Stoneleigh Abbey

Stoneleigh Abbey is a 20-minute drive from our house, yet we had never been before. Odd. So, we decided to visit two weeks ago.

The Abbey dates back to 1154 when Henry II granted these lands to a small community of Cistercian monks who had the church and then the Abbey built. After the dissolution of the monasteries, the estate went to private hands and various buildings were added over the years. In 1806 the estate passed to Rev. Thomas Leigh. He came to view his inheritance, bringing with him his cousin Cassandra Austen and her two daughters, Cassandra and Jane. The estate is mentioned as the fictional Sotherton Court in Mansfield Park.

A Santa was greeting the kids by the gate to one of the buildings

and two reindeer are kept nearby. I hate seeing animals in captivity and usually it upsets me too much to go near. I did however this time, and asked the two keepers (or should I say jailers?) about the reindeer. They said about how well kept they are and how they each have their own paddock. 'Yes', I thought 'and you think they prefer this to running free?' 

Through the gates is this circular courtyard where the stables, and other outbuildings are situated.

The courtyard is such a gorgeous space

A Christmas fair was going on in one of the buildings

and we had a quick look.

We then retraced our steps, back to the long avenue that leads to the car park

and went to the 14th century gate house which is where the ticket office is.

The gate house was built in 1346 and is the largest surviving fragment of the old monastic buildings. It is also one of a few monastic gatehouses that remain structurally complete.

This is one of the main buildings. There was a tour organised (we were not allowed to go in by ourselves which would have been our prefered option) but the time did not suit us, and we were not that bothered anyway. We go to these places for the walking in the grounds.

The grounds around this building are gorgeous

We walked down the steps

towards the river

and then towards the orangerie

nice view of the house from here

the Avon

and the orangery

we started exploring

intrigued by this structure 

We went to investigate

It's an early 19th century garden house, with a thatched roof. It's supported by a central wooden post and wooden posts all around. The front is open while the back is enclosed. There's a bench along the back wall.

It must be lovely sitting here on a hot, sunny day.

We continued exploring

along the river

and then entered the woods

Arrived at the pump house and water wheel.

crossed on the bridge

then on this path

back in the woods

past the pet cemetery

Having arrived at the end of the grounds we turned around taking a path that run parallel to the one we had been walking on

and eventually arrived to where we had started from

noticed this very low cloud - it looked almost like a mountain

a different view of the house

we then took this path hoping to extend our walk

Came to another wheel and weir and this is where as far as we were allowed to go.

We had a really good time, but doubt if we will ever go back there - the walk is far too short. 

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to you all, and all the best.

(A picture from the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona).

 

Connecting Thin Black Lines

Connecting Thin Black Lines

at the ICA, London.

We saw this exhibition in London in August. The exhibition is curated by Lubaina Himid, (one of my favourite artists) who wanted to remember and celebrate a landmark moment in art history, 40 years ago, when a group of black women exhibited together in The Thin Black Line in 1985, at the ICA. The exhibition was challenging the marginalisation of Black and Asian, British women artists within the British art world.

Eleven artists presented their work at the exhibition highlighting the intersections between race and gender and which took on a political definition  of 'blackness' to include British Asians too, due to a shared postcolonial experience. Their practices were as varied then, as they are now, through figuration, abstraction, iconography, minimalism, realism and fantasy.

Himid wrote at the time: 'All eleven artists in this exhibition are concerned with the politics and realities of being Black Women... We are claiming what is ours and making ourselves visible. We are eleven of the hundreds of creative Black Women in Britain. We are here to stay'.

Jennifer Comrie, Coming to Terms through Conflict, 1987, (pastel, photocopy collage and paper on board)

Ingrid Pollard, Seventeen of Sixty-Eight (detail), 2018, (digital print, glass-mounted)

This work forms part of Seventeen of Sixty-Eight, a larger mixed-media installation that examines the recurring figure of the Black boy in British pub names and signage. The title regfers to the 68 pubs in the UK that include 'Black Boy' in their name.

Maud Sulter, Zabat:Polyhumnia (Portrait of Dr Ysaye Barnwell, 1989, (cibachrome print on paper)

Part of a series of nine photographic portraits of creative Black women, staging each as a muse of the arts from Greek mythology, seeking to challenge the lack of representation Black women artists have in art institutions and art history.

Sonia Boyce, Rice n Peas, 1982, (pastel on paper)

Lubaina Himid, Venetian Maps: Shoemakers, 1997, (acrylic on canvas)

Part of a series of works on Venice. Himid observes that 'Venice is a symbol for me, to how people of the black diaspora have for centuries been the backbone of the cultural development of many European cities but that this presence is invisible... Venice looks like it does because Venetians were impressed by North African/Arabic culture, its richness and sophisti ation, its intricacy and its colour and spectacular shifting moving symbolism'.

To see more of Lubaina Himid's work go here

Claudette Johnson. Trilogy: Woman in Blue, Woman in Black, Woman in Red, 1982-86, (watercolour, gouache and pastel on paper)

Johnson instructed the sitters to pose in a way to take up as much space as possible. She also asked them to adopt poses that were reflective of who they are, ensuring that they could 'be seen to exist beyond the trope of the 'strong Black woman''.

You can see more of Johnson's work here

Veronica Ryan, Threads, 2024, (crushed plastic bottles, Himalayan salt, crocheted cotton)

looking closer

Chila Kumari Burman, 2+2 Equals Whatever They Say, 2025:

Burman's vibrant neons frequently draw upon everyday objects, popular culture and high art. Her playful style belies a serious belief in challenging stereotypes and positioning alternative perspectives of Britishness in the centre of debate. 

To see more of Burman's work go here  and here

Tiger, 2021

Ice Cream Van, 2020

Protester - Without Us There is No Britain, 2022