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This autumn, visitors to Limnerslease – the historic home and studios of artists George Frederic Watts (1817-1904) and Mary Watts (1849-1938) located in the village of Compton, Surrey – can see a new decorative dinner service, created by serving prisoners, that celebrates inspiring women.
Displayed in the dining room of the Grade II listed Arts & Crafts house, the Women of ‘Our Time’Dinner Service is the work of nine artists at HMP Send who take part in weekly art workshops that provide women in prison with access to the therapeutic power of art. The ‘Our Time’ initiative is a partnership between HMP Send, the Michael Varah Memorial Fund (MVMF) and Watts Gallery Trust. Since 2009, it has enabled these women to improve their confidence, their mental health and wellbeing, supporting them to develop a range of skills that help them to gain from their prison journey and prepare for eventual rehabilitation through the gates.
With echoes of the Famous Women Dinner Service designed in the 1930s by Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, the Women of ‘Our Time’Dinner Service imagines the notable women Mary Watts might invite to her table, through a contemporary lens. The artists have decorated plates with likenesses of their six diverse guests, who – they believe – would broaden Mary’s horizons, in ways she would find mentally stimulating. They are: Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal; renowned contemporary artists Dame Tracey Emin and Lubaina Himid CBE; acclaimed author and former Children’s Laureate, Malorie Blackman OBE; world-famous actor Dame Helen Mirren, and Dorothy Hodgkin OM – the only British woman scientist to have been awarded a Nobel Prize.
These six plates are arranged on the dining table together with central plates featuring Mary Watts, one of Mary’s cherished pet dogs and an angel from the interior of Watts Chapel. Designed by Mary Watts and delivered as a pioneering community art project in the last decade of the 19th century, Grade I listed Watts Chapel is also open to visitors.
Sarah Jarvis, Head of Engagement, Watts Gallery Trust, said: “We’re delighted to present the Women of ‘Our Time’Dinner Service at Watts Gallery, in the very room that Mary and GF Watts hosted dinner guests and as part of our programme to mark Mary Watts’ 175th year.”
“Artist, designer, writer, businesswoman and philanthropist, Mary found ways for her art and creativity to support and inspire the people around her, and this is at the heart of our partnership with HMP Send and the Michael Varah Memorial Fund.”
“This installation celebrates inspiring women and it is also a wonderfully moving new work, that upholds the legacy of our founders who believed in Art for All by All. I would like to congratulate and thank the artists, and to thank the MVMF whose support makes this transformative project possible.”
Sally Varah MBE DL, Chair of the MVMF, said: “The 16-year partnership that MVMF enjoys with Watts Gallery Trust and Send Prison confirms our shared belief in the power of the creative arts to rehabilitate prisoners. These weekly workshops – delivered by the inspirational tutor, Sophie Artemis – are a sanctuary and an oasis, where the artists build confidence and self-efficacy, and vitally gain hope for their future.
“Their own pioneering ‘Our Time’ exhibition, founded by two of these women artists in 2017, is a flagship model of how women in prison can help to influence positive change. This dinner service is now the latest example of how these talented artists are constantly exploring new ways in which to process, reflect and express their emotions, through their love of art.”
The women artists at HMP Send, said: “Our Women of ‘Our Time’ Dinner Service is a metaphor for our group. We are all different, yet we come together in the Watts sessions with one common goal: what connects us is our art. ‘Our Time’, the exhibition that we organise and curate annually, makes us proud and gives us hope for the future.
“Creating this dinner service has been like engaging in conversation with the women guests – we’ve learned their stories whilst painting their likenesses. We believe they are all women who leave a legacy for a new generation. Like Mary Watts. And – thanks to the creative power of the arts to rehabilitate – ultimately, we hope, maybe like us!”
The Women of ‘Our Time’ Dinner Service will be displayed between 29 August and 30 November 2025 in the Dining Room at Limnerslease - the home and studios of G F and Mary Watts and included with admission to Watts Gallery. For further information and to book tickets: wattsgallery.org.uk
For further press information contact Tamsin Williams – tamsin@wigwampr.com
Notes to Editors
Watts Gallery
Watts Gallery Trust is an independent charity established in 1904 to enable future generations to connect with the art and ideas of George Frederic Watts, one of the leading artists of the nineteenth century, and his artist-wife, Mary Seton Watts.
G F Watts OM RA (1817-1904) was widely considered to be the greatest painter of the Victorian age. He became the first living artist to have a solo exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the artist’s ‘gift to the Nation’ made a significant contribution to the founding collections of Tate Britain and the National Portrait Gallery.
Mary Watts (1848-1939) was an artist, designer, writer, businesswoman and philanthropist. Her art supported and inspired the people around her, involving local communities in her projects. She was the creative powerhouse behind two significant enterprises: the Watts Chapel and the Compton Potters’ Arts Guild.
Today, Watts Gallery continues George and Mary Watts's legacy of Art for All by All. This vision to make art accessible to everyone is realised through a dynamic and multi-sensory programme of creativity, exhibitions, contemporary art projects and community engagement. Read more.
The Michael Varah Memorial Fund
The Michael Varah Memorial Fund (MVMF) is a registered charity that continues the beliefs of the late Michael Varah, a progressive and pragmatic Chief Probation Officer who understood the difficulties faced by offenders and ex-offenders as they try to rebuild their lives. It supports individuals who are marginalised and often at risk in society, to help develop their skills and improve their life chances, in prison and transitioning through the gates. It works collaboratively with partners, notably Watts Gallery Trust, and has funded the MVMF Artist in Residence programme to rehabilitate women prisoners at HMP Send since 2009. From 2017, the charity has worked alongside the artists at HMP Send to facilitate their annual ‘Our Time’ exhibition.
HMP Send and ‘Our Time’
Since 2017, the women artists on this programme at HMP Send have pioneered the ‘Our Time’ initiative – originating, planning and curating an annual exhibition of their work for invited guests inside the prison walls each June and learning new skills in the process. In 2025 they sold 202 artworks in six hours! The women also produce their own inspiring range of ‘Our Time’ merchandise. This enterprise, a ‘first’ in any UK prison, is supported by the MVMF and Watts Gallery Trust.