Watts Gallery

Om museet

Watts Gallery was created by the Victorian painter and sculptor George Frederic Watts and his wife Mary Seton Watts, a designer and potter. After their marriage in 1886 they chose the Surrey village of Compton as their winter retreat and had the architect Ernest George build them a house and studios, Limnerslease, which were finished in 1891 and soon became their main home.

Between 1895 and 1898 Mary led around seventy people from the local community in building and decorating the Watts Cemetery Chapel, a richly ornamented terracotta building. The classes she ran for the villagers grew into a pottery business and, in 1904, the Potters' Arts Guild. As the site grew, G F Watts needed somewhere to show his large works, and Christopher Hatton Turnor designed a plain Arts and Crafts picture gallery for the purpose.

The gallery opened in April 1904 and was the first purpose-built gallery in Britain dedicated to a single professional artist. Today it is run by an independent charity, the Watts Gallery Trust. The collection holds more than 7,000 works, including paintings, drawings and sculpture by Watts, ceramics, and a gallery devoted to the potter William De Morgan. The 18-acre site also includes gardens, woodland and a contemporary gallery.

Højdepunkter

• Historic Galleries with major paintings and sculpture by G F Watts
• Limnerslease, the artists' home and studios of G F and Mary Watts
• Grade I listed Watts Cemetery Chapel, a terracotta masterpiece by Mary Watts
• De Morgan Exhibition of ceramics and a Sculpture Gallery with a touch wall
• Grounds with the sculpture Physical Energy, woodland walks and the Verey Playwood

Permanente udstillinger

• Historic Galleries – The 1904 gallery holds the main collection of paintings and sculpture by G F Watts, alongside the De Morgan Exhibition and the Sculpture Gallery.
• Limnerslease: Artists' Home – The home and studios of G F and Mary Watts, including Watts's studio, the Mary Watts Gallery and the Compton Gallery.
• Watts Cemetery Chapel – A Grade I listed chapel decorated in terracotta by Mary Watts and local villagers.

Grundlagt

1904

Ejer

Watts Gallery Trust

Entrépriser & rabatter

The all-day ticket covers all buildings and grounds. Online prices are 10% lower than the in-person price (adult £19.80 on the door). The grounds, café, shop, Watts Contemporary Gallery and Watts Cemetery Chapel are free to enter. Friends of Watts Gallery and Historic Houses members enter free. A National Rail 2-for-1 offer admits two people on one £18.00 ticket with two valid train tickets. Prices shown exclude the optional donation (Gift Aid). Admission does not include family events, talks, workshops or special events.

Tilgængelighed

• Delvis kørestolsvenlig
• Elevator
• Handicaptoilet
• Handicapparkering
• Servicehunde tilladt
• Taktile tilbud
• Rundvisninger på tegnsprog: ingen oplysninger
• Letlæste tilbud: ingen oplysninger
• Synstolkning: ingen oplysninger

Watts Gallery, Limnerslease, the café and the shop are fully accessible, with lifts in the gallery and in Limnerslease. Watts Contemporary Gallery and Watts Cemetery Chapel are not currently wheelchair accessible. Wheelchairs can be borrowed on request, folding stools are available in the galleries and an induction loop is available in Watts Gallery. Accessible toilets are in the café, the gallery and Limnerslease; there is no Changing Places toilet. Blue Badge spaces are at the Visitor Centre and at Limnerslease, and visitors with access needs can be dropped off near Limnerslease, which is a short uphill walk. Service and support dogs are welcome. A touch wall in the Sculpture Gallery, large print guides, magnifying glasses, a British Sign Language video tour and a downloadable visual story and access guide are available. Visitors are advised to call before visiting. Carers and essential companions enter free.

Børn og familie

Velegnet til børn og familier

• Familieomvisninger & workshops
• Opgavehæfte, skattejagt eller audioguide for børn
• Interaktive stationer
• Barnevognsvenlig
• Puslerum
• Legeplads / legehjørne

Children under 16 enter free. Families can pick up an Active Encounter Pack and an Artists' Village Sketchbook at the Visitor Centre, and a family audio tour is available on Smartify. The Verey Playwood has stepping stones and swings. Family activities and school-holiday events are listed under What's on. Prams can be taken into the galleries; the Chapel is up a steep, cobbled path. Baby changing is at the café toilets and at Limnerslease, and the café has a children's menu.

Transport & parkering

The site is on Down Lane in Compton, about 10 minutes from Guildford. It is on the North Downs Way and National Cycle Network Route 22, and secure bike racks are available. Visitors arriving by train or bus, or by bike, can get discounted entry.

Service & spisesteder

• Café
• Museumsbutik

Watts Café serves lunch from 11:00 to 15:00 and drinks and snacks all day, with counter service and outdoor seating; the Canvas Room Café at Limnerslease serves drinks and cakes. The shop is by the Visitor Centre. Food and drink are not allowed in the galleries; picnic spots are available. Smoking is not allowed on site.

Arrangementer & udlejning

• Lokaler til leje
• Private fester
• Firmaarrangementer
• Bryllupper / vielser

The gallery and other spaces on the site can be hired for weddings, private celebrations, memorials, corporate events and filming.

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