Bexhill Gardens and Allotments Society

For Bexhill and District Gardens and Allotments Society members the ancient palace. dating back to the reign of William and Mary, provided a wealth of historical interest on Saturday.

The coach party learned how the monarchs bought the former Nottingham House in what was then the quiet village of Kensington from the Earl of Nottingham in 1689 for 20,000 because of the fresh air there.

The King died there in 1702 following a riding accident at Hampton Court.

The visitors saw the state rooms created by artist William Kent for George I in 1722.

They saw an exhibition of the dresses worn on state occasions by the Princess of Wales and an exhibition, packed with Fifties nostalgia, devoted to the ending in 1958 of the ancient ceremony by which debutantes were presented at court.

For the Gardens and Allotments Society members a perfect Autumn day provided the ideal opportunity to enjoy the grounds, with their sunken garden and Orangery together with vistas of the adjoining Kensington Gardens and Round Pond.

Trevor, the Rambler coach driver, deftly negotiated London's traffic to give the party ample opportunity after lunch to enjoy a very different look at history.

The Geffrye Musuem in Shoreditch is the only museum in the country to specialise in the furniture and interiors of the urban middle classes.

The beautiful former 18th Century almshouses of the Ironmongers' Company take the visitor on a walk through via via the homes of merchants and traders.

From 17th Century oak furniture and paneling, past the refinement and splendour of the Georgian period, Victorian high-style leads on to 20th Century modernity with a 'Thirties flat, a "contemporary" mid-century room and late-century converted warehouse.

The museum's herb garden rounded-off a near-perfect day, the bonus to which was the spectacular sun-set and country views afforded off the A21 on the homeward journey.

It had been yet another meticulously-planned and highly enjoyable day out organised by association chairman Dick Lancaster.