AN £8MILLION EXPANSION OF THE HOME OF THE BLOOMSBURY SET

THIS AUTUMN CHARLESTON FARMHOUSE IN SUSSEX, THE HOME OF ARTISTS VANESSA BELL AND DUNCAN GRANT, WILL LAUNCH THE WOLFSON GALLERY, ITS FIRST DEDICATED EXHIBITION SPACE AND THE THRESHING BARN RESTAURANT.

THE IDEAS AND RADICALISM OF THE ARTISTS, WRITERS AND INTELLECTUALS OF THE BLOOMSBURY GROUP WILL BE AT THE HEART OF CHARLESTON'S NEW PROGRAMME.  THE EXHIBITS WILL INTERROGATE THE CONTEMPORARY RELEVANCE OF THOSE WHO LIVED AND WORKED AT CHARLESTON OVER 100 YEARS AGO.

THE OPENING EXHIBITION ORLANDO AT THE PRESENT TIME (UNTIL JANUARY 6) BRINGS TOGETHER CONTEMPORARY ARTISTIC RESPONSES TO VIRGINIA WOOLF'S LANDMARK NOVEL ORLANDO: A BIOGRAPHY AND WILL MARK 90 YEARS SINCE ITS ORIGINAL PUBLICATION.

TAKE A TURN IN HOTEL ENDSLEIGH'S LEGENDARY GARDENS

THE DUKE OF BEDFORD, WHO TWO CENTURIES AGO OWNED A THIRD OF DEVON, CHOSE THE BEAUTIFUL ENDSLEIGH ESTATE FOR HIS HUNTING AND FISHING LODGE. OVERLOOKING THE RIVER TAMAR AND BEYOND INTO CORNWALL, HOTEL ENDSLEIGH, NOW OWNED BY OLGA POLIZZI, IS SET IN 108 ACRES OF GARDENS, WOODLAND, FOLLIES AND GROTTOS.

THIS YEAR MARKS THE BICENTENARY OF THE DEATH OF HUMPHRY REPTON, THE RENOWNED  LANDSCAPE GARDENER WHOSE GARDENS AT ENDSLEIGH WERE HIS LAST COMMISSION. 

AUTUMN IS AN ENCHANTING TIME TO VISIT; FLOWERS ARE STILL ABUNDANT, TREES AND SHRUBS STILL HOLD THEIR FORM BUT ADDED TO THE MIX ARE GOLDEN HUES AND FIREY TINTS. AS WINTER DRAWS CLOSER IT BRINGS A PARED-BACK CLARITY TO REPTON'S ORIGINAL DESIGN REVEALING THE STRUCTURE OF THE GARDEN, THE DRAMATIC COMBINATIONS OF WATER AND ROCK COMING TO THE FORE.

A GEM FROM THE ARCHIVE....

DURING THE 1920S HOPS FROM THE MITCHELL ESTATE WERE DRIED IN THE OAST HOUSE AT FOXBURY FARM. HOPS WERE PICKED IN THE HOP GARDENS BEFORE THEY WERE TRANSPORTED IN LARGE HESSIAN SACKS TO BE STORED ON THE FIRST FLOOR OF THE OAST HOUSE. EACH BAG WOULD BE LIFTED BY A PULLEY AND THEN SPREAD OUT IN THE KILNS TO DRY. ONE OF THE ESTATE'S DILIGENT EMPLOYEES, BERT FARMER, WOULD SLEEP IN THE OAST TO MAKE SURE THAT THE HOPS DIDN'T OVER-DRY. SUCH WAS HIS DEDICATION TO THE ROLE, HIS FAMILY WOULD CARRY HIS MEALS ACROSS THE FIELDS SO THAT HE DID NOT HAVE TO LEAVE HIS POSITION.

TO DISCOVER MORE ABOUT MITCHELL AND PEACH'S HERITAGE VISIT TIMELINE