Stoneywell Cottage and crafts

Sorry for the late post! I got carried away last evening, watching craftspeople at work on ‘The Great Pottery Throwdown’! If you're really interested, there's a wikipedia page which analyses all the series of this programme! I’ve also been watching craftspeople on another television show, which has a local connection …

My first and indeed only visit to Stoneywell, the arts and crafts cottage in the hills around the Charnwood Forest, created by Ernest Gimson for his brother, was way back in April 2015, although I had been following its fate since 2012, as a friend of mine was a friend of the owner, so we were aware that plans were being made. And so it was that in spring 2013, the National Trust announced that Stoneywell cottage and grounds had come into its possession, and the house and estate was opened to the public in February 2015.  

I hadn’t realised I’d visited quite so long ago, nor quite so soon after the place opened, but I do remember having a lovely time looking around the wonderful house and beautiful gardens. You can see some photos of my visit on one of my earlier blogposts, but the reason for today’s post is that I have been watching a wonderful programme on the television for the past couple of weeks, which involves craftspeople being given a mentor and trying to improve their crafting skill and techniques, and help with either starting their business or improving their business skills.

Why has this reminded me about Stoneywell, you ask? Well, that’s because the programme is filmed at Stoneywell, so not only is it great to see the craftspeople at work, and follow their development, it’s also a treat to see the house and gardens from angles that wouldn’t normally be possible. And what better place to film craftspeople at work, than Stoneywell, with its history and associations with the Arts and Crafts movement.

 

The programme is called ‘Make it at Market’, and to date has featured people working in all types of craft – glassblowing, pottery, woodturning, furniture upcycling, willow weaving, blacksmithing, stone carving, machine embroidering, painting, and more! One person was even creating shaving brushes: I wonder if she knew there was one on display in the house when I visited in 2015?! Actually, I wonder if it is still there?!

This, of course, has reminded me about many local craftspeople in our own town and nearby, whose work can be seen at various events, or in various places. Below are just a few examples.

On a visit to an exhibition at Nanpantan Hall in May last year, I was lucky enough to see the willow work of Maggie Cooper, which I’d also seen the previous year at a similar event at the hall:

 

I believe there were several generations of the Porter family, blacksmithing in Loughborough, who at one time had their smithy close to the Cross Keys pub, now, of course, the Phantom. I can’t quite remember if these gates pictured below were made by the Porters or the Burrell family, around about 2018:

 

And, of course, the town and locality boasts many talented potters, many of whom display and sell their work at what has now become the annual pottery market in the Market Place, usually sometime in May! I've written earlier about the 2014 market and the 2021 market.  

The creative work of many other talented local craftspeople is often showcased in the Town Hall Sock Gallery, occasionally artists’ workshops open to the public ,like the Albert Street Artists based on Southfields Road, and creative work can also be seen around the town, like Barry Bulsara’s mural at the back of Hospital Court close to the cinema, the swan maze in Queen’s Park, created by local sculptor David Tarver (which is possibly moved within the park to create space for the Hope Bell), and The Signaler in The Rushes by John Atkin.

Mural by Barry Bulsara

Swan maze by David Tarver (1931-2014)

Signaler by John Atkin

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posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

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