This
year is the 40th Anniversary of the founding of NADFAS and for our own
celebration we have arranged a private guided tour and supper at Charleston in Sussex. This was a meeting place for the group of artists, writers and intellectuals known as the Bloomsbury group during the first half of the twentieth century and was occupied by artists Vanessa and Clive Bell and Duncan Grant. It was visited amongst others by Virginia and Leonard Woolf, E.M. Forster and Roger Fry The house contains a collection of paintings and lithographs and was decorated by the artists. Before arriving at Charleston we will have a guided tour of Berwick Church, which was also decorated by the Bloomsbury group. Donations to the Church of £1.50 per head would be appreciated. On arrival at Charleston we will have a guided tour followed by pre-supper sparkling wine and supper with wine. Hopefully we will have a fine evening to enjoy the beautiful gardens.
Report of visit to Charleston
On Wednesday 4th June 2008, 49 members of Knole DFAS celebrated the 40th Anniversary of NADFAS with a late afternoon visit to Charleston in Sussex.
In 1916 the artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant moved to Sussex with their unconventional household and over the next half century Charleston became the country meeting place for the group of artists, writers and intellectuals known as the Bloomsbury group. Inspired by Italian fresco painting and the Post-Impressionists, the artists transformed the house by decorating the walls, doors, and furniture all in their own distinctive style.
En route we visited Berwick Church where we had an introductory talk and were able to see the exotic wall murals painted by the Bloomsbury artists, Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell.
On arrival at Charleston we were led to the charming walled gardens where we enjoyed a glass of sparkling wine in the early evening sunshine. We were then divided into five groups and conducted around the house by excellent guides. Recently restored, the house is enchanting and the rooms are laid out as they were originally lived in with some wonderful examples of the artists’ own paintings, murals, ceramics and textiles.
Following the tours we enjoyed a delicious cold buffet supper with ample quantities of wine. There was then just time to visit the Charleston shop selling a wide range of decorative goods before boarding the coach home again.
Charleston is a delightful place to visit. In complete contrast to the many grand stately homes that NADFAS often visit, it is a real artists’ home once inhabited by a group of people whose bohemian and flamboyant lifestyles were as intriguing as the house itself. A pictorial record of the visit can be seen by clicking here
Reported: Wednesday 04 June 2008
