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THE
COTSWOLD CRAFTSMEN
MARY GREENSTED
The Cotswolds were the main rural centre for the Arts and Crafts Movement from the 1890s. C. R. Ashbee’s Guild of Handicraft, which moved from London’s East End to Chipping Campden in 1902, was one important element. However it is the work of Ernest Gimson and the brothers, Ernest and Sidney Barnsley, in the south Cotswolds which encapsulates the Cotswold furniture tradition.
Exhibit
1 detail of chip carving.
Gimson and Sidney Barnsley were young architects in 1893 when they decided that they did not want to pursue
traditional careers with a London office and all that entailed. Instead they decided to move to the country and immerse themselves in its traditions and
working practices. With Ernest Barnsley they worked closely together at Pinbury, near Cirencester before moving to the nearby village of Sapperton in 1901 where Gimson ran the Daneway workshops and Sidney Barnsley continued designing and making all his own work.
Their designs were characterised by functional rectilinear designs based on a frame and panel construction. A feature was made of constructional details such as dovetail joints emphasising the Arts and Crafts idea of honest workmanship. The standards of workmanship and quality of materials used were invariably high. Decoration was limited to simple gouged or chip-carved patterns with inlaid stringing on finer pieces. Occasionally inlaid or painted designs were used based on flower or leaf forms or the geometric patterns of Byzantine art.
The impact of their work has been diverse. Gimson’s foreman Peter Waals set up a workshop in nearby Chalford in 1919 which survived until 1937. Many of the fine cabinet makers, such as Harry Davoll and Owen Scrubey, carried on working independently through the 20th century. There are numerous links between Gimson, the Barnsleys, and their contemporary,
A Romney Green, working in Haslemere and Christchurch, while Green’s pupils Eric Sharpe and Stanley Davies continued the connection in Hampshire and the Lake District respectively. Sidney’s son, Edward Barnsley, set up a workshop at Froxfield, Hampshire in 1923. Numerous craft makers have been connected with this workshop, including Oliver Morel, Hugh Birkett, and most notably Alan Peters OBE. The Gimson/Barnsley tradition is still a potent influence on designer/makers throughout the country.
Exhibit
18 detail of handle and wedge tenons.
Peter Waals and
subsequently Edward Barnsley taught trainee teachers at Loughborough Training College in the 1930s and ‘40s. They had a
tremendous impact on several generations of teachers and pupils and the influence of Cotswold Arts and Crafts is obvious in the books and teaching manuals of the period.
Exhibit
1 side view showing construction of the feet.
After the First World War, Gordon Russell began designing one-off pieces in Broadway which combined the basics of the
Gimson/Barnsley furniture with his own enthusiasm for 17th century work. Gordon Russell Ltd went over to batch
production in the late 1920s but the influence of Cotswold Arts and Crafts can still be seen in the Utility Furniture designs produced under Russell’s supervision during the Second World War. They combined clean
functional design with quality materials and good workmanship bringing the ideals of the Arts and Crafts Movement to a mass market.
Exhibit
22 showing detail of fielded panelling.
Mary Greensted
Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum.
First published in 'The Collector'
April/May 2005 edition.
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