THE BLAKE COTTAGE TRUST · OCTOBER 2026 |
| | | News from Blake’s cottage |
| | | Conservation, creativity and community in Felpham |
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“The most sublime act is to set another before you.” |
| | | William Blake · The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
Proverbs of Hell |
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Since our August newsletter, the cottage has welcomed visitors, volunteers and young imaginations. Their energy gives us much to celebrate — and makes the next urgent task all the more important: protecting the building from the weather so that conservation can continue. |
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| | | Help Protect Blake Cottage from the Elements |
| | | | | | The restored roof was a vital milestone, but parts of the building are still exposed to the weather. We are urgently raising funds to finish protecting the fabric of the cottage from the elements before we can move on to detailed conservation of the interior. |
| | | This programme of work - to complete conservation of the cottage and garden - will cost a great deal: something in the region of £750,000. We have grant applications in, but urgently need public support to put us in a position to carry out the work in a timely manner. |
| | | Please help us keep the work moving. A one-off or regular gift will help protect the home where William and Catherine Blake lived and worked, and bring its public future closer. |
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| | | Hard Hats, Open Doors — and a Warm Welcome |
| | | In August we invited you to look behind the scenes at Blake’s cottage. In September, you did just that. Hard-hat tours with timber-framing specialist Joe Thompson on 13 September were followed by Heritage Open Day tours with conservation specialist Nick Tyson on 15 September — with visitors undeterred by the rain. |
| | | Visitors saw a work in progress, rather than a finished historic house: a chance to understand both what has been achieved and the archeological information that has been gleaned and will inform the conservation. They also saw how much still needs to be done. For us, the days were also a valuable opportunity to gauge how best to run tours around the 2027 bicentenary next summer — sharing the story clearly and welcoming people safely while conservation continues. Feedback from visitors and helpers will inform that planning. |
| | | Our thanks to Nick Tyson, Joe Thompson, trustee Irene Campbell, ambassador Andy Bliss, project coordinator Sarah Parker and everyone else who helped welcome visitors, and to all who came, donated or bought something in support of the Trust. |
| | | Because the cottage remains a building site it is not yet open for general public visits. Strictly limited visits may be possible by prior arrangement: please contact us before travelling → |
| | | | | | Heritage Open Day, 15 September 2026. Photograph by Sarah Parker. |
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CRAFTSMANSHIP & CREATIVITY |
| | | Blake’s Printing Press Takes Shape |
| | | On 20 October, trustees Doug Nicholls and Richard Clemmow visited Josh Howard-Saunders to see progress on the replica wooden rolling printing press being built for Blake Cottage. Bruce Dickinson’s film crew joined them to record the makers at work and interview them about the project. |
| | | In Josh’s Oxfordshire workshop, the main structure is taking shape in oak. There is a particularly touching connection with the past: Josh explained that the tree felled for this project was almost certainly alive and growing during William Blake’s lifetime. |
| | | The visit continued to Buckinghamshire, where professional woodturner Phil Jones was beginning to shape the supporting legs, with the beech wood printing rollers to follow. Phil was working on a Watkins lathe built in 1943—the very machine he used during his apprenticeship forty years ago. |
| | | For Doug, watching these skilled makers brought home the connection between Blake’s art and the daily work of his hands. The new press offers a way to explore that practical craft alongside the poetry and images Blake's precious press helped bring into the world. |
| | | | | | Josh with the oak press structure. |
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| | | | | Phil at the lathe, preparing a support leg. |
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| | | Photographs by Richard Clemmow. |
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| | | Helping Hands Make a Visible Difference |
| | | Our August newsletter introduced our new ambassador Delia Ryan and the prospect of practical help from Amazon’s Bognor Regis team. On 1 and 2 September that promise became a wonderfully energetic reality. |
| | | Working inside the cottage and in the garden, the volunteers cleared and tidied the site, making it safer, cleaner and more welcoming. Arun District Council conservation specialist Martyn White also explained some of the building’s challenges to the team — connecting the practical work with the extraordinary history they were helping to protect. |
| | | Huge thanks to Amazon, to our ambassador Delia and works supervisor Menche for organising the two days, and to every volunteer who rolled up their sleeves. We are grateful too for the continuing practical care of Felpham’s local “Heavy Gang”. This is the kind of neighbourly support that turns plans into progress. |
| | | | | | Amazon volunteers at Blake Cottage, September 2026. |
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YOUNG PEOPLE & IMAGINATION |
| | | Our Young Garden Designers: The Winners |
| | | More than 200 primary school children, aged 9–11, from five local schools entered the garden design competition organised by trustee Suzy Lloyd. In August we shared the twelve finalists; now, after careful deliberation by the Trust’s working group for the future of the cottage, we can celebrate our three winners: Wren Waller, first prize; Bella Abdo, second prize; and Pippa Asker, third prize. |
| | | As Suzy explained in her account of the project, the children began by studying the opening of Blake’s Auguries of Innocence and writing their own rhyming couplets inspired by the natural world. In the workshops they learnt about Blake’s love of nature and the Trust’s work to open the cottage for future generations to enjoy. They were then left with a challenge: to imagine a garden of their own. |
| | | The judges found the finalists’ pictures imaginative and inspiring. They particularly commended the first- and second-prize designs as evocative, with strong connections to Blake’s relationship with nature. Each of the three winning entries offered a different way to explore, enjoy and look closely at the living world. |
| | | | | | First prize · Wren Waller |
| | | “Crunching twigs snap beneath my heavy boots,
As the sharp scent of sodden moss ascends from the roots.” |
| | | Wren’s richly planted garden draws the visitor along winding stepping stones towards a sheltered bench beneath the trees. The judges found the design evocative, with strong links to Blake’s relationship with nature. The couplet brings sound and scent into the picture, from twigs snapping underfoot to damp moss at the roots. |
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| | | | | Second prize · Bella Abdo |
| | | “Bloom where you are planted,
This garden is enchanted.” |
| | | Bella imagined a stone path, a pond, a tree swing and a leafy archway. The judges singled out her couplet as a lovely sentiment that captured the magic and mystical energy of nature, alongside the design’s evocative connection to Blake’s love of the natural world. |
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| | | | | Third prize · Pippa Asker |
| | | “The sky’s blue, the grass is green,
Bugs follow to the path of enlightenment to the green.” |
| | | Pippa’s design brings together a duck pond, woodland, a greenhouse and a bug hotel. A judge praised it as a wonderfully vibrant space that invites exploration, making the often-forgotten insect world part of the essence of the garden. It offers a place to notice the small creatures as well as the trees and flowers. |
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| | | Our thanks to trustee Suzy Lloyd, the schools and teachers, and every young designer who entered. The competition is one of the community projects made possible by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players for helping bring Blake’s imagination to a new generation. |
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| | | The Cottage Continues to Bring People Together |
| | | September brought visits from senior colleagues at West Dean College, whose work in arts and conservation has much in common with our ambitions. Conversations explored possible connections in conservation and printmaking — promising ideas that we look forward to developing. |
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| | | | | | We set up our survey to canvass public opinion, both locally and from further afield, on the future of Blake Cottage. We have received more than 400 responses so far, with more arriving by the day, helping us understand what people would most value as we develop plans for a sustainable future for the cottage. |
| | | We are developing those plans in close consultation with the communities around the cottage and the wider community of people who want to see William and Catherine Blake properly celebrated. Whether you live nearby or admire the Blakes from further afield, your views will help shape a place that honours their lives and work and welcomes future generations. |
| | | If you have not already completed our survey, please take around eight minutes to share your views. Tell us what you would like the cottage and its future activities to offer. Access, the garden, learning and the experience of visiting all matter, and your local knowledge can help us get them right. |
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| | | #Blake200: Keeping the Imagination at Work |
| | | The bicentenary of William Blake’s death falls on 12 August 2027. Work continues on #Blake200 and on bringing together artists, musicians, scholars and community partners to mark the year in Sussex and beyond. |
| | | Our working groups have been developing proposals both for the cottage and garden and for the programme of events. Funding and practical arrangements are still being worked through; we will share confirmed events and booking details as they become available. |
| | | If you have a creative idea, a useful skill or a connection that could help, we would love to hear from you at [email protected]. |
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| | | Blake Cottage in The Guardian |
| | | Trustee Richard Clemmow’s letter appeared in The Guardian on 25 August. Read the letter → |
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| | | A Fresh Look for Blake Cottage Online |
| | | Our redesigned website is now live. We hope you will find it both more informative than the old site and easier to use, with clearer routes to the story of William and Catherine Blake in Felpham, the cottage’s conservation and our plans for its future. |
| | | It is also a place to follow our progress, discover our community projects and find ways to support the Trust. Please take a look, share it with anyone who might be interested, and let us know what you think: your feedback will help us keep improving it. Explore the redesigned website → |
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| | | | | | Every visit, hour of voluntary work and donation helps move the cottage towards a public future. If you can give, a one-off or regular donation through JustGiving will support the work ahead. Please also share this newsletter with anyone who might like to become part of the story. |
| | | | | | | | | Thank you for being part of the cottage’s continuing life. |
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CREATIVITY AT THE COTTAGE |
| | | A Little Theatre Magic in Felpham |
| | | On 12 October, members of the cast of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Chichester Festival Theatre stepped away from the stage to visit Blake Cottage. The visit was organised by our ambassador Delia Ryan, and Doug Nicholls reported that the visitors loved it. |
| | | There is something fitting about bringing actors from Shakespeare’s world of woodland enchantment to the home of Blake’s own extraordinary imagination. Encounters like this offer a glimpse of the cottage’s future: a place where artists and audiences can find fresh inspiration, and where William and Catherine’s story continues to make new connections. |
| | | | | | The Chichester Festival Theatre cast visit, 12 October 2026. Photograph by Delia Ryan. |
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Blake’s vision — of imagination, justice and the transforming power of art — lives on in this small cottage in Felpham. Help us carry it forward. |
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