Hampshire Art Jane Austen Charles Dickens Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Hampshire

Southampton Art Galleries

The City Art Gallery is the jewel in Southampton's art crown. It's housed in 1930s Civic Building, the Guildhall, along with the city library and houses a collection covering six centuries of European art history. The light and airy galleries flow into one another with themed collections of art including paintings and sculpture from Monet to Gormley; from Renaissance to cutting edge modern art. Themed exhibitions regularly change and are beautifully presented in a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere. Alongside the public exhibitions, the Gallery runs a whole host of events including educational events opening up art to all ages and special family friendly events where the youngsters can have a go at creating their own masterpiece. Check the weblink right for up-to-date information or pick up one of the Exhibitions and Events guides from Tourist Information Centres and galleries.

Within the Southampton Solent University buildings on East Park Terrace is the Millais Gallery. It's a public art gallery specialising in culturally diverse contemporary visual art. The three exhibition spaces showcase a mixture of work by established and breaking artists. The Main Gallery exhibits their work and hosts the shows of the Uni's degree students' work. The Project room highlights emerging artists' works that are based in Southampton and the South East. Lastly there's the Film Foyer where films by contemporary film makers are exhibited.

The 800 year old Bargate Monument is currently home to the Bargate Gallery. It is part of the Arts Vaults project where a whole host of visual arts are presented across the city in hidden medieval vaults and structures underneath Southampton. You can view them through self guided walks by picking up a map from the Bargate Monument. Alternatively book yourself onto a guided walk with a local historian or the project's curator for a more in depth look at the art and the historic settings. To reserve your free space call 023 8033 8778 or email: info@aspacearts.org for details.

Another public art gallery amongst university buildings is the John Hansard Gallery on the University of Southampton's Highfield Campus. It lies next to Southampton Common, north of the city centre. Check the link right for maps and directions how to reach the gallery.

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Artsway Gallery New Forest

In more recent years Sway has become renowned for being home to the internationally acclaimed Artway contemporary visual arts gallery.

It began as a gallery in 1997 and soon developed into an exhibition space and training facility. It was set up to provide a relatively remote community with a venue to view contemporary art and provide the support for the community to pursue the arts.

There are regular exhibitions throughout the year as well as training courses and workshops for all ages and abilities.

When exhibitions are on Artsway is open Tues-Sun 11am-5pm. At other times just the craft and book shop is open. Check the link right for details of current exhibitions and workshops. ArtSway, Station Road, Sway, Hampshire SO41 6BA. Tel: 01590 682260. Fax: 01590 681989.

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Theatres and Cinema in Southampton

Southampton has everything you could want to keep you entertained at night. For live entertainment there are two theatres to tempt you. Independent productions using local talent are hosted at The Nuffield Theatre while international stars and West End musicals are regulars at The Mayflower Theatre.

For film and cinema you have a choice of three cinemas which between them show all the latest blockbusters as well as the more independent art house screenings.

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Basingstoke Arts - The Anvil - The Haymarket Theatre

Basingstoke is well off for arts venues with The Haymarket Theatre, The Anvil and The Forge.

The Anvil is a widely acclaimed concert hall whose acoustics are excellent for orchestral performances in particular. Throughout the year there is a programme of events including classical, jazz, country, folk and popular music as well as comedy. It also hosts the traditional Christmas panto. The Anvil, Churchill Way, Basingstoke RG21 7QR.

In the centre of town is the Haymarket Theatre. It has recently been refurbished to provide The Exchange performance space in addition to the theatre where they offer a full programme of drama, dance and theatre. The Haymarket, Wote Street, Basingstoke RG21 7NW.

To book tickets call the box office number which serves all three venues. Box Office: 01256 844244.

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Jane Austen Birthplace House Chawton near Alton East Hampshire

For Jane Austen fans you can follow a trail around Hampshire to all the places she lived and visited or used as inspiration in her novels. Her heart was always in the Hampshire countryside and she wrote her best work while living at either Steventon or Chawton near Alton.

The latter period of Jane's life was spent at Chawton living with her mother and sister for eighteen years. Jane and Cassandra used to take a daily walk to Alton where they would shop and visit their brother who ran a bank and where the post was delivered. The villages of Alton and Chawton have their own Jane Austen trails that take you around the everyday places that Jane would have seen or visited such as friends and relatives' houses, doctor's or banks. Of course, the main attraction in Chawton is the Jane Austen House Museum.

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Life of Charles Dickens Birthplace Museum Portsmouth

Charles Dickens was born in an unassuming part of Portsmouth in 1812. His family only stayed in the city for the first five years of his life, but his universal popularity has meant that the house where he was born has been converted into a museum. The interior has been decorated to reflect the Regency style that would have been popular at the time the Dickens family lived here and there is a range of furniture and personal belongings of the family and Charles Dickens himself as well as a range of Dickens' memorabilia such as illustrations of his characters.

Portsmouth is the obvious place to start a Charles Dickens trail but it is Kent where the majority of the museums and places he lived or used in his books exist. Check out the link right to the Kent Charles Dickens Trail.

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Portsmouth City Museum - Sherlock Holmes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Housed within Portsmouth City Museum is the Arthur Conan Doyle Collection. A permanent exhibition looks at the creation of Sherlock Holmes and Arthur Conan Doyle's life through a huge array of memorabilia collected by the world's leading expert on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Richard Lancelyn Green. He bequeathed his collection, that he started at the age of five, to the city of Portsmouth. It comprises of 16,000 items including books, documents and objects connected to Holmes and the life of the author brings both their stories to life. An audio message from the exhibition's patron, Stephen Fry, introduces the exhibition and particular items from the collection are highlighted on a monthly basis.

Conan Doyle lived in Portsmouth from 1882 and became a regular figure in the town's events including local sports teams and the Portsmouth Literary and Scientific Society. Although he left in 1890 he continued his association with Portsmouth by donating money to set up the football club and the spiritualist church. He also bought a property in the town and continued to visit periodically.

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Freshwater Bay Tourist Information Alfred Lord Tennyson

Follow the River Yar south from Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight and you'll come to Freshwater. It's a large village with a good choice of shops. Continue south and you'll come to the perfectly arched Freshwater Bay.

Freshwater Bay is a cove fringed by a long sandy south-facing beach. There's car parking alongside the beach and tea rooms and toilets nearby.

The Downs above Freshwater Bay are named after one of the island's most famous residents, Alfred Lord Tennyson. He used to live in Farringford which is now run as a hotel. Tennyson and his wife spent many years at Freshwater, particularly in the winter. The Tennyson family donated land to have St Agnes Church built nearby. It still stands today and is the only thatched church on the island. During the forty years that Tennyson spent in Freshwater many famous guests were invited to stay including artists Edward Lear and Sir John Everett Millais, Lewis Carroll, photographer Julia Margaret Cameron, Garibaldi, Charles Darwin, George Frederick Watts, Bishop Wilberforce and William Holman Hunt.

You can pick up the Tennyson walking Trail from Freshwater Bay. The route takes you up onto the hills above the bay, heading west to the Tennyson Monument and then to the west coast to The Needles.

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