Latest News
8 April 2025
Hello! It's enrolment time...
Everyone is welcome to enrol on our Summer Term courses!
The summer term starts on 28 April and we are enrolling now.There are lots of new courses this term which you can book straight away plus new workshops on Saturdays and during the summer break. There are also spaces on most of our continuing courses! We look forward to welcoming you to the Guildhouse for our wide range of Summer courses. Click on the button below to view the Summer brochure.
8 April 2025
Join us for an Italian Evening!
Saturday 14th June from 7pm at the Claremont Centre
Hot on the heels of our recent Centenary French Wine & Cheese Evening, our next Centenary cultural event is themed on Italy! As well as a delicious Italian buffet meal with wine, there will also be a quiz, live music and a raffle.
There is plenty of room at the Claremont Centre so please bring your friends but tickets will be sold on a strictly first-come-first-served basis, so don't delay. Tickets cost £25 from the office (01788 542467).
Any profits will be in support of the Guildhouse.
4 April 2025
Did you see us at the Clock Towers?
Promoting the Percival Guildhouse
Centre Manager, Sarah Gall, pictured here with Rugby Mayor Simon Ward, was amongst several volunteers who chatted with passers by about the Guildhouse on Friday 28 March. We are passionate about making sure that everyone knows about the wide programme of courses and workshops available at the Guildhouse. If you have enjoyed learning at the Percival Guildhouse, please join in with our mission to le everyone know about our courses!
27 March 2025
Heritage Fund Grant brings our Archive to life
PGH Archive is of National Significance
We are thrilled to report that a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant of over £20,000 will support us to collate, catalogue, digitise and display our extensive records which reveal how the Percival Guildhouse has developed and how it has reflected changes in society locally and nationally since it first opened in 1925. Some time ago the National Archive confirmed that we had material of national significance, but we had neither the means nor the finances to transform our treasure into something useful. Now that is all about to change and we will be able to preserve all we have for posterity and create a searchable historic resource which can be used by schools, local historians and people who are simply curious about the past. Click the image to read the full press release.
24 March 2025
Calling all current students
Re-enrol now for Summer Term!
If you want to continue your current course in the Summer term, you can re-enrol from today. Click the picture to see all the key dates for Summer Enrolment. Prices and course details have been sent to you by email. For new students - the new brochure will be online soon.
12 March 2025
Centenary Events
Why not join us at one of our celebratory events?
Click the image for our full timeline of celebrations - we hope you can join us and have fun at one of our many events to mark this momentous anniversary.
11 March 2025
Help us with our archives
If you can spare some time to help us, please get in touch
The Percival Guildhouse has an amazing history which we are proud to share. We will be exhibiting our fascinating history as part of a Centenary Exhibition in June and need to scan and catalogue our archives to create interesting content to display. If you are interested and have some spare time on a Wednesday and/or Friday morning, please let us know. Full training will be given.
6 March 2025
Centenary Writing Competition!
Enter Now! Closing Date: 2 May 2025
Calling all secondary school pupils in Rugby - we invite you to enter our Centenary Writing Competition. We are looking forward to receiving your competition entries by 2 May 2025. Click the image for all the details you need to enter. Good Luck!
4 March 2025
Celebrate 100 years of lifelong learning at PGH!
This year we are celebrating 100 years of inspiring adults to learn for pleasure.
The Guildhouse in St Matthew’s Street, next to the Art Gallery & Museum, has survived the Great Depression, the Second World War, the Covid-19 pandemic and financial crises, to reach its centenary. We are unique in Warwickshire and one of the few centres of this kind in the country offering an eclectic mix of courses to stimulate curious minds and keep bodies active.
Centenary celebrations include a major show of students’ art at the Art Gallery & Museum in June; a writing competition for secondary schools launching this month; a series of fun events for students including country-themed cultural evenings and a centenary thank-you summer tea party. The actual anniversary – 29th September – will be marked by a special event at Rugby School.
Centenary Committee Chairman, David Dove, said: “We want to put a smile on people’s faces and share this happy moment with our loyal students and supporters and the whole of Rugby. This is a momentous milestone and our thanks go to generations of volunteers who have made it possible.”
Pictured: Guildhouse Centenary Committee Chairman, David Dove and Centre Manager Sarah Gall
3 March 2025
Looking to hire a room for your club or group?
Look no further! We have a range of rooms to book at reasonable prices – check out all the details on our room hire page. One of our long-standing room hire customers has shared their feedback below.
24 February 2025
Try our donation button!
We've teamed up with the Charities Aid Foundation
Thank you to everyone who is already donating the the Percival Guildhouse online using CAF Donate, the Charities Aid Foundation donation platform. You just click, donate and your donation comes to us! You'll find a clickable button on our donations page, and right here as well. Every donation goes towards ensuring the survival of the Guildhouse and we are very grateful for your generosity.
22 January 2025
PGH Newsletter online!
Spring Newsletter
It's cold and wet outside but there's a warm and welcoming atmosphere at the Guildhouse - click the image to catch up with everything that's happening at PGH this spring!
17 January 2025
Did you know you can buy PGH Gift Vouchers?
Share the joy of a PGH course with a loved one this Spring
Buy a gift voucher of any value to give a friend or family member the chance to experience a PGH course or workshop. Just ask in the office and we will sort it out for you.
21 November 2024
Christmas Fair raises over £1,700!
Thank you so much for your generosity
We raised the amazing sum of £1721.44 on the day - you can see the success of our individual stalls in the picture. And with after sales money still coming in, we hope that the funds generated for the Guildhouse from this event will increase to at least £1,800. There are a selection of gifts still available to buy in our foyer so why not come and help us towards our target? Enormous thanks to all our volunteers on the day and to everyone who donated goods to be sold.
22 October 2024
Continuing our Networking Opportunities
PGH is continuing its membership of the Chamber of Commerce!
We believe this is a valuable addition to our current networking and advertising avenues. We can network with other Chamber of Commerce members and, importantly, can promote our programme of courses on the Chamber of Commerce portal which should help us to attract an even wider audience. Increased student numbers will be key to the survival of the Percival Guildhouse long term so we will be making the most of this new way of promoting our courses.
4 October 2024
We've received donations because you shopped online
Thank you for supporting us!
We've just received £19.19 from easyfundraising because you have supported The Percival Guildhouse when you shop online. As you know, it doesn't cost you any extra but, because you support us, the retailers you shop with donate money to The Percival Guildhouse. If you are not already donating as you shop, why not check out our donations page for easy instructions on how to start.
28 June 2024
Plant Sale Sucess!
Thank you for supporting us
We raised over £600 from the sale of plants and our hamper competition. Thanks so much to everyone who donated plants and prizes to the event! In fact, our supporters kept bringing in more plants so that we were able to keep selling well beyond the date the sale was expected to finish - thank you. We are very grateful to everyone who participated in the competition and purchased plants because we couldn't do it without you!
12 June 2024
Anne Lewis Jones 1934 - 2024
Sheila Winterton, PGH Centre Manager 2000 – 2007, remembers Anne Lewis Jones (pictured below)
It is with sadness that we report the passing of one of our Vice Presidents, Anne Lewis Jones. Anne was a staunch supporter of the Guildhouse for many years. She raised her family in Rugby and, in later years, moved to Cornwall to be near to her daughter.
Long standing connection with PGH
One of Anne’s first contacts with the Guildhouse was in the 1950s when she joined a History of Art group attending field trips to places of cultural interest. She became friendly with Neil Aspinall, later Chairman of the Guildhouse, and his wife, Betty. Very soon Anne became an active Executive Committee member and the Social Club Secretary ensuring that the bar was staffed and running efficiently. She represented the Guildhouse at meetings of the Educational Centres Association, a national body promoting lifelong learning.
Honoured with the position of Vice President
Anne was a tutor of history courses including periods ranging from the Normans to 19th century English history. She was also an avid embroiderer and ran workshops to encourage others to get involved with the subject. She was a major contributor to the publication, ‘The Story of the Percival Guildhouse 1925-1988’, and wrote chapters on our Silver and Golden Jubilees and was honoured with the position of Vice President in recognition of her time and energy spent in supporting adult education.
Great affection for PGH
I was fortunate to have visited Anne during the summer of 2023 at her home in Cornwall when, at the age of 88, she remembered the Guildhouse with great affection:
‘The Guildhouse really saved me.’
‘I was interested in everything it had to offer.’
‘It was made to measure’.
10 May 2024
Trustees Needed!
12 September 2023
Rugby's Mayor creates Heritage History
The Mayor of Rugby, Councillor Maggie O’Rourke, created her own piece of history for The Percival Guildhouse when she called in to the adult education centre on Heritage Open Day.
The Guildhouse has welcomed some illustrious guests into its 19th century home during the course of its 98-year existence. However, this often overlooked gem in Rugby’s history, was delighted to be recognised by the Mayor as she toured various venues in the town during the Day.
PGH has a long history
The only independent adult education centre in Rugby, the Guildhouse was created as a tribute to the memory of Dr John Percival, a pioneer in adult education, who had been headmaster at Rugby School from 1887 to 1895. The Old Rugbeians Society had raised the funds and when Bloxam House came up for sale in 1921 they bought it. It had been the home of antiquarian and archaeologist, Matthew Holbeche Bloxam, whose father had been an assistant master at Rugby School. The Guildhouse was formally opened on 29 September 1925 and has been providing arts and crafts classes to generations of adults ever since.
Honoured to welcome the Mayor
Sarah Gall, Centre Manager, who took the Mayor on a tour of the building, said: “We were honoured and delighted to welcome the Mayor to our St Matthew’s Street home. She took great interest in our past but was also excited to hear about all of the wide range of courses and dayschools we offer to students from Rugby and the surrounding districts today.”
And the Mayor commented: “Heritage Open Day shone a light for me on all the treasures we have in Rugby, places such as the Guildhouse which have a fascinating past but also remain a very active and vibrant part of Rugby’s story today.”
The Guildhouse is a charity and is entirely self-supporting.
24 August 2021
A quick reminder on how to access your PGH account online: video guides
Do you want to check if you have got a place on your course? Why not access your PGH student account and see all your records online? If you would like more information on how it works, you may find these six short video guides helpful. Click the full screen icon to see the videos in a larger size.
