The 4th International Trades Education Symposium: ITES 2011 - Tour for the Trades
London - Lincoln, England May 15-18, 2011

The 2011 International Trades Education Symposium will be held in the Lawn in the Lincoln Cathedral Quarter on Thursday 19th and Friday 20th May 2011. The Lawn, opened in 1820 as the Lincoln Asylum, was the County's first purpose-built hospital for the treatment of the mentally ill. The Asylum was developed largely through the efforts of local physician, the Reverend Doctor Francis Willis. A caring and pioneering hospital, it was famous for removing all use of physical restraint and isolation and developing instead on a sympathetic and rehabilitative environment for its patients. In the mid 1980s, with a change in emphasis towards the care of the mentally ill, the hospital became surplus to health authority requirements and was closed. Lincoln City Council decided to purchase the complex and its eight acres of grounds to establish a new visitor centre. The Lawn was officially opened by H.R.H. The Prince of Wales in November 1990 and today includes excellent conference facilities, caters for civil marriages and receptions, and there is a cafe and shops. Lincoln Cathedral is one of the finest medieval buildings in Europe, which towers above Lincoln, a prominent landmark for miles around. The imposing West Front incorporates the surviving part of the first Romanesque Cathedral dating from 1072. Most of the Cathedral dates from the 13th century when, inspired by the leadership of St Hugh (Bishop from 1186- 1200), the Cathedral was re-built in the new gothic style.

On Saturday 21st May Lincoln will be hosting a major international traditional craft skills event to be held in partnership between Lincoln Cathedral and Lincoln Castle. Lincoln Castle has been secured as a venue for traditional craft demonstrations and this will be held alongside a Tastes of Lincolnshire event in Castle Square; like a Farmers Market selling locally source fresh produce. By Norman times, Lincoln was the third largest city of the realm in prosperity and importance. The city even had its own mint for making coins. In 1068, two years after the Battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror began building Lincoln Castle on a site occupied since Roman times.

In conjunction with the International Trades Education Symposium and 1,000 years of traditional trades event in Lincoln, May 19-21st, PTN is offering a special Tour for the Trades, beginning with a group dinner and lodging in London on the evening of Sunday, May 15th and arriving in Lincoln on May 18th.  The Tour for the Trades will offer a behind the scenes look at English cultural heritage with emphasis on the traditional trades featuring visits to Hampton Court Palace, Stratford upon Avon, Hardwick Estate and more!

Lodging, breakfast and dinner, bus fees and entry fees to historic sites are included in the tour registration fee.  Children (15 and under) may be registered for the tour at a special rate of $500 USD.  NOTE: the listed "guest price" of $500 (USD) refers to children 15 and under only, adult participants must register individually.

Register early as space is limited!

• Tour for the Trades - non-member Early Registration (through April 1st) - $775.00 (USD)
• Tour for the Trades - non-member Registration - $875.00 (USD)
• Tour for the Trades - PTN Member Early Registration (through April 1st) - $725.00 (USD)
• Tour for the Trades - PTN Member Registration - $825.00 (USD)

Note: return transportation to London following the International Trades Education Symposium is not included in the tour price, but arangements may be made to hire a mini bus and driver and split the cost between the number of people wishing to travel back.

Register now for the 4th International Trades Education Symposium, May 19-21nd and the optional "Tour For the Trades", May 15-18th.

Lodging is included in the tour beginning Sunday and registrants will receive a tour packet with information about the Sunday night lodging and self guided tour suggestions for the London area.

Sunday, May 15th - Arrive in London

Spend the day in London touring on your own and gather in the evening for a group dinner in and around Kingston upon Thames/Twickenham where we will spend the evening at the Premier Inn London Kew.

Monday, May 16th - visit Hampton Court Palace and travel to Stratford upon Avon for the evening.

Depart accommodation & board coach at 09:30am and travel to Hampton Court Palace departing at 4:00pm. Travel to Banbury (or Stratford upon Avon) - overnight

The Knights Hospitaller had operated a farm on the site of Hampton Court Palace beginning in 1236. In 1505, the Lord Chamberlain, Sir Giles Daubeney, leased the property and used it to entertain Henry VII. Thomas Wolsey, then Archbishop of York and Chief Minister to the King, took over the lease in 1514 and rebuilt the 14th-century manor house over the next seven years (1515-1521) to form the nucleus of the present palace. The few remaining Tudor sections of Hampton Court, which were later overhauled and rebuilt by Henry VIII, suggest that Wolsey intended it as an ideal Renaissance cardinal's palace in the Italian style. The palace was appropriated Henry VIII, around 1525, although the Cardinal continued to live there until 1529. Henry added the Great Hall - which was the last medieval Great Hall built for the English monarchy.

During the reign of William and Mary, parts of Henry's additions were demolished, a new wing was added (partly under the supervision of Sir Christopher Wren), and the state apartments came into regular use. Half the Tudor palace was replaced in a campaign that lasted from 1689-1694. After the Queen died, William lost interest in the renovations, but it was at Hampton Court in 1702 that he fell from his horse, later dying from his injuries at Kensington Palace. In later reigns, the state rooms were neglected, but under George II and his queen, Caroline, further refurbishment took place, with architects such as William Kent employed to design new furnishings. The Queen's Private Apartments are still open to the public and include her bathroom, bedroom, and private chapel. From the reign of George III in 1760, monarchs tended to favour other London homes, and Hampton Court ceased to be a royal residence. In 1796, restoration work began in the Great Hall. In 1838, Queen Victoria completed the restoration and opened the palace to the public. A major fire in the King's Apartments in 1986 led to a new programme of restoration work that was completed in 1995.

Tuesday, May 17th - Stratford upon Avon (Shakespeare and timber framed buildings) with optional tour of Charlecote Park.

Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town in Warwickshire with a population of about 25,000. It is located on the river Avon (a Welsh word which actually means river) on the banks of which stands the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, formerly the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, which was designed by the English architect, Elisabeth Scott, and completed in 1932 after the earlier destruction of the original building by a fire in 1926. The town, in common with London and Oxford, is probably the most popular tourist destination in England because of its connections with William Shakespeare who was born there in 1564.

William Shakespeare was born in a house on Henley Street in Straford-upon-Avon in 1564. As a boy he attended the Stratford Grammar School, and later married Anne Hathaway, a local woman. He later fled to London to pursue a career as an actor, theatre-owner and playwright. He returned to Stratford in his latter years where he died at the age of 52 and was buried in the Holy Trinity Church. There are many remaining historic buildings associated with William Shakespeare in and around Stratford-upon-Avon. His birthplace on Henley Street is now open to the public, accompanied by an exhibition of his life. New Place is the house where Shakespeare lived until his death in 1616. Although the house no longer exists, the foundations and grounds may be visited accompanied by period furnishings and an exhibition in Nash's House. Anne Hathaway's cottage is another popular attraction, containing some of the furniture that belonged to the Hathaway family. The house of Mary Arden, Shakespeare's mother, may also be visited just outside of Stratford. It is home to a Shakespeare museum and other historic items from the 16th century onwards. Finally, the Holy Trinity Church may also be visited today, containing a monument to William Shakespeare. Stratford is of historic interest in its own right, being home to splendid architecture from across the centuries, and containing some of the most beautiful gardens in Warwickshire.

Charlecote Park is a grand 16th century country house in a deer park on the banks of the River Avon in Wellesbourne south of Warwick, Warwickshire, England. It has been administered by the National Trust since 1946 and is It is a Grade I listed building. The Lucy family, who came to England with William the Conqueror, has owned the land since 1247. Charlecote Park was built in 1558 by Sir Thomas Lucy, and Queen Elizabeth I stayed in the room that is now the drawing room. Although the general outline of the Elizabethan house remains, nowadays it is in fact mostly Victorian. Successive generations of the Lucy family had modified Charlecote Park over the centuries, but in 1823, George Hammond Lucy (High Sheriff of Warwickshire in 1831) inherited the house and set about recreating the house in its original style.

The Great Hall has a barrel-vaulted ceiling made of plaster painted to look like timber and is a fine setting for the splendid collection of family portraits. Other rooms have richly coloured wallpaper, decorated plaster ceilings and wood panelling. There are magnificent pieces of furniture and fine works of art, including a contemporary painting of Queen Elizabeth I. The original two-storey Elizabethan gatehouse that guards the approach to the house remains unaltered. Charlecote Park covers 185 acres, backing on to the Avon. William Shakespeare has been alleged to have poached deer in the park as a young man and been brought before magistrates as a result. The park was landscaped by Capability Brown in about 1760.

Wednesday 18th - Tour Hardwick Hall one of the most significant Elizabethan country houses in England. Travel to Lincoln and spend of the rest of the day at leisure to tour the cathedral, castle and get ready for ITES.

Hardwick Hall is one of the most significant Elizabethan country houses in England. In common with its architect Robert Smythson's other works at both Longleat House and Wollaton Hall, Hardwick Hall is one of the earliest examples of the English interpretation of the Renaissance style of architecture, which came into fashion when it was no longer thought necessary to fortify one's home. Hardwick Hall is situated on a hilltop between Chesterfield and Mansfield, overlooking the Derbyshire countryside. The house was designed for Bess of Hardwick, Countess of Shrewsbury and ancestress of the Dukes of Devonshire, by Robert Smythson in the late 16th century and remained in that family until it was handed over to HM Treasury in lieu of Estate Duty in 1956. The Treasury transferred the house to the National Trust in 1959. As it was a secondary residence of the Dukes of Devonshire, whose main country house was nearby Chatsworth, it was little altered over the centuries and indeed, from the early 19th century, its antique atmosphere was consciously preserved.

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