Group Tours & visits 2016
Groups of eight or more receive discounted entry with advance booking and each individual receives a 10% discount in the Shop. Exclusive tours and talks with expert guides are available as well as a variety of refreshments and food options.
Welcome to the Artists’ Village Galleries • Chapel • Artists’ Home and Studios
TOURS & Talks THE ARTISTS’ VILLAGE
WATTS GALLERY
Group Entry: £9pp Students: £4.50pp (includes entry to the Watts Gallery, temporary exhibitions & Watts Studios)
40-minute talk: £4pp
Nestled in the heart of the Surrey Hills, Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village is a unique 19th and early 20th-century art heritage site and one of the top ten visitor attractions in the South East.
CATERING IN THE OLD KILN Prices from £3-£9pp Enjoy a morning coffee break, delicious lunch or indulgent afternoon tea provided by our traditional Tea Shop. Groups can take advantage of the pre-bookable dining area in the original kiln used by Mary Watts.
Discover the diverse collection of works by the great Victorian artist G F Watts in the historic Watts Gallery, with over 100 paintings and sculptures on permanent display.
WALKING TOUR – THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE ARTISTS’ VILLAGE
NEW
1.5 hour-long tour: £6pp Learn more about the Arts & Crafts architecture of the Artists’ Village, visiting the Pottery Building, where Mary had her Compton Pottery, Watts Gallery, Watts Chapel, Limnerslease and the Watts Studios.
WATTS CHAPEL
THE DE MORGAN COLLECTION
Free Access 1 hour-long tour: £5pp
45-minute talk: £5pp
NEW With this curator-led tour, see the remarkable ceramics and oil paintings The Watts Chapel is a Grade I-listed Arts & of William and Evelyn De Morgan, on Crafts masterpiece, created by Mary Watts. loan from the De Morgan Foundation. The interior is a unique example of Art They were not only close friends of the Nouveau and celtic design. Wattses but also key figures in the Arts & Crafts Movement.
LIMNERSLEASE, THE ARTISTS’ HOME 1 hour-long tour: £5pp
Explore Limnerslease, one of the most celebrated Arts & Crafts houses in Surrey, designed by the famous architect Sir Ernest George. Enter the home where G F and Mary Watts lived and see the decorative gesso panels designed by Mary.
POTTERY WORKSHOPS 2.5-hour workshop: £15pp Book a hands on experience in a unique practical workshop led by a professional potter.
A FULL DAY AT THE ARTISTS’ VILLAGE £20pp excluding refreshments Enjoy a full day at the Artists’ Village with tours of the Watts Gallery, Chapel and Limnerslease House. Then explore the temporary exhibition and newly opened Watts Studios. Take a break for delicious refreshments in the Old Kiln provided by The Tea Shop.
EXTERNAL TALKS 1 hour talk: £60, 30 minute talk: £40 Invite one of our expert guides to talk to your group.
Exhibition Programme 2016 30-minute illustrated introductory talk: £5pp Includes teas, coffees and biscuits in the Old Kiln
BROTHERS IN ART: DRAWINGS BY WATTS & LEIGHTON 17 November 2015 – 16 February 2016
George Frederic Watts, Study of a Female Head in Anger, 1828, Pencil on paper, Watts Gallery.
This exhibition explores the relationship between two of the most important artists of the Victorian period, G F Watts and Frederic Leighton. Watts’s wife Mary referred to them as ‘two brothers in art’, as they met daily to discuss artistic ideas and critique one another’s work. Brothers in Art: Watts and Leighton, celebrates this friendship and brings together the two artists’ works on paper for the first time. While famous for the high level of finish of their paintings, their drawings, in contrast, are as unexpectedly intimate and immediate as their friendship itself.
POETRY IN BEAUTY: THE PRE-RAPHAELITE ART OF MARIE SPARTALI STILLMAN 1 March 2016 – 5 June 2016 A retrospective exhibition of Marie Spartali Stillman, one of a small number of female artists working within the British Pre-Raphaelite circle. This exhibition showcases stunning landscapes, delicate portraits and detailed subject paintings, many of which have not been exhibited since the artist’s lifetime. The exhibition also incorporates many little-known works lent from the private collections of descendants of the artist. Watts Gallery is a fitting venue for such a landmark exhibition of a female Victorian artist.
Marie Spartali Stillman, Cloister Lilies, 1891, Watercolor and gouache on paper, Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
CLOSE UP & PERSONAL: VICTORIANS & THEIR PHOTOGRAPHY 14 June 2016 – 6 November 2016
W D Downey, The Misses Dene, Photograph, The Rob Dickins Collection, Watts Gallery
The advent of photography in 1839 catapulted Victorian society into a new age of science, art and leisure. Previously only the wealthy could possess a painted portrait; photography was cheaper and democratised the privilege of owning a likeness.This exhibition explores some of the ways that early photography was consumed by a society that became obsessed. A variety of forms emerged including the carte-de-visite, the daguerreotype, albumen prints, family photograph albums and stereoscopes. The industry boomed, the celebrity was born and leisure in the drawing room evolved.
New for 2016 WATts STUDIOS Group Entry: £9pp, Students £4.50pp (includes entry to the Watts Gallery, temporary exhibitions & Watts Studios) From January 2016, be one of the first groups to visit the newly restored Watts Studios, a Heritage Lottery Funded project. Be transported back to the workspace of G F Watts to see unfinished canvases, hand written notes and finished masterpieces, including new loans from the Tate. The Studios include two further gallery spaces, the Clore Learning Space,the Peter Harrison Learning Studio and the David Pike conservation studio. The Compton Gallery explores the Wattses’
NEW
lives at Compton and their relationship with the village, including the building of Limnerslease and the many Victorian celebrities who visited. The Mary Watts Gallery is the first gallery dedicated to the work of Mary Watts, and explores her collaborative work in many media, including the design and making of the Grade I-listed Watts Chapel and the formation of the Compton Pottery. Outside, enjoy the newly landscaped woodlands designed by Todd LongstaffeGowan, with plants provided by RHS Wisley. Discover previously hidden features including a pet cemetery and a memorial designed by Mary Watts in terracotta.
Plan your visit OPENING TIMES
GETTING HERE
Watts Gallery & Watts Studios: 11am-5pm Tuesday-Sunday Open all bank holidays Watts Chapel: 9am-5pm daily Limnerslease: Access by tour only Pottery Building (Tickets, Shop & Watts Contemporary): 10.30am-5.15pm daily The Tea Shop: 10.30am-5pm daily
Coach: Coaches can drop their group at the Artists’ Village and park at Loseley Park car park, 5 minutes away (postcode GU3 1HS). Coaches must be booked in advance.
ACCESS Watts Gallery, Watts Studios & Shop and The Tea Shop are fully accessible. Dedicated car parking spaces are available for disabled visitors. We regret that Limnerslease House, Watts Chapel and the Watts Contemporary Gallery are not currently wheelchair accessible. Watts Chapel tours include a 10-minute walk and a steep cobbled path upon arrival. Limnerslease tours and Watts Studios include a 10-minute walk on a sloping path which is accessible.
Car: From the A3, take the B3000 Godalming slip road, follow brown signs to Watts Gallery and then signs for Compton. First left off the B3000. Bus: No.46 from Guildford bus station. Mon-Sat, 9am-6pm. Rail: Guildford Station. Trains from London Waterloo run direct, approximately 4 times an hour with a 5-minute taxi drive from station. A collection service is offered on Sundays, please contact for further details. Walk or cycle: Along the North Downs Way in the Surrey Hills. N22 cycle route.
CONTACT T: 01483 813 589 E: groups@wattsgallery.org.uk A: Watts Gallery, Down Lane, Compton, Guildford, Surrey, GU3 1DQ
wattsgallery.org.uk/visit/group-visits