Great Bardfield Parish Council
'ESSEX VILLAGE OF THE YEAR 2009'
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Great Bardfield Parish Council
'ESSEX VILLAGE OF THE YEAR 2009'
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Was there a Bardfield School? The artists were merely a group of friends who liked living in Great Bardfield - there was never a Bardfield School. To find out more about the individual artists, click on their names to the left of this page. The Bardfield Exhibitions. In 1951 Thaxted, Bardfield and Finchingfield organised a village festival in July as part of the Festival of Britain. Most of the activities centred on Bardfield, where there were demonstrations of rural industrial life. Aldridge, Bawden and Rothenstein threw open their studios for the public to watch them at work. This was so successful that the nine artists in the area were encouraged to mount their own exhibition in 1954, and seven houses were open in July. There was a further exhibition in 1955, when 10,000 visitors reached the village in the ten days of opening again in July. The last exhibition was held in 1958, when 9000 visitors were counted through Brick House on the busiest day. There were no more exhibitions, and gradually the artists moved away. A marvellous period in the life of Great Bardfield was over. The Great Bardfield Historical Society publishes a booklet “A walk round Great Bardfield” which takes the reader in a circular walk around the whole village, with special reference to the artists and where they lived. This can be obtained from the Cottage Museum on Summer weekends, or from the Community Information Point, price £2.00. If you would like us to post you a copy, write to the Clerk at the Community Information Point given on the home page, enclosing a cheque for £2.50.
Bridge over the River Pant by Sheila Robinson For more information on the Bardfield artists, visit the Fry Gallery in Saffron Walden. To see their website, click the picture
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Send mail to
clerk@greatbardfield-pc.gov.uk
questions or comments about this web site.
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