The Arts Society Kennet & Swindon `TASKS’ – November 2023 Meeting – The Lecture: ‘William Morris and The Cotswolds’

The November 2023 meeting of TASKS will be on Monday 20^th November.  The lecture will begin at 11.00 am and coffee will, as usual, be available from 10.15 am.  Guests are always very welcome.

The Lecture: William Morris and The Cotswolds

Morris took a lot of inspiration from the Cotswolds and the surrounding area. He was first introduced to the Southwest as a schoolboy at Marlborough, escaping into the Downs whenever he could. In later life he took his young family to Broadway and, while travelling, discovered the damage being done to local buildings in the name of restoration, and this led to the founding of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. Then, in the1870s, he took on the lease of Kelmscott Manor near Lechlade, which became his country home; This talk will explore Morris’s relationship with the region, and how it  inspired his poetry, design and his ideas of ideal living – and look at the friends who were inspired to follow him here.

The speaker: Kirsty Hartsiotis

Kirsty Hartsiotis has been the curator of the decorative and fine art at The Wilson Art Gallery and Museum, Cheltenham since 2008, and prior to that was the curator and manager of Swindon Museum and Art Gallery. At Cheltenham she looks after the Designated Arts and Crafts Movement collection, which includes the important private press archive, the Emery Walker Library.