Behind the Secret Door, Stories from the Shelves

From the Family Shelves - a selection of favourite volumes gathered over generations, revealing interests that stretch across continents and centuries. These are the books that lived alongside the family, that travelled, that were treasured, that quietly shaped conversations.

Books of their Time - volumes that reflect the attitudes and humour of earlier generations. From children's animal stories to the history of the Foundling Hospital and collections of cartoons, these works open conversation about how society changes and how books preserve those shifts.

Buildings in their Time - we will explore how architecture has been remembered and imagined: views of St Paul's Cathedral before the Great Fire; lithographs of Gothic treasures such as Lincoln Cathedral and Notre-Dame de Paris; engravings of London's long-vanished gates; the splendour of the Albert Memorial; and elegant plans for gentlemen's houses. Through them, we see how each age recorded its pride and ambition in stone.

Living Things - we will through illustrated works published over the last two hundred years - plants, insects, and extraordinary birds captured in ink and colour. Among them are the remarkable plates of John Gould, whose birds seem ready to lift from the page. These are books that celebrate curiosity about the natural world and the artistry used to record it. 

A Family who Travelled - we will trace journeys abroad: books gathered in Spain, letters sent home, visitors to Aix taking the waters in 1802, and photographic postcards of Rome. Through these pages we glimpse the excitement, curiosity and personal impressions of travel long before the age of instant communication.

Our Royal Family in Contemporary Eyes - we will turn to seventeenth-century accounts of the coronations of Charles II of England and James II of England - richly detailed works that show how monarchy was presented, celebrated and recorded in its own day.

Close to Home - we will explore treasures connected to Weston and Shropshire: Gobelin tapestries, the story of Tong Church and its castle, the Boundary Commissioners' recommendations for Salop in 1888, and records of local life preserved in fabric, furniture and print.