Watts Chapel

I spent the morning continuing to sort out an accumulation of years of paperwork - but progress is being made, and I shredded a large bag full ready for the recycling bin - very satisfying!

This afternoon I defied the miserable weather and headed off to Watts Gallery: an art gallery in the village of Compton, near Guildford in Surrey, dedicated to the work of the Victorian-era painter and sculptor George Frederic Watts.  The gallery was one of the finalists in the BBC TV series Restoration Village in 2006, which aimed to publicise and save severely neglected buildings of heritage importance throughout the United Kingdom.  It come second, missing out on much needed funds, but 2 years later secured funds for a major repairs and refurbishment by selling 2 of its paintings.  I last visited before the BBC show, so today it was good to see the improvements.

Nearby is the Watts Cemetry Chapel, designed by Mary Watts, wife of the artist, and an accomplished artist in her own right.  Mary instructed the local villagers in how to model the tiles from local clay to form the beautiful and symbolic patterns she designed.  The interior is richly decorated with hand painted gesso, as seen in blip.  The Chapel and adjacen cemetry are still in active use by the village.