Craft Centre of Great Britain

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Craft Centre of Great Britain
Formation1948; 76 years ago (1948)
Defunct1972
TypeCraft organisation
PurposeThe preservation, promotion and improvement of fine craftsmanship in Great Britain[1]
HeadquartersBerkeley Square, London (1950-1967)
Earlham Street, London (1967-1972)
Region served
United Kingdom
LeaderJohn Farleigh, CBE

The Craft Centre of Great Britain was established in 1948 with the purpose of “the preservation, promotion and improvement of fine craftsmanship in Great Britain.”[2] It created direct links between individual producers and industry,[3] and encouraged young people to take up crafts through education and instruction.[4] Prominent members included Bernard Leach, Lilian Dring and Tibor Reich.

History[edit]

In 1946 five societies – the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society, the Red Rose Guild of Craftsmen, the Senefelder Club, the Society of Scribes and Illuminators and the Society of Wood Engravers – met at the Central School of Arts and Crafts to discuss forming a Craft Centre of Great Britain.[5] The initial plan was to open an exhibition space at 98 Portland Place,[6] but after “struggling for three years on private funds” a government grant made it possible to open a space at 16 Hay Hill, Berkeley Square in 1950.[7] The centre was opened by the Queen on 16 August 1950, where she was presented with a silver spoon for her granddaughter, designed and made by Francis Cooper.[8] The centre was opened to the public on 27 April 1950.[9]

Funding and finances[edit]

A significant benefit for craftspeople who were members of the Craft Centre of Great Britain was that they were exempted from purchase tax, which in 1948 was 66.66%.[10][11]

In History of the Crafts Council (1994), Tanya Harrod observed that “the Crafts Centre had a chequered career, attributed in part to an ‘unwieldly quarrelsome council representing five interest groups’.”[12] The Craft Centre’s finances were always precarious. It was initially funded by a three-year government grant, to cover rent[13] and the hosting of exhibitions around the country.[14][15] In 1953 the Craft Centre became a trading body as well as a showroom.[16] In 1962 the government removed the Craft Centre’s annual £5,000 grant.[17] In 1966 the Craft Centre received a £5,000 grant from the Board of Trade.[18][19]

Venues[edit]

In 1950 an exhibition space was opened at Hay Hill, including an exhibition living room featuring a rotation of members’ designs, together with a space for individual crafts. The centre also offered education and instruction.[20][21] In 1967, the exhibition space moved to 43 Earlham Street, London.[22] In 1970 Viscount Weymouth, heir to the Marquess of Bath, converted a “pin-table saloon” at Longleat House, Wiltshire, into a shop for the Craft Centre of Great Britain. Longleat Gallery was designed by Alan Irvine and was the Craft Centre's only permanent location outside London. Its posters were designed by Derek Birdsall.[23] In the 1970s the Craft Centre also supported an arts fair held at Farnley Hall, West Yorkshire.[24][25]

Key people[edit]

  • Chairman: John Farleigh was awarded a CBE for his work in establishing the Craft Centre[26]
  • Secretary-General: Evelyn Fahy[27]
  • President: Prince Philip
  • Vice-president: Bernard Leach
  • Chairman: Graham Hughes
  • Director: Cyril Wood[28]

Crafts[edit]

The crafts supported by the Craft Centre included: bookbinding, calligraphy, domestic glass, embroidery, furniture, gold, jewellery, lace, lithography, pottery, silver, sun glass, textiles (printed and woven), typography and wood engraving.[29] The Craft Centre “insisted on original design”. It didn't include steel engraving, saddlery or gun making, which instead formed part of the Rural Industries Bureau.[30]

Exhibitions[edit]

The Craft Centre ran a continuous exhibition that shifted focus between different crafts throughout the year. A selection of exhibitions included:

Year Craft / Exhibition Artists
March 1950[31] Opening exhibition
January 1951 Pottery Bernard Leach,[32] Margaret Leach[33]
September 1951 Gold Joe Woodward[34]
November 1951[35] Calligraphy
January 1952[36] Harpsichords, spinets and clavichords
March 1952[37] Printing Mural showing 6,000 year history of the art of printing
April 1954[38] Furniture and pottery Paul Barron (potter), Hugh Birkett (furniture)[39]
October 1954[40] Weaving Gerd Hay-Edie, Monica Blyth
January 1955[41] Glass engraving David Peace, Anthony Pope, Ernest Dinkel
May 1955[42] Jewellery
October 1955[43] The first touring exhibition to Scotland Carl Dolmetsch, Leslie Ward, Leslie Durbin, Krystyna Henneberg, Kathleen Heron, Bernard Leach, Katharine Pleydell-Bouverie, Robert Stone
February 1956[44] An exhibition at Leicester Museum & Art Gallery
May 1956[45] Embroidery at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
August 1956[46] Lithographs Robert Tavener, Charles Keeping[47]
October 1956[48] Illustrations H M Adams, Edith Goodwin, Dorothy Hutton
December 1956[49] Christmas exhibition Eric Clements, Anthony Hawkesley, Alan Knight, Hugh Birkett, Edward Gardiner, Raymond Finch
April 1957[50] Today’s Patron Eric Clements, David Peace
October 1958[51] British Fine Crafts, Belfast Art College Association Bernard Leach, Sydney Cockerell, Leslie Runkin, Irene Wellington, John Farleigh, Roger Powell, Barbara Hutton, Gerd Hay-Edie
February 1960[52] Opened by Duke of Edinburgh, at RIBA headquarters Gerald Benney, Francis Cooper, Robert Stone
June 1960[53] Under Thirties G D Robinson
December 1965[54] Christmas exhibition Opened by Duke of Edinburgh
December 1966[55] Christmas exhibition Derek Emms, Bernard Leach
January 1968[56] Exports: Detroit USA
February 1968[57] Skill at Goldsmith's Hall In collaboration with the Institute of Directors
February 1969[58] Scottish design and craft Visited by Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother
February 1970[59] Jewellery and silver Fiona Fraser
June 1970[60] Furniture Exhibition 1970 Chester Jones
December 1971[61] Joint Christmas crafts shop at the Design Council

Members[edit]

Craft Centre of Great Britain members included:

Also: David Dewey (sculptor),[113] William Joyce (furniture maker)[114]

Merge with the Crafts Council of Great Britain[edit]

In 1970, the Craft Centre was struggling financially, its government funding having been removed.[115] In 1972 the Craft Centre merged with the Crafts Council of Great Britain to become the British Craft Centre. Supported by a grant of £40,000 from the government's Crafts Advisory Committee (CAC), which had been established the previous year, the new organisation's offices were at Waterloo Place, London.[116] The Craft Centre's Earlham Street gallery location was retained for “one-man shows and other special displays”.[117] In 1986 the organisation's name was changed to Contemporary Applied Arts, which remains active today.[118]

See also[edit]

Backemeyer, Sylvia Making their Mark: Art, Craft and Design at the Central School, 1896-1966 (2000) Pub. Herbert Press

References[edit]

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  4. ^ ""The end" for craftsmen?". Portsmouth Evening News. Portsmouth, UK. 1949-04-29. p. 5.
  5. ^ Backemeyer, Sylvia (2000). Making their mark: art, craft and design at the Central School 1896-1966. London: Herbert Press. p. 114. ISBN 0713652616.
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