Events

Exclusive private visit to The Royal Holloway College, Egham

28th April 2026, 11:00 - 14:30

An exclusive private visit to the Royal Holloway College, Egham

Tuesday 28th April 2026

11am – 2.30pm

After 2 years in the planning, Mark and Virginia Turner, long standing members of the Society have worked their magic and have organised a private visit the Royal Holloway College in Egham.

We are delighted to offer Surrey Hills members and guests the opportunity to have a guided tour followed by lunch and then a talk about the Picture Gallery with free time to browse afterwards.

The College was founded by Thomas Holloway (1799-1894). He was an epic Victorian entrepreneur and philanthropist, his wife Jane a passionate believer in women’s education.

The College was officially opened by Queen Victoria in 1886 as an all women’s college before it became a member of the University of London, the first male undergraduates being admitted in 1965.

The College campus is dominated by the Founders Building, a magnificent Grade 1 listed red brick building modelled on the Chateau de Chambord in the Loire Valley with its distinct French Renaissance architecture. The architect, W H Crosland, was sent to study the chateau for two years before beginning to produce his designs for the building which took eight years to complete.

The Founders Building contains a double quadrangle, 550 feet long and 376 feet wide (larger than Hampton Court) and striking North and South Towers (or tourelles) and is adorned with numerous projecting turrets making it almost impossible to describe.

It also contains the Founders Reading Room and Dining Hall and a Chapel with a magnificent painted Renaissance roof.

In the North Quard there is a gigantic statue of Queen Victoria and in the South Quad a statue of Mr and Mrs Holloway.

Our visit will begin with a comprehensive guided tour of the Founders Building and will be followed by lunch in the Picture Gallery on the campus.

We will be offered a selection of delicious sandwiches (meat/fish/vegetarian), followed by a fruit platter and served with tea, coffee and mineral water.  Please list any dietary requirements in the comments box when booking your ticket.

There will then be a talk about the paintings in the gallery which contains a world class collection of Victorian paintings and drawings including works by Pre- Raphaelite artists (Millais and Burne-Jones) and works by Augustus John and Graham Sutherland.

As we have the college booked for this private tour, there will be time for members to view the gallery at their leisure after the talk.

The cost, to include lunch, will be £35.00 for members and £45.00 for non-members.

The event in not suitable for children or dogs.

We will give more precise joining instructions nearer the time of the event.

The deadline for booking is 15 April 2026 and early booking is strongly recommended in order to visit what Sir Nicholas Pevsner called “the most ebullient Victorian building in the Home Counties which represents the summit of High Victorian Design”..

Any enquiries please contact us at info@surreyhillssociety.org .

By continuing and making a booking you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to the Terms & Conditions specified in our Cancellation Policy and Responsibility Statement, both of which can be viewed by clicking here