Mariana Spater has been appointed the new Chair of Fulham Palace Trust!

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Mariana Spater as Chair of Fulham Palace Trust following the retirement of Tim Ingram on 11 September 2017.

Mariana Spater will assume the role of Chair of Fulham Palace Trust in September.

Mariana is a Chartered Accountant who, until recently, was Managing Director of Fountain Television Ltd, which was home to shows such as “The X Factor”.  She has served as Chair and Board member for a number of charities and not-for-profit organisations over many years, including Chair of the Royal Surgical Aid Society from 2010 to 2014. Mariana is currently Chair of the M&S Energy Society and on the Board of Wey Valley Solar, both of which seek to utilise solar power for the benefit of stakeholders and local communities.

Mariana said “I am delighted and honoured to have been appointed Chair and welcome the exciting opportunity to be part of the next phase in the long and rich history of the Palace.  I am particularly grateful to Tim for his hard work, dedication and enthusiasm which have contributed so much to the opportunities that lie ahead, and I am looking forward to working with Sian Harrington, her team and the rest of the Board”.

As the inaugural Chair of Fulham Palace Trust, retiring Chair Tim Ingram has led the organisation for six years, from its inception in April 2011 through to the Trust’s recent successful £1.88 million bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund in support of a £3.8 million, three year restoration project.

Tim said “Fulham Palace is a truly wonderful place and so very rich in history.  It has been a great privilege and pleasure to have been Chairman since the creation of Fulham Palace Trust in April 2011.  I am hugely grateful to the Chief Executive, staff and volunteers, trustees and all the very many supporters who make Fulham Palace the great place that it is, and who have made my role such a pleasure.  I am delighted that Mariana is succeeding me as Chair and that the Trust will therefore be in such good hands.  I am also delighted to report that the fundraising for our £3.8 million restoration project is progressing very well with nearly 95% raised, and I am so very grateful to all of our supporters for their great generosity.  I have been asked to stay as Chairman of the Campaign Board for a little while beyond September to complete the fundraising campaign, and I will be pleased to do this."

Last month The Rt Hon. The Lord Fowler (left) presented retiring Chair Tim Ingram (right) with the Bishop Compton’s Medal for his outstanding contribution to the ‘Discovering the Bishop of London’s Palace at Fulham’ restoration project.

We've launched our public campaign!

This month we launched our public campaign to raise the remaining match-funding needed for our restoration project.  After securing the £1.88 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) in December, and with 90% of the funds in place, we are now appealing to local residents to support the project and help close the £370,000 fundraising gap.

Hopefully you have seen the posters and banners around the Palace and Bishop’s Park, posts on our social media channels and maybe even some of the press coverage we’ve received! You can learn more about the project and ways to get involved by visiting our main website

Beth Bishop
Marketing Officer

Restoration Project News!

We are thrilled to announce that Fulham Palace Trust has received a confirmed grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) of £1,880,000 for the ‘Discovering the Bishop of London’s Palace at Fulham’ project.

Building upon the restoration work that was started at the Palace over 10 years ago, this major project will bring back to life and provide greater public access to the Tudor Quadrangle, Great Hall and other historic rooms and enhance the botanical gardens. 

This is the news we have all been waiting for, and we are absolutely delighted to share this result with you. Thank you for helping us to achieve this major grant! Providing we can raise the remaining £790,000, the 'Discovering the Bishop of London's Palace at Fulham' project will go ahead as planned. 

To find out more about the project and how to get involved, click here.

Remembering the Somme

On Friday morning thousands of people throughout the UK were surprised by the ghostly sight of World War One soldiers, as they made their morning commute.

The soldiers made for an eerie sight. Sometimes seen waiting, sometimes walking. Often caught through the corner of the eye before vanishing. If approached by members of the public, the soldiers simply handed out a card with the name of a soldier they were representing.

I was proud to be among 1400 men taking part in what was a living memorial to all who fought and died in that dreadful conflict. We Are Here was named for the song sung by soldiers on their ways to the trenches, and was a piece of artwork created by Jeremy Deller and the Royal National Theatre.

I was representing Lance Corporal William Dudley Bezer, a volunteer recruit of the London regiment to which Bishop of London Winnington-Ingram was chaplain. A South Londoner, William was just 31 years old and had been married for less than a year to his wife Agnes when he died on the first day of the Somme. A story repeated tens of thousands of times over on that first fateful day.

My day took in Waterloo, Liverpool Street, Fenchurch Street, London Bridge, The Tower of London and even Basildon as we weaved our way through alleys and streets, before a finale to surprised shoppers at Stratford. It was a memorable day for many reasons, not least the emotional response from members of the public.

I hope it was a fitting tribute to the courage and stoicism of the many who gave their lives for the peace we now take for granted.

Steve Lee

FOLD Festival Review

On Saturday I took advantage of the volunteer offer for tickets to Nile Rodger's inaugural FOLD Festival at Fulham Palace. This was quite a coup for the Palace. For those of you who haven't heard of the legendary musician/producer and his band Chic, you've undoubtedly heard his music. He's worked with a stellar cast of artists such as Luther Vandross and Mick Jagger. He's written songs like Le Freak, Good Times, We Are Family, and produced album's for artists like Duran Duran and David Bowie. One of his three sets of the evening was a tribute to Bowie. Rodgers sang Let's Dance, and we did.

The Palace Green made for one of the most intimate festival experiences I've ever had. With such a bucolic setting, the general mood of the evening among the audience was laid back. Staff were friendly and professional. I was initially worried by the festival being cashless. I'm a self-confessed luddite. Guests had to pre-load a card with cash to pay for drinks and food. However after briefly queuing to put money on the card, I found it made the rest of the evening run much smoother. Queues for food and drinks was made much quicker. At the end of the evening it took barely a minute to have my remaining money returned.

Headlining the night was the artist Beck purveyor of folk funk Americana. You can tell I'm struggling to pigeon hole him as a performer. His music can be quite melancholy and whimsical. However he was determined to make the evening as upbeat as possible. Out went songs from his heart breaking (and my favourite album) Sea Change and the night was instead rounded off with hits like Loser and S*x Laws. 

We had so much fun that we sincerely hope there are many more concerts at the Palace. If you saw any of the acts at FOLD 2016 please feel free to comment below.

Steve Lee

Vote for us!

Voting is open for the Connect! Competition.  

Fulham Palace has been shortlisted to host a unique event for Museums at Night in October.
Now we need your help. The venue with the most votes wins. Get all your work contacts, friends, families, neighbours…the man down the pub to vote for us too! You can only vote once from an email address, if you have more than one email use them all to vote!

Voting closes on Sat 14 May.

http://museumsatnight.org.uk/aowen-jin/#.VyMxv2H2YdX

If we win –

Artist Aowen Jin will be creating for us -

· Paintings inspired by our history that can only be viewed in darkened rooms with the use of UV torches.

· A temporary 3D installation that can also be explored with UV torches.

· Choreographed performances which challenge modern perception of beauty and aesthetics.

Aowen wrote this to inspire museums and galleries:

“Imagine a gallery that’s filled with magical figurative stories, like the Sistine Chapel, but that can only be seen using UV torches. As you move the torch around the museum in the dark, all of the paintings on the wall come to life, and they appear and disappear as your beam of light moves from one image to another. The paintings are inspired by the history and collections of the museum itself, reflected through the eyes of the viewers. I am also interested in using balloons to shape the space, painted with UV ink, which can then create a temporary 3D installation that can be explored with UV torches too."

This will be a new body of collaborative work that is not only created by the artist, but also invites the local community to take part and imprint their sensitivity of the museum onto the space they love. In a grand finale, Jin will choreograph performances which challenge modern perception of beauty and aesthetics. During the event, artist Aowen Jin will share her experiences through talks and offer a workshop in collaboration with local people to create art together for the project.

This would be an amazing opportunity for Fulham Palace.
So please vote now!

Animated Tudor Stories - Made by Bronze Arts Award Students at Fulham Palace

Uploaded by RezAnimates on 2015-11-21.

Please do take a look at the Animation produced by our Bronze Arts Award Students back in September. Made in just a week!