Charleston Farmhouse facts for kids

Location in East Sussex

Charleston Farmhouse, near Lewes, East Sussex

Charleston is a special place in East Sussex, England, that you can visit. It was once the country home of two famous artists, Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant. They were part of a group of artists, writers, and thinkers called the Bloomsbury group.

The house shows off their unique artistic style, with decorations everywhere. Besides the house and its beautiful garden, Charleston has art galleries. These galleries opened in September 2018 and show art from the Bloomsbury group and other modern artists. There are also two old barns that have been fixed up. One is a café called The Threshing Barn, and the other, The Hay Barn, is used for events and workshops. You can also see a special art display called the Famous Women Dinner Service in The Outer Studio. There's even a shop where you can find art, home items, and books inspired by the Bloomsbury group.

Charleston also holds many events, like the Charleston Festival every May. During this festival, artists, writers, and thinkers come together to talk about art, books, and ideas. This is just like how the Bloomsbury group used to chat around their dining table at Charleston. The house is in the village of Firle, which is in the Lewes District of East Sussex.

History of Charleston Farmhouse

The house

The Breakfast Table by Roger Fry

In 1916, artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant moved to this farmhouse in Sussex. They lived there with their friends and family. Grant worked on a nearby farm, which was part of an agreement for him not to join the military during wartime.

For over 50 years, Charleston became a popular meeting spot for the Bloomsbury group. This group included artists, writers, and thinkers. People like David Garnett, Clive Bell, and Maynard Keynes lived at Charleston for long periods. Famous visitors included Virginia and Leonard Woolf, E. M. Forster, Lytton Strachey, and Roger Fry.

The artists were inspired by Italian fresco paintings and a style called Post-Impressionism. They decorated the walls, doors, and furniture throughout the house. The garden was also redesigned to look like gardens from southern Europe. It had mosaics, neat hedges, gravel paths, and ponds. They even added statues in a fun, humorous way.

Vanessa Bell once described the house as "most lovely, very solid and simple." She also mentioned its "perfectly flat windows and wonderful tiled roofs." She thought the pond was "most beautiful" with a willow tree and a stone wall.

The rooms at Charleston show a complete collection of the Bloomsbury artists' decorative work. You can see murals, painted furniture, and pottery. There are also items from the Omega Workshops, which was a design company started by some of the group. The collection includes paintings by famous artists like Auguste Renoir, Picasso, and Eugène Delacroix.

The Beautiful Garden at Charleston

Charleston's walled garden was designed by Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, with ideas from Roger Fry. During the First World War, the garden was used to grow vegetables and keep chickens. Later, they turned it into a beautiful garden that mixed Mediterranean styles with a traditional English cottage garden.

In the 1920s, gravel paths were added to create a clear structure. Grant and Bell chose plants for their bright colors and silver leaves. These plants often appeared in their still-life paintings. The artist Dora Carrington wrote that she had "never, never" seen "such a wonderful place!" She thought there would be "excellent things to paint in that garden."

The garden has many sculptures, which makes it feel rich and full of surprises. You can see classic-style statues next to life-size works by Quentin Bell, who was Vanessa Bell's son. There are also mosaic paths and pools with tiled edges. The orchard offers shade, and the pond is a peaceful spot for thinking.

This was a summer garden where they played and painted. It was a magical escape from city life in London. Vanessa Bell wrote in 1936 that the house seemed "full of young people in very high spirits." She described the garden as "a dithering blaze of flowers and butterflies and apples."

The Charleston Trust

The Charleston Trust is a charity that was started in 1980. Its goal is to fix up and take care of the Bloomsbury Group artists' home. This is so the public can enjoy it. The special collection at Charleston shows the art and way of life of the important Bloomsbury Group. It has been open to visitors since 1986. People from the local area, the rest of the UK, and other countries visit Charleston.

The Trust works hard to keep Charleston open and cared for. In 2020, they received money from various sources, including some government grants. This money helps them run the house, garden, and galleries.

Charleston During the Pandemic

Charleston Farmhouse seen from the south-east

When the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020, it was very difficult for Charleston. The site usually gets most of its money from ticket sales, its shop, and its café. Because of the pandemic, Charleston had to close to the public for a while.

To help, the charity started an "Emergency Appeal" to raise money. Charleston received some government funding in November 2020 and July 2021. This money helped pay for a new cycle path and to fix the access road. The Farmhouse was able to reopen at the end of 2021, thanks to a grant from Historic England.

See also

In Spanish: Charleston Farmhouse para niños

• Berwick Church includes murals painted in 1941 by Duncan Grant, Vanessa Bell, and Quentin Bell
• Monk's House, Rodmell, the home of the Woolfs
• Omega Workshops