Hidden Surrey Gem.

Watts Memorial Chapel in Compton, Surrey. Simply stunning. It was built by the wife of the pre Raphaelite artist G.F.Watts between 1896 to 1898 along with the local villagers and is an incredible example of the whole Arts and Crafts movement spearheaded by the likes of William Morris and many other well known names. I, for one, have been a massive fan of both this and Art Nouveau for donkey's years. I attended the V&A Morris exhibition in 1996 one hundred years after his death and have since been to Prague, Standen House, Wightwick Manor and a handful of the churches in Brighton that have some of the original Burne-Jones stained glass windows.

At the weekend dear chum L came down to meet Humphrey. She is a fellow fan of this artistic style so I took her over to the chapel for a visit....I had assumed she had known of it but apparently not so. I was delighted by her shared joy of it. If you are passing by do pay this wonderful building a visit. It's free to go in but a donation towards its upkeep is appreciated. The village also has the Watts Gallery if you want to see some of the paintings by the artist [entrance fee] and a lovely shop stocking all sorts of unusual handmade items.

Arilx