The Story of Crafts Alive
The Gloucestershire Guild has developed an exciting new way of showing their work through the creation of a unique and beautiful experience, in its biennial Crafts Alive five-day festival at Rodmarton Manor
Introduction
The Gloucestershire Guild has developed an exciting new way of showing their work through the creation of a unique and beautiful experience, in its biennial Crafts Alive five-day festival at Rodmarton Manor.
No longer confined to a gallery space, work is created by Guild members, often site-specific and inspired by the house and its surroundings, to re-imagine this important Arts and Crafts historic Manor House, furnishing its rooms with contemporary craft.
Members are onsite during the festival to engage with visitors about their work and a community atmosphere is created by the programme of talks, demonstrations and workshops for all ages, including a makers Development Award, the inspiration of our patrons.
image: Richard Foot
The Biddulph Family
This unique re-imagining of an historic setting has been permitted through the generosity and trust of the current owners, John and Sarah Biddulph.
John and Sarah are the 4th generation of the founding family. They put away many of their original Arts and Crafts pieces and other personal belongings so the contemporary works can be sensitively placed in the domestic setting with the expertise of our freelance exhibition curator.
Working in partnership with the Biddulphs provides privileged access opportunities rare in
any other circumstance.
image Su Trindle
Rodmarton History
Rodmarton’s history makes it the perfect setting for Crafts Alive.
The house was commissioned by Claud and Margaret Biddulph and designed by the Arts and Crafts movement architect, Ernest Barnsley.
Built between 1909-1929 using local materials, the project was very much a community enterprise, providing employment and training for local people in traditional building crafts.
Rodmarton became a hub for creative activity with people from Rodmarton village coming to take part and enjoy music, plays and puppet shows in the main rooms.
They also ran craft workshops where local people could learn new skills such as embroidery and woodwork.
image Su Trindle
Craft at Rodmarton
Furniture was made for the house by the architect, by his brother Sidney Barnsley, and by Peter Waals, the former foreman of Ernest Gimson’s workshop, all important figures in the British Arts and Crafts movement.
To supplement their contribution the Rodmarton woodworking shop was set up under the direction of Ernest Barnsley with Alfred Wright as its foreman.
Peter Waals was one of a number of local makers who ran craft workshops at Rodmarton.
All the architectural and domestic metalwork was made on site in the smithy run by Frank Baldwin and his son, Fred Baldwin.
Both the woodworking shop and smithy at Rodmarton survived for decades – the latter only closed in the 1950s.
image Liz Lippiatt
A Craft Community
The sculptor William Simmonds made a Punch and Judy theatre and a set of puppets for the Biddulphs. This commission included classes for local people to work the puppets.
Simmonds’ sculptures are now known worldwide – ‘The Farm Team’ and other examples are part of Tate Britain’s collection.
Alfred and Louise Powell, pottery decorators for Wedgwood were based nearby and painted pottery and furniture for the house. Their friends, Phyllis Barron and Dorothy Larcher, screen-printed fabric for curtains.
William Rothenstein, another local acquaintance, introduced the young mural artist Hilda Benjamin to the Biddulphs. She decorated the house with her fresco paintings and galvanised the local women to produce an outstanding series of appliqué panels featuring local scenes. Their group, the Rodmarton Women’s Guild, met in the house on a weekly basis.
The legacy and utopian vision of Claud and Margaret Biddulph lives on in the Gloucestershire Guild’s extraordinary community with its inspiring vision for developing and sharing skills through the Crafts Alive festival.
image Su Trindle
Crafts Alive
The first Crafts Alive was held in 2018, very much as an experiment. Its success enabled the Guild to organize a second in 2021 and the third in 2023.
The festival shows the continuing huge social value of the Arts and Crafts movement, respect for the environment, and the importance of creating something well-made and accessible to all.
image Liz Lippiatt
Enrichment Programme
With each Crafts Alive, the Guild builds on its relationships and partnerships to create an enriching experience through a range of activities leading up to and during the festival.
Local schools, including the school in Rodmarton, The University of Gloucestershire, Gloucester Cathedral, organisations such as The Nelson Trust and The Gloucester Friendship Cafe, local theatres, museums, other individual makers and performers have all contributed to the festival.
A recent example from 2023 is the flag installation shown in the orchard at Rodmarton.
Running tested craft-based activities, to provide a creative release for those who are facing difficult times in their lives, young people and adults were given the chance to experiment with different craft techniques including block printing, stencilling, appliqué, embroidery, and weaving.
Sessions took place at their locations and at drop-in sessions during the festival. Based around the symbolic and positive nature of flags, they became part of the landscape, sending messages of positivity and hope in the wind.
Finally, the participants were provided with transport and tickets to visit the festival.
image Liz Lippiatt
Collaborations
Other collaborative projects have highlighted Rodmarton’s past and those associated with its history.
A partnership with Chris Garner, director of The Stroud Playhouse Theatre and playwright Frank Hatt resulted in a touring play about the life of Lucy Barnsley, Sidney Barnsley’s wife, reflecting on how she lived with hearing loss.
The play was launched at Rodmarton Village Hall during the festival then went onto tour the county to venues including the Everyman in Cheltenham.
image Liz Lippiatt
Further Collaborations
Crafts Alive is also a chance for other artists to work collaboratively with the Guild and showcase their work.
2023 saw the work of:
Fiaz Elson from The Glass Foundry who created a new piece inspired by the house, landscape or the theme. (pictured)
The late Rory Young whose family enabled the loan of maquettes of seven stone-carved martyrs for St Albans Cathedral that were shown in Rodmarton Manor chapel.
Paul Grellier who lent marble tools and showed newly commissioned work in the landscape, raising awareness of the environmental impact of ash dieback.
Susie Hetherington, an Arts and Crafts block printer and patternlog blogger created a furnished room with specially designed textiles inspired by the house alongside a patternlog film of the inspirations provided by Rodmarton Manor.
Louisa Forbes showed classical figurative sculpture drawing from life.
Ann-Margreth Bohl, the sculptor and installation artist showed work that inhabits the space between craft and conceptual art.
image Richard Foot
Crafts Alive 2025
The fourth Crafts Alive will take place 10-14 September 2025.
This five-day festival is a unique re-imagining of one of the country’s finest Arts and Crafts houses, Rodmarton Manor. Outstanding contemporary crafts will be shown throughout the house.
The idea for a floral theme for Crafts Alive 2025 has come from a 1972 recording of the first-ever festival at Rodmarton.
The first festival was a flower festival to celebrate the first public opening of Rodmarton Manor since the Second World War.
Makers have been invited to take their inspiration from flowers, something which is in abundance at Rodmarton, in the house and garden.
Original work will be for sale by Guild members and guest exhibitors. During the festival there will be demonstrations, workshops, talks for all ages. Delicious locally made food and drinks will be available too.
Tickets will be available by pre-booking online from April 2025.