The Attingham Study Programme 2024

‘Arts & Crafts Houses & Gardens’

September 16-22, 2024

This seven-day study programme will explore the origins and evolution of the Arts and Crafts movement in England by studying the work of its leading architects and designers and considering its influence here and abroad. We will be based in Surrey and Gloucestershire and will examine houses, gardens and collections in Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, and Herefordshire.

The course will begin with the two influential houses which bookend the architect Philip Webb’s career: Red House, designed for William Morris in 1859-60, and Standen, his most complete surviving work, with its fine collection of original Morris & Co. furnishings, furniture, and decorative arts. We will explore the extraordinary creative partnership between Gertrude Jekyll and Edwin Lutyens at Munstead Wood, where Jekyll’s skill as a designer and horticulturist finds perfect expression in her own garden which clothes the house designed for her by Lutyens. We will also visit Vann, where the architect W D Caröe extended his 16th century house and commissioned Jekyll to create a water garden in 1911. From Surrey, we will travel to Morris’s country home at Kelmscott Manor and on to Gloucestershire where we will spend time studying the pre-eminent Arts and Crafts collections of The Wilson in Cheltenham. Among the houses and gardens we will explore in this area, are Rodmarton Manor, designed by Ernest Gimson for Claud and Margaret Biddulph, and recognised as the last and greatest of the houses, entirely built and with its furniture made to Arts and Crafts ideals using local materials and craftspeople. At Owlpen Manor, which the architect, Norman Jewson, discovered in a state of near-dereliction and acquired in 1925, in order to repair it and ensure its survival, we will study the Mander family’s wonderful collection. We will then spend a day at two superb and highly contrasting houses near Malvern, the moated 19th century Madresfield Court, home to the Lygon family for over 900 years, with its library by CR Ashbee and the Guild of Handicraft and exceptional chapel and Perrycroft, designed by CFA Voysey as a country retreat for JW Wilson MP in 1893-4, on a spectacular sloping site in the Malvern Hills.

The course will feature lectures and study sessions with leading experts in the field and privileged access to private collections and gardens.

Enrollment and fees

The cost of the course is $4,120. This fee includes standard accommodation, breakfast, most lunches and dinners. All bedrooms are for single occupancy and have en-suite facilities. Participants are strongly advised to ensure against cancellation, as no refunds will be made following payment, unless the place can be filled by another suitable candidate.  

Applications

The deadline for applications is February 11, 2024.  All candidates will be notified by the end of March 2024 if they have been awarded a place.

Scholarships

In addition to general enrollment, some scholarship assistance is available for qualifying candidates thanks to the generosity of various individuals and charitable organizations.

Any candidate wishing to apply for a scholarship must complete the scholarship application form below. Please follow the instructions on the form to apply for financial assistance.

Scholarship Application From