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The Beginning

The National Arts Society network which now has its headquarters in London, began in Buckinghamshire 60 years ago. It was founded by Patricia Fay, a very determined lady who wanted to provide opportunities for women, typically housewives, to learn about and to appreciate the arts.

The Chiltern Antiques Group was a runaway success leading to the establishment of a London headquarters with other arts groups. Thus began NADFAS.  In turn, new societies were set up. The Beaconsfield Decorative and Fine Arts Society was established 40 years ago. It was set up by a steering group who were members of the highly successful society branch at Gerrards Cross.

The Founders were Pam Leonard, who became the first Chair; Mary Caine who became the second Chair and Deborah Bowsher who became the third Chair.

The group met in the Masonic Centre in Beaconsfield Old Town. There was great excitement and the society immediately became a great success.

NADFAS rebranded in 2017 and became The Arts Society. BDFAS also rebranded, becoming The Arts Society Beaconsfield.

Past Chairs

Date            Beaconsfield Decorative and Fine Arts Society
1986-87      Steering Committee
1987-88      Pam Leonard
1988-89      Mary Caine
1990-91      Deborah Bowsher
1993-94      Margaret Hanscombe
1995-96      Sally Wiltshire
1996-98      Margaret Lykiardopoulos
1998-2000  Dorothy Crouch
2000-02      Elizabeth Hill
2002-04      Lilian Fleming
2004-06     Madeleine May
2006-08     Peter Vermeylen
2008-10     Sue Cooper
2010-12     Sue Gilbert
2012-14     Graham Davison
2014 -16    Margaret Skinner

Date         The Arts Society Beaconsfield
2016-18     Brian Letchford
2018-20     James Astbury
2020-22     David Jackson
2022-25     Christopher Webber
2025-26     Ruth Goddard

The activities available

The range of activities available is quite incredible. There are the ten lectures each year which are delivered by accredited Arts Society lecturers. These are always fascinating and there is always something new to learn as well as a reminder of things forgotten!

The Study Days are a treat: three linked lectures and an amazing lunch! This is a great opportunity for an in-depth study of a subject.

There are day visits which can often be a double-stop destination. We are chauffeured by coach which is a treat.

There are also trips away which can take us to different countries to view the arts and cultures of different lands.

The days out and foreign visits give us time to really get to know one another and here there is time for friendships to blossom.

The Committee

Everyone who serves on the Committee is absolutely amazing. We are all volunteers and we are all choosing to try and make TASB a happy place where people can come together to learn, to be with other like-minded people and to make new friends.

We are of course, bound by our articles, we need to keep everyone safe and spend your money wisely and through discussion and hard work we achieve that very well. Each person on the Committee has their own responsibilities and we pool our knowledge and expertise.

Vision and on-going community support

We are an Arts Society: in leading TASB into the future, it is important to take our members with us. We listen to your comments and we try to incorporate your requests into our remit of celebrating the Arts in their widest context. We also strive to attract new members so that out society continues to thrive.

We are committed to giving back to the community. We support a wide range of people beyond our Society. We have an ongoing commitment to provide support to local schools. We have been and continue to be successful in reaching many local children, mostly by providing the funds to pay for artists and materials and enabling the children to benefit from new artistic experiences beyond their usual curriculum.

We have an ongoing commitment to Koestler who support prisoners through the medium of art. We have funded a local prison art competition, where young offenders benefit from teaching and learning through artistic expression. We have seen the quality of the art work produced and we have  listened to discover how art has made a positive difference to the lives of these youngsters.

We have also reached out to support active art classes to our senior members of society. These practical art sessions have brought great joy.

We continue to look for ways to support our community through the arts so if you have any ideas we would love to hear from you.

 

The Beginning

The National Arts Society network which now has its headquarters in London, began in Buckinghamshire 60 years ago. It was founded by Patricia Fay, a very determined lady who wanted to provide opportunities for women, typically housewives, to learn about and to appreciate the arts.

The Chiltern Antiques Group was a runaway success leading to the establishment of a London headquarters with other arts groups. Thus began NADFAS.  In turn, new societies were set up. The Beaconsfield Decorative and Fine Arts Society was established 40 years ago. It was set up by a steering group who were members of the highly successful society branch at Gerrards Cross.

The Founders were Pam Leonard, who became the first Chair; Mary Caine who became the second Chair and Deborah Bowsher who became the third Chair.

The group met in the Masonic Centre in Beaconsfield Old Town. There was great excitement and the society immediately became a great success.

NADFAS rebranded in 2017 and became The Arts Society. BDFAS also rebranded, becoming The Arts Society Beaconsfield.

Past Chairs

Date            Beaconsfield Decorative and Fine Arts Society
1986-87      Steering Committee
1987-88      Pam Leonard
1988-89      Mary Caine
1990-91      Deborah Bowsher
1993-94      Margaret Hanscombe
1995-96      Sally Wiltshire
1996-98      Margaret Lykiardopoulos
1998-2000  Dorothy Crouch
2000-02      Elizabeth Hill
2002-04      Lilian Fleming
2004-06     Madeleine May
2006-08     Peter Vermeylen
2008-10     Sue Cooper
2010-12     Sue Gilbert
2012-14     Graham Davison
2014 -16    Margaret Skinner

Date         The Arts Society Beaconsfield
2016-18     Brian Letchford
2018-20     James Astbury
2020-22     David Jackson
2022-25     Christopher Webber
2025-26     Ruth Goddard

The activities available

The range of activities available is quite incredible. There are the ten lectures each year which are delivered by accredited Arts Society lecturers. These are always fascinating and there is always something new to learn as well as a reminder of things forgotten!

The Study Days are a treat: three linked lectures and an amazing lunch! This is a great opportunity for an in-depth study of a subject.

There are day visits which can often be a double-stop destination. We are chauffeured by coach which is a treat.

There are also trips away which can take us to different countries to view the arts and cultures of different lands.

The days out and foreign visits give us time to really get to know one another and here there is time for friendships to blossom.

The Committee

Everyone who serves on the Committee is absolutely amazing. We are all volunteers and we are all choosing to try and make TASB a happy place where people can come together to learn, to be with other like-minded people and to make new friends.

We are of course, bound by our articles, we need to keep everyone safe and spend your money wisely and through discussion and hard work we achieve that very well. Each person on the Committee has their own responsibilities and we pool our knowledge and expertise.

Vision and on-going community support

We are an Arts Society: in leading TASB into the future, it is important to take our members with us. We listen to your comments and we try to incorporate your requests into our remit of celebrating the Arts in their widest context. We also strive to attract new members so that out society continues to thrive.

We are committed to giving back to the community. We support a wide range of people beyond our Society. We have an ongoing commitment to provide support to local schools. We have been and continue to be successful in reaching many local children, mostly by providing the funds to pay for artists and materials and enabling the children to benefit from new artistic experiences beyond their usual curriculum.

We have an ongoing commitment to Koestler who support prisoners through the medium of art. We have funded a local prison art competition, where young offenders benefit from teaching and learning through artistic expression. We have seen the quality of the art work produced and we have  listened to discover how art has made a positive difference to the lives of these youngsters.

We have also reached out to support active art classes to our senior members of society. These practical art sessions have brought great joy.

We continue to look for ways to support our community through the arts so if you have any ideas we would love to hear from you.