Dear friends,
We are delighted to present the full details of the 30th annual Vaughan Association colloquium, 24-26 April at the Castle of Brecon Hotel. It is quite a long message, with important information, so please do read through to the end! We very much hope that you will be able to attend the colloquium, and we look forward to welcoming you to Brecon.
You’ll see that we have an excellent line-up of speakers on a range of topics concerning Henry Vaughan, his influences, his friends and contemporaries, and the afterlife of his work in musical settings, and there will be a poetry reading (with music) on Saturday evening by Fiona Owen. In addition, at the end of Saturday afternoon we will hold a special event in memory of the late Jeremy Hooker, founder member of the Vaughan Association and frequent contributor to Scintilla and the colloquium. The weekend will be rounded off as usual by the commemorative Evensong at 3pm on Sunday in Llansantffraed church, for which the address will be given by the critic and pastor, Oliver Peel.
You will also notice from the programme that the AGM before lunch on Sunday will be particularly significant this year. It is considered that the Association should be put on a firmer footing, both legally and financially. Specifically, it is proposed that the existing association should be replaced by a new association, also to be called The Vaughan Association, which, when formed, would seek recognition from HMRC as a charity. The meaning of this change will be more fully explained at the meeting.
However, we will be asking for your consent to shut down the existing association as and when the new association has achieved charitable status and is therefore able to commence operating. It is envisaged that the new association would have a number of new officers whose names will be put forward at the meeting. So please do attend if you possibly can. We would also ask you to consider whether you could contribute to the future running of the new association, particularly as website manager and/or membership secretary.
Please read on for the programme, followed by information about booking your accommodation (if applicable) and registering your attendance.
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The Vaughan Association 30th Annual Colloquium, 24-26 April 2026
The Castle of Brecon Hotel
Friday 24th April
18.30 Dinner
20.00 Evening session (chair, Helen Wilcox)
Geraint Lewis (Cardiff), ‘Henry Vaughan and the Composers’
Saturday 25th April
09.30-12.00 Morning session (chair, Bob Wilcher)
09.30 Gillian Wright (Birmingham), ‘Katherine Philips’s Welsh Letters’
10.30 Tea and coffee
11.00 Oliver Peel (Durham), ‘Order and Disorder in the Poetry of
Herbert and Vaughan’
[Delegates make their own arrangements for lunch; free afternoon]
17.30 A celebration of the life and work of Jeremy Hooker (led by Chris Meredith)
19.00 Dinner
20.30 Poetry reading by Fiona Owen (chair, Hilary Davies)
Sunday 26th April
09.30-12.00 Morning session (chair, Jonathan Nauman)
09.30 Beth Dodd (Salisbury), ‘Black and Beautiful: the lyrical legacy of
the Song of Songs’
10.30 Tea and coffee
11.00 Philip West (Oxford), ‘“Give weight unto my words”: Light and
Heavy in Henry Vaughan’
12.00 Annual meeting of the Vaughan Association
(including a vote on a proposal to replace the existing Vaughan Association with an new association (with the same name) which will seek recognition as a charity: your attendance is very important!)
[Delegates make their own arrangements for lunch]
15.00 Annual Commemoration Evensong for Henry Vaughan at
Llansantffraed church (with address by Oliver Peel)
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There are two parts to your booking for the colloquium: accommodation and attendance. As usual, you are asked to book your own accommodation. Your attendance, on the other hand, is to be registered via the form below with the appropriate payment to the Vaughan Association.
1. Accommodation. You are reminded that you should make your own accommodation arrangements. If you wish to stay in the Castle of Brecon Hotel, 14 rooms have been set aside for our attendees for the Friday and Saturday nights, at the following special rates:
Classic double room: Single occupancy £270.20, Double occupancy £290.20 for two nights’ bed and breakfast
Superior double room: Single occupancy £288.20, Double occupancy £308.20 for two nights’ bed and breakfast
Classic single: £252.20 for two nights’ bed and breakfast
If you wish to stay at the Castle of Brecon Hotel, please book your room(s) by getting in touch with the hotel directly. The number of rooms is limited and they will be allocated on a first come, first served basis – so if you wish to stay in the hotel, you are advised to book yours soon! Our contact at the Castle of Brecon Hotel is Lynsay Carnell and her email is l.carnell@innmail.co.uk.
Other hotels, guest houses, etc. are of course available in Brecon, and anyone attending the colloquium is free to make their own choice of accommodation.
2. Attendance. Please complete the following registration form and return it to the Vaughan Association. Details of how to do this are given at the end of the form.
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Vaughan Association Colloquium, 24-26 April 2026: Registration Form
Name:
Address:
Email address:
Phone number:
Please indicate by ticking clearly which combinations of days and suppers you require, and for how many attendees:
Standard delegate, full attendance (includes all talks, facilities, tea/coffee and two dinners, Friday and Saturday night): £100.00
Concessions, full attendance (students): £85.00
Friday night talks and dinner only: £40.00
Saturday talks and dinner only: £70.00
Friday/Saturday/Sunday talks only (no dinner): Friday night £10 only/two days £30/three days £40.
[NB: Lunches are not included in these prices, to allow delegates to make their own arrangements, either in The Castle of Brecon Hotel or elsewhere.]
Total cost:
Please return this form along with your payment to the Vaughan Association in one of the following ways:
Either – by copying the form into an email and sending it to both afcwilcox@gmail.com and hilarysdavies@gmail.com, if you are paying by bank transfer (to The Vaughan Association, business account number 73729973, sort code 51-61-28; if paying from abroad, IBAN: GB13 NWBK 5161 2873 72 99 73)
Or – by printing out the form and sending it by post (to Allan Wilcox, 21 Highgate, Beverley, East Yorkshire HU17 0DN) with a cheque made payable to The Vaughan Association.
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If you have any queries about the colloquium or your registration, please email us at subscriptions@vaughanassociation.org or contact Hilary Davies (hilarysdavies@gmail.com) who liaises with the hotel on behalf of the Vaughan Association.
Thank you very much! We look forward to seeing you in Brecon.
Best wishes,
Helen Wilcox (on behalf of the Vaughan Association)
