The Digswell Arts Trust was founded by Henry Morris in 1957 at

Welwyn Garden City Welwyn Garden City ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London. It was the second Garden city movement, garden city in England (founded 1920) and one of the first New towns in the United Kingdom, new towns (designated 1948). It is ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, England. It was founded to promote the use of professional artists to create civic artwork for the benefit of society.

History

When Henry Morris was appointed to the Ministry of Town and Country Planning as a cultural advisor, he obtained backing from the government and the

Development Corporation and established the Digswell Arts Trust in 1957. The trust was named after

Digswell House Digswell House is a Grade II listed Mansion in Hertfordshire, erected c. 1805–07 by Samuel Wyatt for the Honourable Edward Spencer Cowper, who lived there for some years. It was built in the parish of Digswell from which it takes its name, ...

, a decayed

Regency In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

mansion with cottages and outbuildings on the edge of Welwyn Garden City. The house was renovated by

Hans Coper Hans Coper (8 April 1920 – 16 June 1981) was an influential German-born British studio potter. His work is often coupled with that of Lucie Rie due to their close association, even though their best known work differs dramatically, wit ...

Stirrat Johnson-Marshall Sir Stirrat Andrew William Johnson-Marshall, CBE ARIBA FRIBA (19 February 1912 – 16 December 1981) was a British architect and one of the founders of RMJM along with Robert Matthew. Early life and studies Stirrat Johnson-Marshall was bor ...

and Bill Allen and leased to the trust to provide accommodation and studios for artists. The trust was formally inaugurated by Countess Mountbatten on 29 May 1959. The first artists moved in at the end of 1957 and, over the next 27 years, nearly 150 were accommodated there. Some notable members included Michael Andrews,

Ralph Brown Ralph William John Brown (born 18 June 1957) is an English actor and writer, known for playing Danny the drug dealer in '' Withnail and I'', the security guard Aaron (a.k.a. "85") in ''Alien 3'', DJ Bob Silver in '' The Boat That Rocked'' aka ...

, John Brunsdon, James Butler, Peter Collingwood, Mary Farmer (textile artist, tapestries and rugs), Hans Coper,

Lol Coxhill George Lowen Coxhill (19 September 1932 – 10 July 2012) known professionally as Lol Coxhill, was an English free improvisation, free improvising saxophonist. He played soprano saxophone, soprano and sopranino saxophone, sopranino saxopho ...

Elizabeth Fritsch Elizabeth Fritsch CBE (born 1940) is a British studio potter and ceramic artist born into a Welsh family in Whitchurch, Shropshire, Whitchurch on the Shropshire border. Her innovative hand built and painted pots are often influenced by ideas from ...

and John W Mills.

Henry Moore Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi-abstract art, abstract monumental Bronze sculpture, bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. Moore ...

Herbert Read Sir Herbert Edward Read, (; 4 December 1893 – 12 June 1968) was an English art historian, poet, literary critic and philosopher, best known for numerous books on art, which included influential volumes on the role of art in education. Read wa ...

Roland Penrose Sir Roland Algernon Penrose (14 October 1900 – 23 April 1984) was an English artist, historian and poet. He was a major promoter and collector of modern art and an associate of the surrealists in the United Kingdom. During the Second World ...

, and others have supported the trust financially. In 1985, the trust was financially unable to continue at Digswell House. The house was sold for refurbishment and divided into a number of separate apartments. Attimore Hall Barn, a restored 17th century

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

in the Panshanger area of Welwyn Garden City, was leased in 1979 by the trust as additional studio space. The barn became the trust's base from 1984 until April 2006.

English Partnerships English Partnerships (EP) was the national urban renewal, regeneration agency for England, performing a similar role on a national level to that fulfilled by regional development agency, regional development agencies on a regions of England, region ...

had by then taken control of the barn, planning to convert it to housing, and worked with the trust to design a new purpose-built studio building on the site of the former forge in Digswell, on which a 25-year lease was taken in April 2006. In 1993,

Stevenage Borough Council Stevenage Borough Council is the local authority for Stevenage, a local government district with borough status in Hertfordshire, England. The council has been under Labour majority control since 1974. It is based at Daneshill House on Danestr ...

leased the Fairlands Valley Farmhouse to the trust, nearly doubling the available studio space. In 2012, with the support of Letchworth Heritage Foundation, the trust opened its third studio premises in Fenners Building, Openshaw Way, Letchworth. This building brings the number of artists supported by the trust to 45 in 2015.

References

External links

* {{coord, 51.799, -0.181, display=title, region:GB_scale:5000 Charities based in Hertfordshire