It is difficult to imagine how famous G F Watts was in his lifetime. He was a painter of enormous talent and energy but also with the charisma and influential connections to become the “go to” artist for the great and good of Victorian Britain. He lived the great majority of his life in London until, at the age of 74, he moved to the small Surrey village of Compton.
His house, Limnerslease, designed by the Arts and Crafts architect Ernest George, was completed in 1891 and originally intended as an autumn and winter retreat with his recent wife, Mary. Mary was an accomplished artist in her own right and was to become the driving force behind the creation of an extraordinary artistic and social experiment in the Surrey Downs.
Soon, the house became the Watts’ permanent home and a studio and gallery was commenced on an adjoining site. A pottery for local workers followed, with a hostel attached, and most remarkable of all a cemetery chapel, the like of which has not been seen in England before or since. The cemetery chapel was the inspiration and product of Mary Watts and was intended as a celebration of her beloved husband and his work. The chapel’s neo-byzantine form and extraordinary decoration, externally in terracotta, internally in gesso, were designed and made by Mary and her Art Guild potters as well as many local women from the village.
The gallery was built in a subdued Arts and Crafts style designed by a local architect and contained many of Watts paintings, sculptures and drawings. At its inception, it was hugely popular. However, as time passed and Watts’ fame and the appreciation of his talent wavered, the numbers began to fall and the funds necessary to maintain the fabric dwindled. By the 1990’s the gallery had taken on an air of dilapidation that, while picturesque, was not conducive to the viewing or long-term survival of the paintings and drawings. When oldgreytravel first visited there were buckets on the floor catching rainwater and levels of damp and sunlight that were unacceptable in any modern museum environment. Security levels were practically non-existent. The gallery, and its famous tea shop, were much loved by locals but as one trustee said it was “being loved to death.”
The decision was made in 2004 to launch a massive restoration project and seek the necessary funds wherever possible. The building had the good fortune to be featured on the BBC’s popular Restoration series where it came runner-up. The publicity led to some £10 million pounds being raised and one of the largest Heritage Lottery Grants then given to a private trust. The gallery closed in 2008 and re-opened in 2011. The restoration has sought to keep the essential built form of the buildings but the character of a ramshackle, eccentric collection has gone forever to be replaced by a modern, state of the art museum environment.
The pottery closed finally in the 1960’s. However, the cemetery chapel has had a recent renovation and is in excellent condition. Limnerslease, the Watts home, has been bought back by the Trust and now forms part of the “Artists Village” – it is not open to the public at the moment but it is hoped that public access can be achieved in due course.
In all, the house, gallery and cemetery chapel provide a unique complex dedicated to the memory of one man and his work.
Compton lies just south of Guildford. The gallery, shop and tea shop are open to visitors during opening hours. Limnerslease is not open to public viewing though the grounds can be visited. The cemetery and chapel are a few minutes’ walk south of the gallery and are open and free to view during daylight hours. Oldgreytravel posted about Compton and its famous church in May 2019.
