My London+

Apologies for the delay in posting the final part of this trip. I have had a really busy week.

I left you as we departed Berwick Church, and headed to Bateman’s, the home of Rudyard Kipling.

This was an added bonus for me because though it has nothing to do with The Bloomsbury Group, it did play into my other passion – The Pre-Raphaelites, who I have written about a few times before on my blog. Rudyard Kipling’s aunt Georgiana Burne-Jones, nee McDonald, was married to Edward Burne-Jones, great friend of William Morris. The Burne-Jones and Kiplings had houses in Rottingdean in Sussex for a time.

However, Rudyard Kipling liked his privacy and wanted to escape his fame, and found Bateman’s which sits in grounds of its own away from the village and even further from a station. Even so, people did sometimes venture out to the house. There is a window where his wife could peep through to see who had knocked on the door. If it was some hopeful fan, the door wasn’t opened!

The downstairs rooms of the house are quite dark and there was no electricity when the Kiplings moved in. He was one of the earliest people to have electricity installed. It also made it easier for his servants. It seems he was quite a thoughtful employer. The dining room has original leather wallpaper which has been cleaned once, but they have to be careful now as it is so delicate. Like lino, it cracks.

Around the house are photos and plaques of Rudyard’s beloved India where he was born and later worked. However, he didn’t have a very happy childhood. He and his sister were sent back to England and looked after by a married couple. The lady did not take to Rudyard and preferred his sister. He had a miserable existence, due to neglect and cruelty, until his parents returned and removed them from the house.

Rudyard Kipling and his wife had three children. Josephine died aged 6, something that affected them deeply. Their son John died in the war. Their third daughter, Elsie, eventually married, but there were never any children.

I fell in love with Rudyard Kipling’s study where he wrote It is a large room with many book shelves, and a day bed where Rudyard would often mull over things when he got stuck with his writing. There is John’s old bedroom with his football boots and hockey sticks and photos of him in his army uniform

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Outside there are lovely gardens, but due to lack of time we didn’t have quite enough time to visit them all. This would be worth a second visit – I shall have to persuade a friend with a car as local transport is still infrequent and there is a long walk. He really knew what he was doing, did Kipling.

The final day of our trip, we started off in Eastbourne and the Towner Art Gallery. Here we spent time in the gallery’s storage facilities. Metal frames on wheels were pulled out for us to view paintings that started their original collection. At that time, they were in a different building, which was part of a museum. I remember going there years ago. Now they have their own purpose built gallery almost on the seafront. We were shown paintings by Eric Ravilious, a particularly productive Sussex artist whose paintings I much enjoy, along with other artists of the same era, including Edward Bawden. The two of them worked together on murals for Morley Collage in London, but sadly they were destroyed by bombing in the war. Edward Bawden later painted some different murals for the college which can be seen in their refectory.

The main reason we were there was to see the preparation paintings for Berwick Church by Duncan Grant and Venessa and Quentin Bell. These were stored in a box with paper between the pictures. These were spread out for us on a table so we could look at them more closely.

Last time I said I had a story to tell about one of Duncan Grant’s paintings proposed for Berwick Church. The original painting was not acceptable to the Bishop due to (a) the rather serene looking face of Jesus and (b) Jesus was totally naked – no loin cloth. Now the model for this painting had to stand in the crucifixion pose for a very long time. He was plied with alcohol and tied to an easel. Even so, it was impossible for him to keep his arms straight for any length of time, which is why the arms sag. The serene face was due to all the alcohol consumed. It was possible he was totally out of it! However, the second painting (see below) was accepted.

I have to thank various people for these snippets which came via our gallery guide, other guides, and our leader on the tour. They know their stuff. Like the fact that the name Rudyard comes from the place he was conceived.

After time in the storage room, we went into one of the galleries and through to the library and Eric Ravilious’ room. This contains various paintings and ceramics. Well worth a second visit.

We had lunch close to the sea, under a tree to shelter from the spits and spots of rain. After lunch, we headed inland to visit our last house – Farleys House, which is between Eastbourne and Bexhill. I’d only heard about this house a few months earlier and wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew it was the home of Roland Penrose (Surrealist painter) and Lee Miller (photo journalist), but that was all. Well, I fell in love with house.

Sadly, no photography is allowed in the house, as it still belongs to the family, but the walls are brightly painted in yellow and light blue. In the dining room the fireplace has a beautiful wall painting by Roland of the sun and moon. The house had interesting visitors, one of whom was Picasso, and there is a tile painting of his by the Aga. Every space has something interesting to look at. Even in the hallway, paintings and sculptures fill corners and walls.

There is much I could say about the couple who lived in this house, but I would direct you to the website. When the couple moved here, Lee became interested in cooking. She sort of reinvented herself. Her past was shut away in attics which her son only found after she died. Her photography is still being collated and it is hoped that an exhibition of the photos she took after troops liberated the camps after the war will then go on show.

The garden is littered with sculptures of all kinds. Also on site is a warehouse/barn with some photographic exhibitions, Roland Penrose’ Jeep, as well as a second exhibition space, cafe and toilets.

What do the Surrealists have to do with The Bloomsbury Group? Well, they came after them. It was perhaps a natural progression. Art always takes elements from a previous period and adds something new. Influences go a long way and you can often see aspects of another painter in the work of other artists. And then there are the rebellious ones!

I came home with all these images and thoughts running through my head. This holiday had been cancelled twice due to Covid. Third time lucky. It was worth the wait.