MAY - Members enjoyed a day's outing taking in Battersea Dogs Home and the beautifully restored Hackney Empire. Battersea Dogs Home is a long-established charity supported home for dogs in London. Formerly the temporary Home for Lost and Starving Dogs, it was founded by Mrs Mary Tealby in 1860 in Holloway and moved to Battersea in 1871. In 1881 the kennel received almost 16,000 dogs, in 1886 they received 35,000 dogs and in 1896 the Home had its biggest intake ever by receiving 42,500 dogs. The Hackney Empire Theatre was designed by the architect: Frank Matcham (1854-1920) who was, beyond argument, one of the world's most accomplished and inventive theatre architects. The extent of his oeuvre is still being investigated, at a time when many records have been lost, so that it is impossible to quote precise numbers, but he certainly designed no fewer than 95 new theatres and transformed more than 50 others to the point where they were, for all practical purposes, new buildings. Designs and "ghosted" designs still coming to light may eventually push the total number of Matcham theatres and Matcham re-modellings to more than 150. (Report: Brian Leith, photos Rosemary Morris)