A Gallery Talks visit to Charleston Farmhouse in Firle, East Sussex.
The group will have their own reserved timed entrance.

Julie will guide the group through each of the rooms and studios inside the house, which is surrounded by the beauty of the South Downs and a work of modernist art in its own right. After lunch in the Threshing Barn café, the group will visit the special exhibitions and have time to enjoy the wonderful gardens. There'll then be an optional visit to nearby Berwick Church to admire the newly-restored stunning Bloomsbury murals.

Charleston Farmhouse, home to Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant in the early 20th century, is a hidden treasure of peace and beauty where the Bloomsbury free-flowing decorative style is to be found throughout the entire house. In the iconic interior, barely a surface is left undecorated; paintings fill the walls, tables and chairs are colourfully hand painted and patterned murals embellish the walls, fireplaces and door frames. Furniture, fabrics, rugs and ceramics created collaboratively by the Bloomsbury set are incorporated into the overall décor, alongside lovingly collected objects. A hideaway and focal point of the Bloomsbury group and a testament to its ideology, Charleston embodies their exuberance of spirit, experimental way of life and desire for sensibility. Designed as a living painting, the garden provides a setting for quiet contemplation as well as of discovery and excitement.

The fee is £70 per person, payable in advance, which includes the reserved timed entrance ticket to the house and special exhibition, and the detailed guided tour.

The dining table decoration and handmade wallpaper are by Vanessa Bell, the pottery lamp by Quentin Bell, the chair by the Omega Workshops and the portrait painting by Duncan Grant

2023 Charleston Farmhouse Tour Dates

• Wednesday 21st June (10.45am - 3.30pm)
• Thursday 6th July (10.45am - 3.30pm)