Founded in 1952

How do I sell the next National Exhibition?

Being typical, I should offer you an invitation to a marriage. Yes, St Albans and Harrow Groups are joining together in wholly acrimony to organise and staff the National and you are all welcome.

Or, should I entice and intrigue you with talk of a ‘Wicked Lady’ who lived at Markyate and took up highway robbery?

Better still, as you are interested in marquetry, come along to see 30 exhibits of Alan Townsend’s work under one roof, which will include seven Rose Bowl winners. Irresistible!

Markyate Cell
Taken from an old Hand Coloured Print

Also, in addition to the usual competition exhibits, we are displaying the  Gladys Walker mural of London through the ages. Scroll down this page for a small reproduction of the London Mural.

The venue at Markyate Village Halls is so accessible being a few minutes off junction 9 of the M1 Motorway and the facilities offered are numerous: - Free car parking, refreshments and the lighting in the hall itself is ideal for showing marquetry at its best.

Markyate has pubs and other food outlets. Markyate Cell is a manor house built on the ruins of a Benedictine priory established in the 11th century by a lady called Christina, who reputedly ran away from her marriage and hid in a hermit's closet for four years, (hence the cell??).

It was the home of the notorious highway robber known as "The Wicked Lady", who was actually Lady Kathleen Ferrers. Seen on a misty morning from St John the Baptist's Church in Markyate across the valley of the River Ver.

In the 1945 film of the same name, Margaret Lockwood (seen below) played the lead.

Margaret Lockwood
Star of the Film: The Wicked Lady
(My own signed fan photo)

Markyate is a pleasant Village peppered with 16th Century buildings in the county of Hertfordshire, home to nearly three thousand people, and was once a Coaching Stop on the main London to Midlands route in centuries past.

The market town of Dunstable is close by and is a must if shopping is desired, or maybe the Stockwood Craft Museum is more for you, with displays on rural life and a huge collection of horse drawn vehicles.

Perhaps you may like to link with the past with a visit to the Roman Theatre at St Albans, or there is always the impressive and unforgettable site of the Verulamium Museum where the fabulous reconstructed Roman rooms give an insight into what life was really like in those days of yore. Add intricate Mosaics, jewellery and other treasures into the mix and it makes for a fascinating experience, time it right and see the impressive Roman legions in full regalia.

Verulamium Museum

Animal lovers will be heading for Whipsnade Wild Animal Park as it’s home to two and a half thousand animals. For those of you who are steam enthusiasts, while you're visiting Whipsnade, why not consider climbing aboard for a nostalgic trip on a Steam Locomotive, or enjoy the Discovery Centre, or take a look at Whipsnade Tree Cathedral where trees are planted in the form of a Medieval Cathedral amongst grass avenues and wild flowers.

For our friends throughout the World this exhibition will be worth the visit.

Ivan Beer,
Publicity Officer,
2011 National Marquetry Exhibition.

The London Mural