and good lunches are never overlooked – some say they are the high point! – and are enjoyed in circumstances ranging from the sublime to the less salubrious – relaxed picnics in splendid country-house parks to "on with the job" lunches in the coach in the pouring rain in a car park!

Long Weekend

Every Autumn, a four-day tour or "sojourn" is organized to some enticing part of the country, to include visits to well-known or lesser-known houses, churches or cathedrals and other attractions within reach of the chosen hotel.

Philippa Barton and Sarah Bowles

Both are experienced lecturers in the fine and decorative arts, with a special interest in seventeenth and eighteenth century English architecture, interiors and furniture. They have long experience in selecting experts in the appropriate field for each event, but can be relied upon as informed and enthusiastic speakers themselves in their own wide sphere of interests.