DOI issue:
No. 55 (October, 1897)
DOI article:The Guild of Handicraft: a visit to Essex House
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.18390#0052
, / / isit to Essex House
('rails .md other exhibitions, they have met with Essex House is situated fur down the Mile
Mich approval as takes the very tangible form ot End Road. It is a handsome eighteenth-century
orders for articles of similar character. house built by a pupil of W ren, presenting, iii
It is not the purpose of the present writer to truth, an aspect of forsaken stateliness among its
discuss the merits or characteristics of design shown mean surroundings. The garden is spacious with
in the works of the Guild. These have been adverted an entrance from a side street. The carpentry
to in Thk Studio on various occasions when the shops run down at the right of the garden lor over
works have been on public view. Moreover, the half its length ; while over the tennis lawn, at
readers of Thk STUDIO are very well capable of the remote end, a little dark building with a glow
estimating for themselves the merits of the various ing fire, which we are told is the smithy, may be
articles we are enabled to illustrate. But without seen at any spring-time through glimpses of apple
going further into the matter, it might be well to blossom. The coppersmiths have their shop in
note the somewhat simple architectural character of what was formerly the drawing-room of the house,
most of the objects. A certain classic simplicity The ground floor of the house is used lor various
of design and an avoidance of what is known as offices. Through the hall, and up a fine staircase,
" trade finish " may be pointed to as most striking we come to the meeting-room of the Guild, in which
characteristics. are displayed certain of its productions, mostly lor a
short period only, pend-
ing, in fact, their delivery
to the purchasers. Until
our first visit to Essex
House, we had a certain
vague idea that one might
there see many of the pro-
ductions permanently on
view. This, however, was
soon dissipated, for the
(mild, no more than any
other productive corpora-
tion, produces its work in
a speculative way. A lew-
things there are, of course,
but in a general way the
articles go straight from
the workshop to the pur-
chaser. Even then it is
only after repeated visits
that the manifold activities
of the place present them-
selves. We have seen in the
course of several months,
overwhich our recent visits
have ranged, amongst other
works in course of produc-
tion, an elaborate wrought-
iron railing for a house on
the Chelsea Embankment,
an oak screen for a village
church, patterns in maho-
gany with modelled work
for cast-iron fireplaces, a
series of suites ot bed-
room furniture, electric
nio\iso\ iifi-ht fittings for a number
('rails .md other exhibitions, they have met with Essex House is situated fur down the Mile
Mich approval as takes the very tangible form ot End Road. It is a handsome eighteenth-century
orders for articles of similar character. house built by a pupil of W ren, presenting, iii
It is not the purpose of the present writer to truth, an aspect of forsaken stateliness among its
discuss the merits or characteristics of design shown mean surroundings. The garden is spacious with
in the works of the Guild. These have been adverted an entrance from a side street. The carpentry
to in Thk Studio on various occasions when the shops run down at the right of the garden lor over
works have been on public view. Moreover, the half its length ; while over the tennis lawn, at
readers of Thk STUDIO are very well capable of the remote end, a little dark building with a glow
estimating for themselves the merits of the various ing fire, which we are told is the smithy, may be
articles we are enabled to illustrate. But without seen at any spring-time through glimpses of apple
going further into the matter, it might be well to blossom. The coppersmiths have their shop in
note the somewhat simple architectural character of what was formerly the drawing-room of the house,
most of the objects. A certain classic simplicity The ground floor of the house is used lor various
of design and an avoidance of what is known as offices. Through the hall, and up a fine staircase,
" trade finish " may be pointed to as most striking we come to the meeting-room of the Guild, in which
characteristics. are displayed certain of its productions, mostly lor a
short period only, pend-
ing, in fact, their delivery
to the purchasers. Until
our first visit to Essex
House, we had a certain
vague idea that one might
there see many of the pro-
ductions permanently on
view. This, however, was
soon dissipated, for the
(mild, no more than any
other productive corpora-
tion, produces its work in
a speculative way. A lew-
things there are, of course,
but in a general way the
articles go straight from
the workshop to the pur-
chaser. Even then it is
only after repeated visits
that the manifold activities
of the place present them-
selves. We have seen in the
course of several months,
overwhich our recent visits
have ranged, amongst other
works in course of produc-
tion, an elaborate wrought-
iron railing for a house on
the Chelsea Embankment,
an oak screen for a village
church, patterns in maho-
gany with modelled work
for cast-iron fireplaces, a
series of suites ot bed-
room furniture, electric
nio\iso\ iifi-ht fittings for a number