Latest News from Watts Gallery
Swimming for Hope -
Sponsor the Director and Team Swimming the Solent this September
11 August - Perdita Hunt, Director of Watts Gallery, is swimming the Solent from Gillicker Point to Ryde on the Isle of Wight, in aid of the Watts Gallery Hope Emergency Fund this September. She will be joined on the swim by Sarah Giles from Project Five,an IT company which supports Watts Gallery and by Leo Hacking, Perdita's nephew. The swim is 2.3 nautical miles (2.65 miles) and will take place over the weekend of the 4-6 September, weather allowing.
Find out more and sponsor them by clicking here. Thank you for your support.
The Tea Shop at Gallery one of just 20 nationwide selected for a Gastro Guide
6 August 2010 - We are delighted to announce that The Tea Shop at Watts Gallery has been included in the Europcar Roadside Gastro Guide published in association with the Guild of Food Writers.
Shirlee Posner wrote: "This local treasure has a devoted cult following of walkers, cyclists and local residents..."
To read the full article please click here
To find out more for yourself click here for more on The Tea Shop at Watts Gallery
Join in with Watts Gallery's Hope Wall Community Art Project this Friday
2 August 2010 - Make a press moulded terracotta tile, which will be part of a community art work for the restored Watts Gallery. Click here to find out more.
Photographs of wallpaper
restoration added to blog
21 July 2010 - Mark Bills, Curator of Watts Gallery has added some photographs of the painstaking restoration of the original Tynecastle wallpaper to his blog. Take a look here.
Watts Chapel Exhibition opens tomorrow.
Last chance to book for the Chapel Symposium
8 July 2010 - 'Watts Cemetery Chapel: An Arts & Crafts Masterpiece' opens to the public tomorrow at Lewis Elton Gallery at the University of Surrey in Guildford and runs until Thursday 22 July 2010
Also beginning tommorrow is the two day symposium on the Chapel. Day one takes place at St Paul's Cathedral, London with speakers including journalist Richard Dorment and artist Christopher Le Brun.
Day two takes place in Compton, Surrey and speakers incude Mark Bills, Curator of Watts Gallery and Barbara Bryant, Consultant Curator and Historian.
Strawberry Fortnight Begins Tomorrow in
The Tea Shop at Watts Gallery!
21 June 2010 - Tomorrow sees the start of all things strawberry in the Tea Shop at Watts Gallery. Watch out for daily specialsas we will be putting on a full strawberry themed extravaganza, including our own strawberry jam. Tuesday 22 June to Sunday 4 July.
Sir Peter Blake to visit Watts Gallery as part of Sunday's Fairy Fair!
15 June 2010 - Sir Peter Blake, the aclaimed godfather of Pop Art, will be visiting Watts Gallery on the CCA Art Bus this Sunday. The artist is famed for his Beatles record cover for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band but also for his love of Victoriana and Victorian fairy paintings in particular. He will be judging a competition for the best wands and wings designed by children in the workshops that take place as part of the Fairy Fair Find out more here.
Surrey Advertiser 'Be An Angel' Campaign Building Momentum
11 June 2010 - We have been overwhelmed by the number of calls, letters, emails and personal vistis by readers of the Surrey Advertiser in response to their 'Be An Angel' campagin to recruit 1500 Friends of Watts Gallery by the end of July 2010. The second weeks article featured Penelope Keith and our amazing volunteer co-ordinator Sheila Dobson. Find out more here.
Surrey Advertiser 'Be An Angel' Campaign Launches Today
4 June 2010 - We are delighted that the Surrey Advertiser has backed Watts Gallery's Hope Appeal to raise the last £100,000 needed to complete the restoration of Watts Gallery. They are encouraging their readers to join the Friends of Watts Gallery to help reach 1500 Friends by the end of July 2010. This will unclock £27,000 of funding from an anonymous angel who provides £60 for every new Friend we recruit. Find out more here.
Last Tile Returned to Restored Roof at Watts Gallery
1 June 2010 - Today, Watts Gallery celebrates a major milestone as the last tile is returned to the restored roof of this national gallery in the heart of the village of Compton. Marilyn Scott, committee member for the Heritage Lottery Fund in the South East, will join Watts Gallery’s Director, Perdita Hunt, to place the final tile on the roof, a symbolic moment as this vital project was made possible through a mammoth fundraising task supported by a £4.3million Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant.
Marilyn Scott committee member for Heritage Lottery Fund, South East, said;
“Watts Gallery is an integral part of the South East’s rich heritage, making a wealth of art accessible to everyone. The Heritage Lottery Fund is proud to be able to support all the hard work that has gone into this gallery already and it is great news that the restoration of the roof is now complete. There is still a way to go, but this is a fantastic milestone to reach.”
Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport performs Topping Out ceremony for Watts Gallery.
Jeremy Hunt, newly appointed Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport and Member of Parliament for South West Surrey, today visited Watts Gallery in Compton, Surrey to complete the topping out ceremony as part of the restoration of this national Gallery in the heart of a village. This was the Member of Parliament's first Gallery visit since his appointment as Secretary of State.
Jeremy Hunt has been a long-term champion of Watts Gallery and has close links to the village of Compton, where his grandmother is buried, and his parents live close by. He is also a cousin of Wilfrid Blunt, a former Curator of Watts Gallery.
Perdita Hunt, Director of Watts Gallery commented: “We are honoured that Jeremy, who has been a close supporter of Watts Gallery at a national level has chosen to visit us at this momentous time as we reach the highest point of the building. G F Watts had a phrase ‘The Utmost for the Highest” which seems very appropriate as Jeremy has done his utmost to help Watts Gallery achieve its aims of restoring Watts Gallery for the community and for the nation."
Speakers Announced for Watts Symposium in July 2010
Celebrate the magnificent Cemetery Chapel created by Mary Watts for the village of Compton. This nationally important Grade I listed building, Byzantine in shape and Celtic in decoration, stands on Budburrow Hill less than half a mile from Watts Gallery.
Its importance lies not only in its unique design, but in its rich decoration; terracotta on its exterior and painted gesso interior. The decoration is heavy with symbolism expressed through a wide range of images.
Click here for the list of speakers
