Chipping Campden artists’ co-operative celebrates its 20th birthday

In the beautiful town of Chipping Campden, The Gallery at the Guild stands as a vibrant hub for local and regional artistry. This welcoming space offers a captivating collection of work from a diverse range of talented artists and makers.

Visitors can explore a carefully curated selection of paintings, ceramics, sculptures, textiles, and more, all thoughtfully displayed in a serene and inspiring setting. The gallery is a testament to the area’s rich artistic heritage and provides a wonderful opportunity to discover unique pieces and connect with the creative spirit of the Cotswolds.

Leg 1
In June 2005, a group of 7 artists and makers held a two-week exhibition in the exhibition room at The Old Silk Mill in Chipping Campden. The landlord invited the group to set up a permanent co-operative of local artists and craftspeople and use the exhibition room as a gallery to sell and promote their work.

Leg 2
Our first recruit was renowned local artist, David W. Birch, and the co-operative’s first exhibition was a one-man show by David. It opened on 9th July, 2005.

Leg 3
From that first exhibition, the co-operative has continued to grow. Of the seven original exhibitors, five became founding members of the co-operative, which opened with a lucky 13 members in August 2005. The co-operative currently has 22 members and covers a wide range of media, including glass, ceramics, hand-painted silk, handmade textiles, painting, photography, sculpture, stone carving, cabinet making, and woodturning.

Leg 4
One of the co-operative’s first recruits was Jeremy Green – a close friend and neighbour of David and a talented cabinet maker who had trained with Oliver Morel, a highly regarded maker of fine furniture in the Arts and Crafts tradition. Jeremy was greatly inspired by the life of William Morris and, in particular, the three men, Simson and the Barnsley brothers, who came to the Cotswolds in the late nineteenth century to live and work, making furniture in small workshops in a rural setting.

Leg 5
In 2007, it was David and Jeremy who sounded the alarm that the gallery was at risk of flooding and, with no regard for their safety, worked with some of the co-operative’s local members to move as much work as they could upstairs to Hart’s before loading David’s van with Jeremy’s furniture and other larger pieces and balancing the boards and desk on top of plinths to try to save them from the water. They then packed their bicycles in the back of the van, drove it to safety on Dover’s Hill and cycled back to town.
They were part of a small army of volunteers who swept the floodwater out of the gallery, scrubbed, cleaned and painted to have us back up and running in under two weeks.
Both David and Jeremy have made enormous contributions to the co-operative in a variety of ways over the last two decades.

Leg 6
A few years ago, Jeremy suffered a stroke and sadly lost all interest in his work. While he stopped exhibiting with the co-operative soon after, he remains an honorary lifelong member.

Leg 7
Earlier this year, Jeremy’s remaining work was sent for auction. One of the co-operative’s members was keen to bid for a beautiful gate leg dining table and sought advice from David, who knew Jeremy’s work well. David commented that it was probably one of his favourite Jeremy Green pieces and he had thought about bidding himself, but was not in a position to do so, saying “what will be, will be”.

Leg 8
Our member was successful in acquiring the table, though saddened at some of the sale prices – it’s so sad to see that these antiques of tomorrow are so undervalued given their beauty and the skill that goes into making them.

Leg 9
The table is one of a pair made by Jeremy – the shapely legs and elegant design of this table make this a very special piece. It uses walnut that came from a tree grown locally in Willersey with a decorative inlay of yellow boxwood from Chipping Campden and black bog oak from the East Anglia fens.

Leg 10
Then the magic happened – good things happen to good people!

Leg 11
The sibling table was unsold, and this is where the co-operative came into its own. Having contacted the auction house, the co-operative’s management acquired the second table at its reserve price and gifted it to David as a thank you to both him and Jeremy for all the “above and beyond” work they have done for the co-operative over the last 20 years.

Leg 12
As soon as this news was relayed to the Guilders (the co-operative’s members), personal donations came flooding in. Each member wanted to contribute personally to the purchase rather than it coming out of the co-operative’s reserves. As one member put it, “this is a story for all Guilders to hold on to”.

Leg 13
Unbeknownst to the members, it turns out that this second table was Jeremy’s dining table, which David and his family have fond memories of sitting at with Jeremy.

Leg 14
David and his family, by way of a thank you to David’s fellow guilders, set about organising an afternoon tea party to see the table in situ at David’s home. It seemed only natural to make this the co-operative’s 20th birthday celebration.

Leg 15
Paula Lingard, a founding member, said, “We have shared laughter and tears, loves and losses, births, marriages and deaths, but throughout it all, we have been there for one another: stronger as a group than we would be individually. Some days, and this was one of them, nothing beats being a member of this merry band of ours.”

Leg 16
Both tables are on display until Wednesday, 20th August at The Gallery at the Guild, The Old Silk Mill, Sheep Street, Chipping Campden, GL55 6DS. Open daily: 10am to 4pm.

Find more info to plan your trip on thegalleryattheguild.co.uk.