Watts Chapel

Brought some colour into a drab afternoon by making a visit to the Watts Gallery and Chapel, at Compton near Guildford. This is the chapel ceiling, looking right up at the dome.

Mary Sefton Watts designed the cemetery chapel, building completed in 1898; she and her husband paid for the entire work. It was created with the help of more than 70 of the villagers to whom she taught clay modelling to make the terracotta tiles. The interior was made from gesso - felt dipped in a mixture of plaster and glue - in Mary's studio, finally completing it in 1904. Many of the villagers who worked on the chapel are now buried in the cemetery along with Mary and her husband, the artist G.F. Watts whose work can be seen at the nearby gallery.

Today in the gallery there was also an exhibition of the work of Evelyn and William de Morgan, beautiful colours and fantastic images. The whole afternoon we were impressed and inspired by images influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement, Pre-Raphaelite and Celts. Many of the headstones in the church yard are also arts and crafts [note to Frieda - they are beautiful!]. Seventh heaven.

As my friend George would have said, well worth a visit.