Val Bott To Give This Year's Bedford Park Society Annual Lecture
Will discuss domestic life in Victorian and Edwardian houses on the estate
The hall of artist Edmund Blair Leighton's home in 7 Priory Road (now 14 Priory Avenue) 1913. Reginald Haine
September 1, 2026
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Val Bott To Give This Year’s Bedford Park Society Annual Lecture
Will discuss domestic life in Victorian and Edwardian houses on the estate
The Bedford Park Society’s annual lecture returns on Thursday 24 September with an exploration of domestic life in the early garden suburb.
Under the title Home Sweet Home in Bedford Park, curator and historian Val Bott will guide audiences through the interiors of Victorian and Edwardian houses in the estate, drawing on a revealing collection of surviving photographs, prints and contemporary descriptions. Some of these sources have only recently come to light, offering fresh insight into how the first residents furnished their homes and expressed their tastes.
Val Bott’s lecture will examine what lay behind the choices that shaped Bedford Park’s interiors from its earliest years. She considers the elements installed by builders, the extent to which newcomers brought familiar possessions from previous homes, and whether they embraced the Aesthetic Movement or Arts & Crafts pieces that complemented the estate’s distinctive “Queen Anne” architecture.
Her talk also explores the influence of the early Bedford Park community’s fondness for the past, as well as the role of skilled craftspeople working nearby. A key question running through the evening is where residents sourced their furniture, textiles and accessories, and how these decisions reflected the values of a pioneering suburban development.
Val Bott brings deep expertise to the subject. A professional curator and an enthusiastic historian of Brentford and Chiswick, she was awarded an MBE for her work overseeing the refurbishment of Hogarth’s House between 2009 and 2011. She edits the Brentford & Chiswick Local History Journal and runs the garden history website nurserygardeners.com, making her one of the area’s most respected interpreters of local heritage.
Dining room of Artist and designer George Haité at Ormsby Lodge, c1900
The lecture takes place at ArtsEd Schools on Bath Road, with the bar opening at 7pm and the talk beginning at 8pm. Tickets cost £15 and can be purchased online via TicketSource or collected in person from Postmark on Turnham Green Terrace.
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