Who? you ask. I did. Even the Textiliste, who’s cultural life is so much wider and deeper than mine, didn’t know them before something appeared on some feed somewhere.
Had you lived in England in the 1890s with her appreciation of fine things – I still would have failed, philistine me – you would have heard of him. He was an artist and, specifically a portraitist of much renown. His wife, Mary, probably less so given the wider and deeper misogyny of those years.
His talent and accompanying fame generated a sufficiency of the spending stuff to enable them to built a rather splendid home on the Surrey countryside near Guildford. Then it was humbler farms, now its overpriced bankers and studs. It was and is delightful, whoever lives there.
They built a gallery to house his work, and workshops from where they continued their artistic endeavours until his death in 1904. Mary continued to live there until the 1930s and while the house was sold into private ownership it is now back under the management of the GF Watts trust.
I didn’t take many shots of the art or the interiors. It seems right that these should be for you to discover. But the above is a taste.
There are many splendid reasons to find the excuse to visit but the real draw is the small chapel that Mary Watts determined to build. When they arrived in the 1880s the local graveyard attached to the village church was full. The local authority bought a piece of land as an overspill and Mary offered to design a memorial chapel for those waiting to be buried, where the deceased could rest prior to interment.
In fact she raised money and had the chapel built under her watchful eye, training locals in the skills of creating the intricate terracotta bricks that make up the chapel’s exterior. It is a stunning piece of work, with so much detail that you wander round the outside, unsure what to focus on next.
The doors are equally grand and looked, for all the world as if they were locked.
We tried the handle…
I don’t think I’ve experienced such a shock and awe moment as walking inside created, not for sometime. Probably not since we visited Cookham church decorated by Stanley Spencer, when walking the Thames Path. It was so unexpected. I took this video to try and capture a sense of the place but nothing really does it justice except seeing it for yourself.
Back outside, and above us a covered walkway drew us close. In front the simple graves of GF and Mary were placed.
They were a power couple of their days, influencers to coin the modern descriptor. It is sad that they are not better remembered; Mary, at least, and her chapel deserves a wider audience.
These last two pictures are two of the monumental sculptures that GF focused on in later life. The man is Tennyson, poet laureate and friend. From this a bronze was cast which now resides in front of Lincoln Cathedral. The horse epitomizes physical energy and is some sort of a tribute to Cecil Rhodes, not a name that is much celebrated these days. There have been four casts, the first cast is in Cape town, the second in Kensington Gardens and a third ended up in Harare. A fourth is planned for this site but we didn’t see it when we were there. The material used is called grosse gesso and, I’m informed, is very messy.
TanGental 
We came across it while walking the North Downs Way. It is indeed a beautiful place.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I did some of that with my dad back in 1988, when he retired and did it all with a couple of friends. I joined after this so missed it. And he never mentioned it!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
That chapel is something else. Thanks for sharing it here. I love discovering these surprises tucked away.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I bet there are as many in Spain as here
LikeLiked by 1 person
There are many here, in tiny villages that no one knows about too. One of the things I love about Europe.
LikeLiked by 1 person
First, create a vibrant economy by exploiting your own people. Second exploit lots of other nations. Third, use that wealth to create a middle class and leisure time. Fourth fund the arts. Five leave it for us to enjoy. There you go, colonialism justified!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Then there’s that!
LikeLiked by 1 person
A marvellously fascinating well photographed tour
LikeLiked by 1 person
v kind; splendid place, I must admit
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow, just wow!
LikeLiked by 1 person
yep, I’ll give you that
LikeLike
I thank you
LikeLiked by 1 person
Such beauty! ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
I forgot to mention that she only painted women in the chapel; quite a lady
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well done on the breathing control whilst filming! Not bad for a “little home”! The gesso sounds very messy – rabbit skin glue, chalk and white pigment! A marvellous report, thank you both.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think I’d have liked gesso in art at school…
LikeLiked by 1 person
‘The simple graves of GF and Mary ‘
Si Monumentum Requiris Circumspice
I remember taking Peter to the chapel one day, bringing him back from uni.
It is always interesting to see him when confronted by major works of art, he goes very silent, looking at everything in great detail, then pulling out his sketch block (which, as you know, he always carries) and sketching or making notes.
The reaction of the guide in the chapel was typical, she looked askance at him, he was very shaggy and unkempt then, I followed him in and said simply, ‘Art Student’, at this she relaxed.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Some things don’t change….
LikeLike
This place is, in a word, breathtaking. A jewel! Thanks so much to the textiliste and you for taking us there on a tour. You are so lucky to live with such art and history surrounding you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
How many of these there are I wonder. Many I guess. Yep, lucky is the word
LikeLike
Definitely a place I’d like to visit. Thanks for the intro. Love all the faces.
LikeLike
All female or children; unusual for the time but lovely to see
LikeLike
Thank you for sharing this treasure, Geoff. I won’t be going there soon so I loved the photos
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad to give you a small snapshot
LikeLiked by 1 person
😁
LikeLike
Absolutely superb! But oh, my blood does boil at “Mrs Watts, wife of …”
LikeLike
Tell me. Did you see the images she painted in the chapel are all women. I’d like to think that was a deliberate snub from her!
LikeLike
I confess it hadn’t stuck me till i read some of the comments, but good for her!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, good on Mary and what a artistic thoughtful person she was. Great day out and the carving on those buildings, wow. Thanks for sharing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I want to go back; there was so much to see and take in
LikeLiked by 1 person
During a second viewing, you both will no doubt find more than you thought was there. Museums and art galleries are like picking green beans; there appears to be more every time you look.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very true
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow. That chapel is like nothing I’ve seen. Breathtaking. Like entering into a Pre-Raphaelite painting. Thank you for a wonderful post. I must find the opportunity to visit it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I wasn’t expecting that at all after the delicious carvings outside. As you say it was like going inside her work. We are spoilt in this country to have such gens tucked away and still preserved; you only have to look at what’s happened in Ukraine or Turkey/Syria to realise how easy it is to lose one’s cultural background
LikeLiked by 1 person
Absolutely
LikeLiked by 1 person
HI Geoff, this is a most beautiful place. So much time and effort involved in the creation of the chapel and all the artworks too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A true labour of love and, of course, being a woman she didn’t get the recognition she deserved… grr…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I haven’t heard of these artists, I’m sorry to say. The chapel looks an amazing place. Thanks for sharing your photos.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m delighted to pass on my good fortune on going. It was astonishing
LikeLiked by 1 person
Stunning. Thank you for sharing it with us.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was the most tremendous visual delight
LikeLike
That chapel is amazing. I’m so glad you resorted to video because it put the different pieces together as a whole. For some reason, I kept thinking of bas reliefs done by Augustus Saint-Gaudens when I was looking at the art and then that painting of the woman with the veil and the orb–looks so similar to the Adams Memorial in Rock Creek cemetery in DC. I checked and they were contemporaries–breathing the same artistic air. That would be a place I’d visit over and over if it were close.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh indeed; we will go back. It’s far too much to absorb in one visit…
LikeLike
This was just wonderful, Geoff. Thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
These places are such delights. We are v lucky to have them
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes!
LikeLiked by 1 person