136AutumnIssue 2022 Newsletter
2 Friends of The Wilson Newsletter Table of Contents Letter from the Chair ........................................................................................................ 3 Report on the 38th Annual General Meeting ................................................................ 5 Events .................................................................................................................................. 6 Northern Renaissance Painting (Martin Bowden) ............................................. 6 Chavenage House and Tetbury .............................................................................. 7 Out of the Frame (Joe Treasure) ........................................................................... 8 Festive Lunch and Theatre ..................................................................................... 8 An Armchair Guide to Rome (Stuart Harvey) .................................................... 9 Hereford Cathedral and the Mappa Mundi ......................................................... 9 Liverpool ............................................................................................................... 10 Events and Exhibitions .................................................................................................. 10 Where to Visit: Ciutadella, Cathedral and Cloisters .................................................. 11 Daniel Herdman ............................................................................................................. 13 Favourite Works of Art .................................................................................................. 16 New Members ................................................................................................................. 17 Reviews ............................................................................................................................ 18 Historic Coventry ................................................................................................ 18 Edward Wilson Anniversary Walk .................................................................... 19 Art Quiz ........................................................................................................................... 21 Photo Credits .................................................................................................................. 22 Contacts ........................................................................................................................... 23 Left to right: Ro Kaye (FOTW chair), P.J. Crook (FOTW president) and Sue Silcock (chair of the Arts Council in Cheltenham). P.J. and Sue thoroughly enjoyed a two-hour tour of the newly-opened Wilson accompanied by curator team’sandgalleriesbothHarwood.Ann-RachaelTheywerethrilledwiththetheyvisitedinaweofthehardwork.
I would like to publicly thank the Sir Charles Irving Trust and Cheltenham Borough Council for providing Dear Friends,
Hello, I am Ro (short for Rosaleen) Kaye and it is privilegemyto be the new chair of the Friends of The Wilson. I was born and raised workedbutManchesterinhavesincein various locations in the country until I arrived in Cheltenham in 1990. My three children grew up in this vibrant town and over the years I gradually became a Cheltonian! Although I am a physicist, I am curious by nature and love history. Who could fail to be impressed by the gracious architecture of our Regency buildings or moved by the beauty of the surrounding Visitscountryside?toThe Wilson were usually followed by a trip to the library and my children had particular favourites, including the penguin! In more recent times, my grandchildren have accompanied me and chosen their pet items: the large building bricks and the doll’s house. I taught in a local school and was a governor of Battledown Centre for Children and Families for over twenty years. My time as a trustee of the Summerfield Trust gave me a chance to learn much about the treasures and the needs of the county. One of my hobbies is playing bridge and I was chair of the 600+ strong club when the pandemic started so I am well aware of the effort Adrian, Sue, Martha, Alison and Sue put into keeping the FOTW going during the last two years. We are now at an exciting new phase in The Wilson’s history after the museum reopened to visitors on 23 July after two long years. Head of Culture Lisa Edgar and her team worked long hours to get the displays revamped and ready for all of the people of Cheltenham and beyond to come and revisit old and discover new favourites. I was very excited to go to The Wilson on Monday 25 July. I had visited the museum on Sunday 24th during reopening weekend with the grandchildren and 1,000 other visitors but I was very anxious to meet the Friends and to hear their reactions to the re-opened galleries.
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More than seventy friends attended the event and we were all glad that the building was filled with visitors once again. I loved catching up with people and also making the acquaintance of others who I had only met online. It was lovely to see the newly refurbished spaces and see the attention to detail that Lisa Edgar had put into the refurbishment by using local crafts people and really trying to keep the tradition of the Arts and Crafts movement living on. Her excellent appointment by The Cheltenham Trust management scheme highlights their commitment to building The Wilson into a significant visitor destination.
4 Friends of The Wilson Newsletter the funds to enable this excellent Nowtransformation.fortheexciting news. Laurie Bell, the Trust’s CEO, and Lisa have put in a bid for £300,000 from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). This money would allow the refurbishment of the other galleries that are currently closed. The Friends of The Wilson has pledged £100,000 as grant funding, which will greatly enhance our chances of securing the bid. It means that the refurbishment of the second-floor galleries can take place and more collections can be showcased to complement the revamped galleries. We have all gone through an extraordinary time and life is taking longer than we thought to return to normal. We, as Friends, are needed even more so by The Wilson to help it become a major hub and cultural destination. Please encourage others to join our group and to visit the
Talking of new members, HRH the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester are now Friends. I will be inviting them and all the other new Friends who have joined to a reception in October.
collections and arts cafe. It is important that we get behind the Trust’s bid to secure vital funding so that we can fully reopen this jewel of Cheltenham.
Please keep emailing me with your views; chair@friendsofthewilson.org. uk. I look forward to seeing you at The BestWilson.wishes, Ro Kaye The Wilson’s reopening weekend (23–24 July 2022).
Remember we have a very active programme of talks and visits starting in September. This is thanks to the hard work of Sue Pearce, Sue Reeves, Alison Pascoe and Martha Alleguen. I thank them for all they have done during the pandemic to keep the Friends going.
This year we could eventually hold our AGM face to face and there was a buzz of anticipation in the Cheltenham Spa Bowling Club on the evening of 6 June 2022. Guests and Friends mingled, enjoying lovely refreshments produced by Liz Giles, our treasurer, while we eagerly awaited Head of Culture Lisa Edgar’s report on the partly refurbished museum. We were delighted that the mayor, Councillor Sandra Holiday, could attend along with Councillor Max Wilkinson, Cabinet member for Economic Development, Culture, Tourism and Wellbeing; Richard Gibson, the Strategy and Engagement Manager at Cheltenham Borough Council; and Kate Peden, chair of the Culture and Communities Committee at The Cheltenham Trust. The other sixty-three members of the audience were made up of Friends, Trustees Ourand Patrons.supportive president, P.J. Crook, welcomed everyone to the AGM. She thanked the Friends for keeping interest in The Wilson going during its closure and mentioned the Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, which has undergone refurbishment and now sparkles, and she looked forward to the same for The Wilson. She mentioned her sadness to be saying farewell to Adrian Barlow, John Beard, Martin Renshaw, Robert Rimell and Jaki Meekings Davis. Minutes of the 2021 meeting were approved and apologies noted. Adrian then gave his final report as chairman and recapped on the events and acquisitions the Friends of The Wilson had provided. He asked George Breeze, the former director of the Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum, to make a presentation to Sophia Wilson, one of The Wilson’s curatorial team, who has retired after working at the museum for thirty-two years. George had appointed Sophia. Sophia thanked the Friends for their strong support of the work of the curators and of The Wilson as a whole. Adrian also thanked the Trustees who were retiring: John Beard, Martin Renshaw, Robert Rimell and Jaki Meekings Davis. If you would like to read Adrian’s full report, please email rokaye@hotmail.com.
Report on the 38th Annual General Meeting
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Liz Giles, our treasurer, gave her report on the finances and these were approved. Roy Collard was thanked for having examined and approved the accounts. Vanessa Graham, Connie Price and Judie Hodsdon had been co-opted as Trustees during the year, and they were now elected to serve as Trustees, approved unanimously. Ro Kaye was elected to serve as chair of the Trustees, approved unanimously. In addition, Connie Price kindly agreed to take on the role of deputy chair. Adrian received thanks from the floor before Ro Kaye, the incoming chair, made a presentation to Adrian on behalf of the Trustees. Lisa Edgar then gave a presentation on ‘Museums and the Pandemic 2020–2022’. This outlined some of the innovative work Lisa had undertaken with the museums across Wales during the pandemic. We look forward to seeing what ideas she has for Cheltenham. This was followed by a reception.
Events
Monday 17 October 2022, 1.30 p.m.
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Aspects of Northern Renaissance Painting with Italian Modifications (Talk by Martin Bowden)
Cost per person: £10
A brief look at the development of painting in fifteenth-century Burgundy, including the Limbourg brothers, Robert Campin, Jan van Eyck and Petrus Christus, with references to more familiar Italian painting from the same period (Masaccio, Fra Angelico, etc.).
Left to right: Ro Kaye and Connie Price.
Venue: Church of St Phillip and St James (Pip and Jim’s), 60 Grafton Road, Leckhampton, Cheltenham, GL50 2DL
Left to right: George Breeze, Sophia Wilson and P.J. Crook and David Wilson.
Left to right: Kate Peden, Ro Kaye, Adrian Barlow and Lisa Edgar.
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Martin Bowden read economics at university in the 1960s and after a short period in commerce taught and ran the economics department at a local public school. For more than two decades, he also taught and examined art history at A-Level – he says to do so was the joy of his teaching life. As Martin approached retirement, he began to paint primarily watercolours, which are sold through a local gallery. He has also been president of the Cotswold Art Club and is now an honorary member.
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Chavenage House and Tetbury Wednesday 16 November 2022 Tour by coach Cost per person: £36 Pick-up points: Evesham Road Pittville Pump Room bus stop (townbound) 9.10 a.m.; Royal Well Coach Station 9.20 a.m.; Six Ways (by St Edwards School) 9.30 a.m. Group leaders: Martha Alleguen and ThisRo Kayemorning we will visit Chavenage House, a charming Elizabethan Cotswold manor house, which is the private home of the Lowsley-Williams Thefamily.estate once belonged to Princess Goda, sister of Edward the Confessor. Over the years it passed into the hands of Thomas Seymour before being seized by the Crown. The current house was built by Edward Stephens in 1576 and played a role in the English Civil War, leading to some fascinating myths, legends and ghostly tales. A private guided tour of the house will reveal many anecdotes as well as fine seventeenth-century tapestries, furnishings, pictures and weaponry from the era of Oliver Cromwell, who, it is said, once slept in one of the tapestry rooms. While there have been later additions – such as an Edwardian ballroom and Victorian church – much of the house has changed little over the last 400 years. If the picture looks familiar, many of you will recognise the house from television and film productions such as Lark Rise to Candleford, Wolf Hall, Poirot and, of course, Poldark. In the latter, Chavenage played the part of ‘Trenwith’, the ancestral home of the Poldark Refreshmentsfamily.will be served on arrival at the house followed by a private guided tour. From here, we move on to the market town of Tetbury, known for its café culture, medieval streets and stylish independent shops (with, perhaps, the temptation of some early Christmas shopping). Here there is free time for lunch and individual exploration. Maps and directions will be provided. We depart Tetbury at about 3.45 p.m. for Cheltenham.
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Thursday 8 December 2022, 12.15 p.m.
Venue: Everyman Theatre Cost per person: £40 Once again we warmly invite Friends to get together for the festive season at the Everyman Theatre. Enjoy a three-course lunch (with choice) at the theatre’s restaurant, followed by a performance of Lark Rise to Candleford
The theatre company Hammerpuzzle returns to the Everyman with a brandnew adaptation of this literary classic. It is a story of cherished memories, finding your wings and the threads that bind us to Lunchhome.will be at 12.15 pm. Tea and coffee will be served after lunch. Water will be provided, and other drinks will be available to purchase. Menu choices will be sent out to all those who book and will also available on our website during the 12.15autumn.p.m.:meet in Matchams Restaurant, Everyman Theatre. 2.30 p.m.: matinee performance at 2.30 p.m. (duration approx. 75 minutes).
Venue: Church of St Phillip and St James (Pip and Jim’s), 60 Grafton Road, Leckhampton, Cheltenham, GL50 2DL Cost per person: £10
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Festive Lunch and Theatre Performance at the Everyman Theatre
A performance of nineteen new poems by Joe Treasure, richly illustrated with famous paintings. Art from six centuries is brought dramatically to life through the imagined voices of each artist or the figures in their paintings. Among others, you’ll hear from a trio of disdainful goddesses, a couple of First World War veterans (one British, one German), a bored bartender, a woman hurrying to meet her lover in nineteenth-century Paris, the bewildered wife of a medieval Italian merchant and a modern couple falling out over a picture in a gallery. Joe grew up in Cheltenham and says the library and the museum were his favourite haunts when he was a teenager. After graduating from Oxford, Joe became a teacher specialising in English and drama.
‘A sophisticated artistic adventure.’ ‘So ‘I’mcreative.’stillfeeling transported … basking in the gratitude of the group.’
Out of the Frame (Illustrated Performance by Joe Treasure)
Tuesday 22 November 2022, 1.30 p.m.
Joe is the author of three novels: The Male Gaze (Picador, 2007), Besotted (Picador, 2010) and The Book of Air (Clink Street, 2017). His poem ‘Yes Paris’ was shortlisted in 2021 for the Bridport Poetry Prize. Some feedback from this event delivered previously in the US and at Wandsworth Art ‘WhatFringe:awonderful presentation. Thank you for enriching our lives.’
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An Armchair Guide to Rome (Talk by Stuart Harvey) Monday 9 January 2023, 10.30 a.m.
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Venue: Zoom Cost per person: £5 Stuart Harvey is a full-time qualified Tourist Guide of Rome and the Vatican and has lived in Rome for twenty years. Before moving to Rome, he was a London Blue Badge Tourist Guide. As the Covid-19 pandemic shut down global tourism Stuart created a series of virtual lecture tours to be presented via Zoom and is now also an accredited lecturer to the Arts Society in the UK, lecturing on all aspects of Rome and its long history.
Hereford Cathedral and the Mappa Mundi Monday 13 February 2023 Tour by coach Cost per person: £35, to include coach fare and all guided tours Pick-up points: Six Ways (by Co-op) 8.45 a.m.; Royal Well Coach Station 8.55 a.m.; Evesham Road Pittville Pump Room bus stop (northbound) 9.05 a.m.; Westgate Car Park Gloucester 9.30 a.m.
Group leaders: Adrian Barlow (FOTW) and Robert Ingram (FOGC) This will be the long-awaited joint outing shared between the Friends of The Wilson and the Friends of Gloucester Cathedral, which was postponed from 2020. Hereford Cathedral is always linked, because of the Three Choirs Festival, with Gloucester and Worcester, but is perhaps the most reticent of the three cathedrals. It is nonetheless a fine building with a great deal to see and enjoy, not least the unique Mappa Mundi. This dates from c.1300 and is the largest medieval map still known to exist.
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A rich and hopefully rewarding day consisting of four tours has been arranged for our group. First, a tour of the cathedral itself with one of the dedicated cathedral guides, with a focus on architecture and history.
Second, a tour of the stained glass, led by Adrian Barlow, will explore some of the cathedral’s fine medieval, Victorian and twenty-first-century windows. The third tour will take us to visit the Mappa Mundi and the cathedral’s Chained Library, one of the finest anywhere in Britain. Finally, we have a special
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Hereford at about 4.30 p.m. for Cheltenham.
For further information please see the Events page on our website
org.ukOrfriendsofthewilson.org.uk)emailevents@friendsofthewilson.ortelephoneMarthaAlleguen on 01242 526601 Events Exhibitionsand The Wilson • Break the Cycle • Body Beautiful: Diversity on the Catwalk (23 July – 2 October 2022) The Holburne Museum, Bath • Elisabeth Frink: Strength & Sensuality (22 September – 8 January 2023) • Rodin – Degas: Impressionist Sculpture (24 September – 8 January 2023) Victoria Art Gallery, Bath • Mary Fedden: Simple Pleasures (until 16 October) Bristol Museums • Disability Activism in Bristol: Pioneers, Protests and Progress from the 1980s to Now (until 1 October) • Think Global: Act Bristol (until 30 October) • Lebohang Kganye: ‘Dipino tsa Kganya’ – Leave the light when you leave for good (until 31 December) • John Akomfrah – Mimesis: African Soldier (1 October – 8 January 2023) Please check websites.
Full details are being finalised as we go to print, but we believe that this tour not only includes the most important cultural sites of Liverpool and its environs, but also to be of excellent value for money. A modest supplement only will be charged for single rooms. Please do contact us if you would like to receive a brochure. Places will go on sale from September 2022. (www.
New for 2023: two night/three day study tour to Liverpool Sunday 14 May 2023 Following our very successful study tour to Coventry earlier this year, we are arranging, again through Harry Shaw Travel, a bespoke tour next May to Liverpool. Accommodation will be in a waterfront four-star hotel with dinner and breakfast included on both days.
10 Friends of The Wilson Newsletter presentation of objects and books pertaining to Gloucester Abbey and links with Hereford and Gloucester in the cathedral reading room. We will divide into three groups, each taking the tours in rotation. Refreshments (not included) may be taken in the Cathedral Café or in one of the eateries close by on arrival or at lunchtime. Maps and directions will be Weprovided.depart
The recommended tour takes you on a circular walk around the building and includes some of the other associated rooms such as the sacristy, vestry and chapterhouse where there are impressive displays of clerical robes and a large collection of silver altar pieces. There are a range of chapels along the sides of the building in the traditional layout. One that might be of particular interest to English visitors is the Chapel of St George, with a splendid painting, from 1601, by Joan Mas of the saint vanquishing the dragon, along with two other works by TheMas.ticket for entry to the cathedral also includes admission to the convent and cloister of St Augustine, which is fortunately just a two-minute walk away. This is a surprisingly interesting second gem in the old town streets. Turning in off the street, you enter a tranquil, white-walled square cloister with a central garden square. Although piped music can be irritating and off
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Where to Visit: Ciutadella, Cathedral and Cloisters Should you be lucky enough to find yourself on the lush green Balearic Island of Menorca, do take time to visit the old town of Ciutadella, situated on the western side of the island. It is one of the two cities on the island, the other being the possibly better-known CiutadellaMahon. is on the top of a low cliff overlooking its picturesque narrow but busy marina. There are more modern squares and tree lined boulevards. One main square is home to a splendid obelisk as a memorial to those citizens who fought to their deaths trying to defend the town from Turkish invaders in the sixteenth century. The streets of the old town are narrow and charming, with small cafes, bars and restaurants interspersed with boutiques and galleries; an excellent place to while away a few hours meandering around. The town was founded by the Carthaginians, becoming the seat of a bishop in the fourth century. The fourteenth-century Cathedral of Menorca sits in the heart of the old town and should be a ‘must see’. You enter via a side street off the cathedral place into a calm and cool oasis. Immediately, the beautiful clean cream stonework soaring up to the elegant arched ceiling is striking. The sun catches the gorgeous stained-glass windows that surround the apse and culminate in a rose window over the main doorway. The windows surrounding the apse are an interesting mix of the traditional church window depicting the lives of saints and biblical themes along with some spectacular modern examples. Particularly eye catching in the bright sunshine is a pair of opposing modern windows in different shades of blue. The explanation for this is revealed further into the visit; the cathedral was ransacked and very badly damaged in the Spanish Civil War and the cleaning of the interior stonework and the replacement of the windows was only completed early in the twenty-first century. These beautiful renovations are to be applauded.
The other rooms contain a museum of Menorca, each room being dedicated to a different theme. For example, one covers the natural history of the island, including fossils, shells, animal skeletons and an enormous oyster shell. Another houses a range of historical maps of Menorca. One of interest from the seventeenth century took a while to understand as it was orientated unusually to the contemporary mind, being south to north or upside down. Once mastered it was interesting to note that it had been commissioned by the first Earl Spencer, Viscount Althorp, although the reason for its commissioning is not Otherobvious.rooms
Alison Youd
Firstly, there is the profusely decorated seventeenth-century chapel that is home to an imposing baroque organ, which was restored in 2006. The chapel is no longer in use as a church but is an auditorium. It too was very badly damaged in the Civil War but carefully restored at the turn of this century.
contain items of archaeological interest from the prehistoric, bronze and iron ages and a substantial range of Roman finds including glass, coins and pottery. Both these little Menorcan gems are well worth a visit and, for less than the equivalent of £5, a bargain too!
putting in many circumstances, here the monastic chants seem to enhance the environment and add to the Youatmosphere.cansitin
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the cool and enjoy the scene or you can explore the many rooms that you can find off the cloister.
my time as an assistant at Cheltenham from 1967 to 1972, I became very aware of Herdman’s influence on the development of the Art Gallery and Museum. I also gained an impression of his personality from those who had worked with him. Daniel Wood Herdman was born in 1880 in the small Northumberland village of Birtley, about ten miles north of Hexham. In 1897 he became a library assistant in Newcastle upon Tyne. The city librarian, J.W. Haggerston, trained a number of staff who went on to hold senior positions elsewhere. Among these were both Herdman and J.A. Charlton Deas, seven years his senior. In 1904, Charlton Deas became chief librarian at Sunderland. A year later he took over responsibility for the Museum and Art Gallery. He also appointed Herdman as his deputy in 1905 and the latter’s career as a curator, as well as a librarian, began. The combination of the posts of librarian and curator was common at the time. This was especially the case where library and museum were housed in the same building, as at both Sunderland and Cheltenham. Sunderland was a well-established municipal museum which dated back to 1846, when the corporation had taken over an existing society museum. The collections did not grow significantly during Charlton Deas’s time in charge, but he did develop the museum’s services. For instance, he immediately introduced temporary exhibitions and pioneered work with blind Charltonpeople.Deas was described as a ‘martinet’ and was very conscious of the importance of his position; he once reported a policeman for not saluting him! In contrast, Daniel Herdman was a modest quietly spoken man who was a Quaker and a pacifist. He was remembered fondly by those who knew him. I cannot find any connections between the collections at Sunderland and Herdman’s development of the Arts and Crafts collection at Cheltenham. However, I could suggest another possible Sunderland link through the construction in 1906–08 of St Andrew’s Church in the Sunderland suburb of Roker where Herdman at one time lived. Designed by E.S. Prior, it was known as the ‘Cathedral of the Arts and Crafts’ movement and included wood and iron work designed by Ernest Gimson. When Herdman moved to Cheltenham in 1922 he found 117 packing cases containing the Berkeley Smith collection of Chinese ceramics. Stanley Berkeley Smith had promised to fund a gallery for his collection and, within
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Daniel Herdman In 1922, Daniel Herdman was appointed librarian and curator for Cheltenham Borough Council from forty-seven candidates. In the next thirty years he built up the collections that have made The Wilson the nationally significant museum that it Duringis today.
a few weeks of his arrival at the art gallery, Herdman had started the process of obtaining display cases for the gallery which opened in September Also1923.early in Herdman’s career was his organisation of an exhibition of work by local firms and craftsmen in connection with a conference of handicraft teachers. He went on to organise further exhibitions and to start the Arts and Crafts collection for which The Wilson in now so well known. The development of the collection has been excellently recorded in the books by Annette Carruthers and Mary Greensted.
I feel that the Arts and Crafts collection, particularly the furniture, showed Herdman’s wider interest in county crafts and life. This is reflected in the rural life collection he built up and is described as having ‘scoured the countryside for’. In 1934, he wrote that ‘the aim has been to collect examples of the tools and utensils, which were up to comparatively recent times in common use, and thus to illustrate the everyday life and customs of the people of the Cotswolds’. This reflected a wider renewed interest in county life and crafts in the 1930s which can be seen in the engravings of craftsmen by Stanley Anderson (these can be found in the Cheltenham collection) and the writings of H.J. Massingham.
Further exhibits collected included prints and other material relating to the history of Cheltenham and costume. Of particular significance were the additions to the fine and applied art collections, often made through gifts and loans. A notable loan was Rodin’s The Kiss, which was on view in the art gallery for six years before it moved to the Tate Gallery in For1938.some collections in the museum Herdman drew upon the knowledge and advice of local experts. They included Robert Wild for geology and Elsie Clifford for archaeology. They used to meet in Herdman’s office where he greeted Mrs Clifford with ‘The Queen of the Cotswolds’. Herdman was a significant figure in the wider museum world. He was secretary of the Museums Association from 1929 to 1942 and was responsible for organising its conference in Cheltenham in 1939. Although he retired in 1950, Herdman was very much involved with the Exhibition of Cotswold Craftmanship that was held the following year at the Montpellier Rotunda. He wrote the catalogue’s introduction and also gave informal tours of the exhibition. In 1954 Daniel Herdman and his wife Mary moved to Weston-super-Mare, where he sadly died a year later. An obituary by F.S. Wallis, the director of Bristol Museums, recorded that, ‘He was the friend of all, a man without Byenemies.’chance, my own museum career took me in the opposite direction to Daniel Herdman as on 1 July 1972, exactly fifty years to the day after he came to Cheltenham, I moved to Sunderland Museum and Art Gallery. When I consulted an old acquisitions register, I immediately recognised Herdman’s writing in entries for the 1910s. My subsequent career as a senior curator of Tyne and Wear
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This photograph taken at the Jubilee Conference at Cheltenham in 1939 shows Daniel Herdman seated on the far right. Next to him is his wife, Mary. In the centre is Mortimer Wheeler, the wellknown archaeologist who was then director of the London Museum.
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Left to right: Cover of the catalogue of the Cotswold Bygones exhibition that Daniel Herdman organised and which was held in a marquee at the Cheltenham Floral Fete in 1934. Many of the exhibits were from the museum’s collection. Others were lent by private collectors; Part of the Cotswold Wool Trade collection when on display in the museum in 1970; Cover of the catalogue for the Exhibition of Cotswold Craftmanship held in 1951.This included nine exhibits from St Andrew’s Church in Roker, where Daniel Herdman’s initial interest in the Arts and Crafts movement possibly began.
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Favourite Works of Art: Making Pills at Cheltenham Art Gallery
On looking at the painting more recently, with a more tolerant and observant eye, I found details which I had overlooked previously. It was the sight of a shotgun and a pistol lying on the table that caught my attention. Whilst they are ‘historic’ items, they Museums added responsibilities for some of the museums on Tyneside. So, in some ways, our two working lives came full circle. As The Wilson reopens to the public in the centenary year of Daniel Herdman’s arrival in Cheltenham, his crucial role in the development of its collections deserves to be remembered. Neil Sinclair
Having now returned to Cheltenham, after many years, I have become, hopefully, a little wiser and with time to re-evaluate my original assessment.
I must admit to some confusion, and arrogant indifference on my part, over this painting – a situation that has recently begun to worry me. I originally noted this work in the Picture Store at Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum soon after I took up post in 1973. I now realise that titles given to paintings can be misleading –none more so than with this painting. Is this really a painting of an ancient Saxon workman? Did the Saxons have pills? What is the point in painting someone making pills? I relegated it in my mind to the shelf ‘of no interest’.
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David Addison was director of Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum in the 1970s. www.addisonart.co.uk who have recently joined the Friends: Susan Faircloth Susan Forsyth Diana Graves
New Members We welcome the following members
Friends do not seem ‘ancient’ – in fact they seemed to be probably of the period in which the artist lived and produced this work. Continuing my exploration of the work I noticed there appeared to be ball-bearings, or something similar, on the table. There is also a small bottle of some yellowish liquid and some smallish pieces of paper or card. Armed with this information I then tackled the title, Making Pills for the Saxons – but how? Perhaps I should start with that word ‘Saxons’ – does it really refer to a person from Saxony or an historic Saxon invader? There is no obvious way forward on this line of attack. As a long shot I decided to concentrate on the firearms – the shotgun and the pistol. I know very little about firearms but the pistol did seem to be of early nineteenth-century vintage. As to shot guns, I only knew about them from living in rural Oxfordshire where ‘shoots’ were a regular part of everyday life, but I had never handled one. Did Saxons have firearms? The one in the painting did seem rather ‘modern’, perhaps a clue might be here. I realised that the small things like ball-bearings, plus the other items, could be the ingredients for ‘shot’ – I was aware of both shot and cartridge cases. It was clearly time to learn more about firearms of the nineteenth century. After trawling through endless, and often boring, treatises on firearms and dealers lists I came across a reference that gave me a clue. In the early part of the nineteenth century several attempts were made, in Europe and in Britain, to improve the performance of the traditional flintlock firearm. As shooting ‘game’ became ever more fashionable, the disadvantages of firing with a flintlock was energetically voiced – particularly the fact that its noise, plus flash and smoke, alerted the game, bird or beast, who immediately fled from the scene. Experiments began to be made into possible ways of improving percussion – and one successful alternative used a pin-fired mechanism that activated a chemical concoction and ‘fired’ a pellet or pellets. One enterprising manufacturer decided to go ahead with this new firearm – and the name of the firm was ‘Saxon’! Here at last appeared to be the answer to my questions about the subject matter of this painting – here was a game-keeper making up the cartridges containing the explosive and the bullets ready to be used by people using the modern shotgun, similar to that lying on the table. Like Millais and ‘Bubbles’ (advertising Pear’s Soap) this might be an advertisement for the guns made by the firm ‘Saxon’? Or have I got it terribly wrong?
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• Nicholas and Claire Neale-Brown
• Mairi Hamilton
• Kenneth and Karen Shave
On we went to St Mary’s Guildhall, which, again, was specially opened so we could see it. This is a magnificent building, and we were the first people to see it after its restoration. The highlights were the medieval kitchen and the medieval tapestry, still in the place it was woven for, but the whole building was a treasure to be marvelled at. After lunch, we explored the soaring spaces of the cathedral and marvelled at the vast areas of glowing stained glass. Within the cathedral there was a wonderful display of Jacob Epstein sculpture.
Reviews
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Historic Coventry: A Journey of (19/05/22–21/05/22)Delights
Twenty-five Friends and their guests gathered at Royal Well Bus Station to board our coach on Thursday 19 May. We were taken to Coombe Abbey Hotel for coffee and pastries. This was a truly astonishing place, a cornucopia of architectural oddities that demand a return Refreshed,visit.we travelled on to Boughton House, an elegant, perfectly proportioned building in a vast park of carefully mown grass, canals and square étangs. The house was an urban chateau transformed from the original Tudor house by Ralph Montague who was King Charles II’s envoy to the court of Louis XIV. On his return to England, he created an English Versailles at Boughton. We were welcomed with a generous lunch before we were conducted around the house. It was a place of wonders. Forty Van Dykes in one room, Sèvres porcelain in bleu céleste made for Louis XV in another and an enfilade of rooms that inspired King William III to build the state rooms at Hampton Court.
We were then taken to the Telegraph Hotel in Coventry. It was smart, comfortable and a perfect base for our exploration of the area. After a fine dinner and a delicious breakfast our coach took us to Charterhouse in the suburbs of the city. This was a Carthusian monastery until the dissolution of the monasteries and is now being restored, which required us to wear hard hats and high-vis vests to view it. It had been opened specially for us and I think we all felt privileged to be there to see the medieval and Tudor wall paintings.
Edward Wilson Anniversary Walk and (23/07/22)Picnic I’m homesick for my hills again –My hills again! To see above the Severn plain Unscabbarded against the sky
The blue high blade of Cotswold lie (‘In Flanders’, by F.W. Harvey)
And so a lively group of Friends satisfied their need ‘to see … the blue high blade of Cotswold’ by forming our first anniversary walk, organised to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Edward Wilson, Cheltenham’s polar explorer and illustrious son.
Much work and planning over a very long time had gone into creating this holiday and many many thanks should go to the two Sues and Anne, as well as Ian Pearson of Harry Shaw Travel. They all worked so hard to create an outstanding holiday for the Friends of The Wilson and we are very grateful to them. Rod Woodward-Court
The intrepid walkers assembled in the coach park at Crickley Hill. The weather was perfect: the extreme heat of a few days before had dissipated, and a cool breeze moved the trees to welcome us. After a brief introduction by walk leader Steven Pascoe – head of the local Cotswold Wardens’ Walking Group – an enthusiastic and quickstepped start was made.
Another fine dinner in the comfort of the Telegraph completed a wonderful day. The following morning we said goodbye to the Telegraph Hotel, which we had all enjoyed so much, and travelled to Upton House, transformed by Lord Bearsted in 1927. The gardens were beautiful if showing some signs of the furlough of the gardeners during the Covid-19 pandemic. The interior of the house was breathtaking with a world-class collection of paintings by El Greco, Bosch, Canaletto and Reynolds amongst many others. It was a fitting end to a superb holiday.
An initial steep descent was accomplished, down the most precipitous part of the escarpment,
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20 Friends of The Wilson Newsletter with no trips or falls! At the bottom, a sharp turn to the right – past the lane to Cold Slad – and the group was heading north-east towards the Crippetts. The site of the Roman Villa was passed and, ere long, another turn to the north-west took the group past Dryhill Farm, where Ivor Gurney worked as a young man. The farm’s new vineyard was clearly visible, possibly planted on the same hillside that the Romans had terraced for the same purpose. One of the group of hillside springs that fed the Roman villa all those centuries ago was also noted. The path then turned north and a comfortable ascent took the travellers over Greenway Lane and through the shady wood beyond. Upon emerging from the wood another steep – but short – descent, followed by dense brambles, trimmed by Steven Pascoe the day before, led to the final, rather steep and crumbling path to Crippetts
ItLane.was at this point that news arrived that Mr Steve Cooper – the current owner of the Wilsons’ former home – along with his family, had prepared tea and delicious comestibles for the group, to be served on the terrace. After admiring the house’s blue plaque, which Mr Cooper had helped to commission, the travellers proceeded to the terrace, with its magnificent view over the vale, with Leckhampton beyond. The famous pond – in which Edward Wilson had almost drowned as a boy – was also admired.
Feeling much rejuvenated, the walkers set out at a spritely pace, heading back to Crickley Hill. (No-one availed themselves of the offer of ‘rescue transport’, provided by Sue Pearce, back to the start point.) The return followed a less undulating walk through the woodland along the top of the escarpment, past the 4,000-year-
As if the refreshments and views weren’t enough, Sue Pearce – the Friends’ events supremo – then produced, as if by magic from her tote bag, a chocolate birthday cake complete with illuminated numerals ‘1-5-0’ and ‘bubbly’ to celebrate the important anniversary.
As well as to Steven Pascoe and Sue Pearce, thanks are also due to Alison Pascoe, Sue Proctor of the Cotswold Wardens’ Walking Group and Nick Mann, who devised the route. Robert Rimell Art Quiz 1. One indication of the work that the trustees do can be seen by the remarkable range of gifts and donations the Friends have given to The Wilson over the course of fifty years. In the past decade alone, we have made donations in excess of £430,000. Among the more surprising donations was £5000 to secure Edward Wilson’s pipe for the museum’s Whatcollection.type of pipe is this? a) Churchwarden b) Billiard c) Fraser-Lovatt d) Meerschaum
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old long barrow, which is bigger than Belas Knap! The finish was reached in a very fast time! New FOTW members, Claire and Nick, described the walk as ‘excellent … very well organised and well led’.
Answers:1.(b)Billiard;2.(c)Ionic–identifiedbythetwolateralvolutesorscrolls thatformthecapital(thedecorativehead)ofanIoniccolumn.ThePumpRoom columnsareunusual,however,becauseIoniccolumnsarenearlyalwaysfluted, whereasJohnForbes,thearchitect,specifiedsmooth-surfacedcolumns;3.(d)Lord Byron,whovisitedtheChâteauwithShelleyinJune1816.ThePrisonerofChillon (392lineslong)wasfirstpublishedinDecemberthatyear;4.(b)ThomasBewick (1753–1828),describedbytheBewickSocietyas‘woodengraver,naturalistand Northumberland’sgreatestartist’.
Photo credits Page 6: Les Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry février by the Limbourg brothers (c.1412–16) (Musée Condé, Chantilly).
Page 10: Liverpool (© Phil Fiddyment (CC BY 2.0)).
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Page 16: Making Pills for the Saxons by Erskine Nicol (1868) (© The Cheltenham Trust/Cheltenham Borough Council) Page 21: Edward Wilson’s pipe (© The Cheltenham Trust/Cheltenham Borough Council) Page 22: Pittville Pump Room, taken by Alex Boulton 2. To which classical order do the columns around the Pump Room c)b)a)belong?DoricTuscanIonic
3. Which nineteenth-century writer composed a long narrative poem entitled The Prisoner of Chillon, after visiting the castle and inscribing his name on the wall of the dungeon? (a) Percy Bysshe Shelley (b) Emily Brontë (c) Mary Shelley (d) Lord Byron. 4. Which pre-twentieth-century artist, who often specialised in images of animals or flowers, is credited with being the father of modern wood engraving? (a) Francis Barlow (b) Thomas Bewick (c) Henry Bunbury (d) Thomas Shotter Boys
Page 7: Chavenage House, Gloucestershire (© Paul Best/ Chavenage House/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)). Page 9: Hereford Mappa Mundi (world map), displayed at the Hereford Cathedral, England (Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain).
23 Friends of The Wilson Newsletter President P.J. Crook ChairTrustees Ro Kaye (07843 chair@friendsofthewilson.org.uk082665) Secretary Judie Hodsdon (01242 secretary@friendsofthewilson.org.uk233045) Treasurer Liz Giles (01242 treasurer@friendsofthewilson.org.uk224773) David Addison (01242 davidaddison10@btinternet.com238905) Membership Secretary Vanessa Graham (07595 membership@friendsofthewilson.org.uk880261) Sue Pearce (01242 sp68len@gmail.com522467) Deputy Chair and Newsletter Editor Connie Price editor@friendsofthewilson.org.uk EventsVolunteersand Visits Team events@friendsofthewilson.org.uk Alison Pascoe (01242 519413) Martha Alleguen (01242 526601) Newsletter Mailing Sue Reeves (01242 sue.reeves39@gmail.com675497) Cover photo: The Wilson in August 2022, taken by Alex Boulton Deadline for the next issue: 25 November 2022 Please send everything to friendsofthewilson.org.ukeditor@ The Wilson, Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum Clarence Street, Friendsartgallery@cheltenhamtrust.org.ukGloucestershireCheltenham,GL503JT01242237431www.cheltenhammuseum.org.ukofTheWilson,CheltenhamArtGalleryandMuseumRegisteredcharitynumber289514www.friendsofthewilson.org.ukqueries@friendsofthewilson.org.ukeditor@friendsofthewilson.org.uk Contacts
24 Friends of The Wilson Newsletter ’ Gloucestershire’s Free auction valuations Expert knowledge of the art market Live internet bidding Spacious salerooms and free parking Valuations for insurance and probate Prinknash Abbey Park, Gloucestershire GL4 8EU 01452 344499 www.chorleys.comenquiries@chorleys.com
