A Golden Weekend

The weekend was a notable one at Milton Mausoleum. Together with some redundant churches nationally, the Mausoleum has been in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust (CCT).  This year the CCT were celebrating their 50th anniversary.  The Friends of Milton Mausoleum Committee were one of the volunteer groups asked by CCT to hold a Celebration event to mark this anniversary.

Highly Strung

A capacity audience were treated to an evening of classical and popular music performed by a very professional female quartet named Highly Strung.  Supporting the quartet were two delightful young ladies, The Williams Sisters, with a talented performance of solos and duets.  At the interval, on the North Lawn, a group of young people waited on the guests providing them with canapes, fruit sticks and glasses of Prosecco.

The concert continued with more classic and modern music and at one point the setting sun came through the windows and gave a golden glow to the interior.  Peter Aires, CEO of the Churches Conservation Trust thanked the audience for their support stating that it was visitors to events such as those provided at the Mausoleum, which ensured that the buildings continued to be used and brought to life.

Peter Aiers addresses the audience

After their finale the musicians and singers were given a standing ovation.  A generous raffle completed the evening’s entertainment.

Wonderful raffle prizes

The weekend’s celebrations continued on Sunday afternoon with a Midsummer Tea taking place on the North Lawn of the Mausoleum. The event began with a celebratory glass of Prosecco and the guests were served with cakes and refreshments followed by strawberries and ice cream.

A potted history of the 4th Duke of Newcastle and his wife Lady Georgiana was given by Julie; and music was played by flautist Stephanie to the delight of everyone. There was a selection of raffle prizes and some beautiful floral arrangements to be won.

The rain kept away to make this weekend a truly memorable one.  The committee would like to thank everyone who helped over the weekend and generously supported our events.

New Open Season

Another open season has arrived and we are delighted to remind you that we will be open on Sunday afternoons from May 5th until 29th September, 2-4 pm.

The AGM is on Sunday 2nd at 2pm. Please come along and make your voice heard as we take the Friends group into its 5th year. That also means subscriptions are due! These remain at £5 per individual and £8 for joint/family membership.

Our most significant event this year is our summer concert “On Golden Hill” – music ranging from light classical through songs from stage and screen to rock and pop – played by the string quartet “Highly Strung”. Google them and listen to their amazing performances! A young duo – “The Williams Sisters” will provide vocals too. Tickets are selling well for this “Black Tie” event (£15) and you know what a treat our summer concerts are!! Email us at milton.mausoleum@outlook.com

While the building will be beautifully decorated and full of flowers we have decided to have a “Midsummer Tea Party” on Sunday 23rd June, 2-4pm. Tickets are £5, the usual contact details apply!

Success

At the Churches Conservation Trust, National Volunteers Day at the British Library last month, the “Friends of the Mausoleum” were awarded “Volunteer Team of the Year” for their work in getting electricity to the building and their success with community engagement and involvement.

This success is not only due to the team, but to all our Friends and Supporters who do just that – support the work we do, the events we organise and the aims we have.

THANK YOU.

Winter Music at the Mausoleum

Saturday, December 1st was not a cold blue sky day like the ones we have had for our previous Winter Music events at the Mausoleum. However spirits were not dampened by the drizzle and our Friends and Supporters turned out in force to launch the Christmas season with mince pies, mulled wine and music!

Once again the building was glowing with candlelight – reflected from the baubles on the Christmas tree,shining from the lanterns in the beautifully decorated windows and from the lamps scattered around.

Nick Parkes’ medieval bagpipes and cow-horns once again took us back hundreds of years to the musical origins of many of our well known carols and young flautist Stephanie Leather excelled delivering a very poignant piece.

The audience were treated to a“journey through December” in song by the Wales Singers (members of the Wales Theatre Group) with seasonal favourites such as “It’s the most wonderful time of the year” and a lively “Jingle Bells” – to the accompaniment of the rattling of keys!

Not to be left out, the programme was interspersed with carol singing for all and a finale of an energetic and truly participatory “12 Days of Christmas”. Everyone left with a smile on their face and joy in their hearts and saying “See you next year!”

That will be Saturday 7th December!

Thank you to all who worked so hard to make the 4th Winter Music so successful, and to all our generous supporters.

Welcome

Welcome to the new website of the Friends of Milton Mausoleum.

Over the next few months, we’ll add more information about the history of the building and tell the stories of the people involved.

The Mausoleum is closed for the winter at the moment and we are already looking forward to next May when we will open again on Sunday afternoons from 2pm to 4pm.

We will also be holding a number of events through the year and you can find details here.