We’re delighted to announce that we’ve teamed up with our friends at Rodborough Tabernacle for a special Heritage Open Day event giving you a chance to visit this special place and discover its Arts & Crafts story. The chapel and church will be open from 10am until 4pm, with a talk by art historian Kirsty Hartsiotis at 11am and again at 2pm. Please be aware that parking is very limited, so do walk there if you possibly can - muddy boots and well behaved dogs welcome, and teas and coffees will be available after the talk.
‘Exploring the Arts and Crafts Movement at Rodborough Tabernacle and beyond’
Talk with Kirsty Hartsiotis at Rodborough Tabernacle URC, Tabernacle Walk, Rodborough GL5 3UJ at 11am and again at 2pm
Join art historian Kirsty Hartsiotis for a talk expanding the Arts and Crafts history of the Little Chapel and the Tabernacle through the work of the local Arts and Crafts Movement architects and craftspeople who worked on the building – and discover their other work in the Stroud District and nearby. Expect simplicity, splendour and superb craftsmanship!
The Little Chapel was converted from a coach-house in the 1920s by architect Sidney Barnsley, one of three Arts and Crafts architects who settled in Sapperton in the 1890s, the second of his two churches. He worked with his friend Ernest Gimson’s old woodworking team, then run by Peter Waals in Chalford to create the interior. Waals also worked with Amberley-based architect Thomas Falconer to create the impressive woodwork in the Tabernacle. Another Amberley artist, Henry Payne, and his son Edward, produced the stained glass for the Little Chapel. A unique Arts and Crafts gem in Stroud? As we’ll find out in Kisty’s talk, we can find Arts and Crafts work by them and their friends in many of our churches in Stroud, if you know what to look for.
Kirsty Hartsiotis is an art historian, museum curator, writer and storyteller based in Stroud. From 2008 to 2023 she was the curator of the Designated Arts and Crafts Movement collection at The Wilson, Cheltenham, and now works for Swindon Museums. She’s an Accredited Arts Society lecturer on the Arts and Crafts Movement, and is passionate (obsessed?) about Arts and Crafts in our local churches. She’s also the Editor of The Journal of William Morris Studies, writes a regular column for Cotswold Life, and has published a number of books of the local folk tales she tells.
Tickets are FREE but advance booking required - please book online, or call 01453 763394. No need to book if you’d simply like to visit the church and chapel.
Access & Parking:
There is only limited parking at the Tabernacle for those who really require it.
This year’s HOD theme is Routes – Networks – Connections. In the spirit of this theme we invite you to take up the challenge of walking to the Tab if you can! Perhaps you already have a favourite route from Stroud town centre up through Rodborough Fields? Or maybe you can enjoy a wander on the Commons and then stroll down to the Tabernacle? Along the way, take a moment to remember the millworkers, craftspeople and chapel goers who trod the steep and winding pathways and narrow tracks in previous centuries, long before the invention of motor cars, tarmac roads and electric bicycles.
Heritage Open Days is England's largest festival of history and culture, involving thousands of local volunteers and organisations. Every year for 10 days in September it brings people together to celebrate their heritage, community and history. Stories are told, traditions explored, and histories brought to life. It offers the public a chance to see hidden places and try out new experiences – and it’s all FREE.
