Page 7 - A4 Journal 2018 R16

The Master’s Year

The Master’s Weekend

The Master’s Weekend 2018 was held in the beautiful City of Bath. The Master,
Tony Ward, together with the Mistress, Jan Ward, organised a most splendid
and varied programme of events, many of which were held in parallel to
accommodate the differing demands of the guests, and for ease of reference
these were titled the Mens’ programme – hosted by Tony, and the Ladies’
programme, which was hosted by Jan, although there was no gender
compulsion involved and several men enjoyed the “Ladies” events as well as
several ladies enjoying the “Mens” events. This was a new innovation and
certainly seemed to go down well with the 37 guests that had joined the Master
and Mistress on their weekend.

We all made our way to Bath to arrive in time for Friday afternoon and the “Men” joined with Tony visiting Bath Abbey –
where the adventurous (and fit) amongst the party took the tower tour (lots of winding steps to the ringing room and then
on to the roof of the Abbey). The less adventurous took a ground floor guided tour. Jan took her party to visit the Holburne
Museum. We then joined up at 5pm for the civic reception, by the Mayor of Bath, Councillor Ian Gilchrist, in the Mayor’s
Parlour at the Guildhall. The Master presented the Mayor with the Company Plaque and we were told about the City of Bath.
We were then shown the Council Chamber. Following the reception we returned to the hotel to ready ourselves for the
inevitable food and drink onslaught, which started at the Martini Italian Restaurant, who did us proud. After this we walked
slowly back to the Francis Hotel. And so to bed!

On Saturday morning, following the hotel breakfast, we again split into two groups. The
“Men” visited the Museum of the Bath Architecture Group, where they were treated to a
most informative and knowledgeable lecture on the architectural origins of the City of Bath
by Dr Amy Frost, a professor at Bath University and the Chair of the Architecture Group and
on completion were taken on a walking tour of the City by two of the Mayor’s volunteer
guides. They were shown not only the ordered Georgian front aspect of the Royal Crescent
but also the less well ordered rear aspects, including the “hanging loos” which were added
to the structures in Victorian times when plumbing became both desired and available. The
“Ladies” went to the Fashion Museum and then walked to the Royal Crescent Hotel for
Coffee and Cakes – and sumptuous they were too!
The two groups eventually joined up and then people went their separate ways for the
afternoon. Some continued to explore Bath, some did some retail therapy and others went
to a nearby hostelry to partake of some local ale and/or lunch before eventually making
their way back to the Francis Hotel to prepare for the Evening’s Black Tie Dinner.
The Master had managed to arrange for the Black Tie Dinner to be held in the Roman Baths, and the assembled company
was treated not only to some superb canapes at the
champagne reception but also to a most interesting
guided tour of the Baths prior to moving on to the long
gallery overlooking the Roman Bath where we were
served a delicious meal of hot smoked salmon salad,
Canon of Royal Wootton Bassett lamb, Tuile basket with
pineapple and coconut ice cream, all washed down with
Red and White Italian wines and followed by cheese and
biscuits, coffee and port. Both during the reception and
the meal we were splendidly entertained by Jemima
Phillips – a brilliant harpist who had previously played for
the Royal Family. On conclusion we made our way back
to the Hotel . And so to bed!

Sunday morning dawned bright and sunny and several of the Company made their way to Bath Abbey for Sung Eucharist.
We were specially fortunate to be present at one of the last services in the Abbey before the East End was handed over to
restoration contractors for some two or so years, and the Acting Rector (the Revd Stephen Girling) welcomed us by
commenting on the appropriateness of our visit given the forthcoming construction works. The choir and organ were
magnificent and the service was sung to the “Little Organ Mass” by F J Haydn – a truly memorable occasion for those who
rarely have the chance to hear such grand music.

Autumn 2018 | The Journal of the Worshipful Company of Constructors | Page 7