Skip to main content
🖼️

Centenary exhibition detailing the building of Sandham Memorial Chapel .

About This Event

Sandham is best known for the 19 paintings created by Sir Stanley Spencer following the end of the First World War., but what of the building and the architecture. Visitors often ask whether the paintings were designed for the building, or the building for the paintings - neither is correct as the building and paintings are inextricably linked. This exhibition seeks to explore the perhaps overlooked importance of the building, being both the Chapel and the adjoining Almshouses and the journey from idea to realisation. it will look at the complex and sometime fraught interplay between Spencer, the Behrend's and the architects where sometimes the artistic demands of Spencer conflicted with the practicalities advanced by the architect and or the financial resources of the Behrend's. Additionally, of course all of this has to be viewed through the lens of early post war climate placing unique sensitivities on the project.

Similar Events in Reading

View all →

More at Sandham Memorial Chapel

View all →

Frequently asked questions

Centenary exhibition detailing the building of Sandham Memorial Chapel . takes place on Wednesday, 29 July 2026 at 12:00. The event runs until Sunday, 8 November 2026.

Centenary exhibition detailing the building of Sandham Memorial Chapel . is held at Sandham Memorial Chapel in Reading (Harts Lane, Burghclere, near Newbury, Hampshire).

Tickets for Centenary exhibition detailing the building of Sandham Memorial Chapel . can be booked via nationaltrust.org.uk using the "Check Tickets & Live Prices" button on this page, which opens the official booking site in a new tab.

Staying overnight?

Hotels within walking distance of Sandham Memorial Chapel.

Searching near Harts Lane, Burghclere, near Newbury, Hampshire
Check-in: Wednesday, 29 July 2026
Find hotels near this venuevia Booking.com →

Ad · Booking.com affiliate link