institution/profession
Georgian, 1713
6 Queen Square, WC1N 3AT
1713 terraced house with 1914 hall at rear. Notable renovated Arts and Crafts interior. Newly refurbished glass vaulted courtyard. Portraits of Guild Masters since 1884.
Russell Square, Holborn
King's Cross, Euston
59, 68, 91, 168, 188
The Art Workers’ Guild was founded in 1884 by young architects and designers who wanted to create a meeting place for the fine arts and the applied arts on an equal footing. Many of the prominent figures of the Arts and Crafts Movement were active in the first fifty years. The Guild operated like a club, but its principle of ‘learning by doing’ soon spread through art education and had a worldwide influence.
The Guild's home consists of a Grade ll* listed Georgian townhouse, linked by a newly refurbished courtyard to the lecture hall, built in 1914 in what was the garden.
Designed by F. W. Troup, the hall is a fine example of Arts and Crafts design. It houses portraits and sculptures of the Guild's Masters from its foundation to the present day.
Until recently a utilitarian outside space, the courtyard was redesigned in 2016 by Simon Hurst and is now covered with a beautiful glazed barrel vault rood supported by cast iron ribs designed. Designed and crafted by the Guild’s own members, it complements the existing architecture, in that its aesthetics are craft-orientated and largely handmade.
The Art Workers’ Guild remains a sort of club, whose members may agree on a general attitude to craftsmanship and quality but are united by no one partisan philosophy or style. Reality for them is outside the usual worldly considerations. Something beautifully done, be it a jewel, a lithograph, a basket or a cathedral may reveal the truth. A respect for quality, for craftsmanship, for the work of the hand, and a recognition of the healing, humane value of craftsmanship still characterises the Guild.
We are offering tours of the building given by the Guild's Honorary Architect, Simon Hurst.
An exhibition of over 20 individual collections, curated by Guild members and others selected by invitation, celebrating the madness and the individual and extraordinary rules of those who collect.
Drop in / Workshop
community/cultural, historical house, concert/performance space, event
The independent cultural centre Pushkin House will contribute to this year's Open House Festival through a programme of events and community initiatives at its Grade-II listed building in Bloomsbury Square.
Henry Flitcroft, 1744
Drop in / Talk
community/cultural, library, museum, art in the public realm, concert/performance space, education
Grade II-listed Georgian domestic building c.1760, formerly part of Bedford Estate. Interior refurbished 1924-5 to form lecture hall (restored 2014), library, bookshop and offices. Oak woodwork and green Doulton tiles line the staircase.
Unknown, 1760
