Charleston

Firle
Lewes
East Sussex
BN8 6LL

Tel: +44 (0)1323 811 265
Fax: +44 (0)1323 811 628
Email: info@charleston.org.uk
Web: http://www.charleston.org.uk


In 1916 the artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant moved to Sussex with their unconventional household. From the moment they arrived they began to transform the house with decorations. Inspired by Italian fresco painting and the Post-Impressionists, they painted the walls, doors, furniture and ceramics in their own personal style.

The walled garden was redesigned in a style reminiscent of southern Europe, with mosaics, box hedges, gravel pathways and ponds.

Over the following half century Charleston became the country meeting place for the group of artists, writers and intellectuals known as Bloomsbury. Clive Bell, David Garnet and Maynard Keynes lived at Charleston for considerable periods; Virginia and Leonard Woolf, E. M. Forster, Lytton Strachey and Roger Fry were frequent visitors.

The rooms which are normally on show form a complete example of the decorative art of the Bloomsbury artists. Guided tours of the house add a human dimension to this unique and personal collection, which in addition to paintings by the Bloomsbury artists, includes objects from the Omega Workshops and work by Renoir, Picasso, Matthew Smith, Sickert and Delacroix.

On Fridays there is a special themed tour called 'From Omega: the Bloomsbury Interior'. This lasts for an hour and twenty minutes and includes the kitchen, not seen on other tours.

General Information:

  • Shop selling original ceramics, painted furniture and books
  • Gallery with program of exhibitions
  • Workshops and events
  • Cafe
  • Please telephone for disabled access information

    More Pictures
     
     

    Opening Times
    (2009 times)
    1st April to 1st November 2009:
    Wednesdays - Saturdays: 1.00pm (12.00pm July and August)
    Sundays & Bank Holiday Mondays: 1.00pm.
    Last entry to the house is 5.00pm.

    Shop, ticket office and cafe:
    Open 30 minutes before the house and close at 6.00pm.

    Wednesdays - Saturdays:
    Entry to the house is by guided tour only.

    Tours are on a first come, first served basis. During popular times you may not be able to enter the house straightaway but there are plenty of other things to see and do at Charleston.

    Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays:
    The rooms are stewarded and you can move around the house at your own pace. These are the best days to bring small children.

    Admission Charges
    (2009 prices)
    House and Garden:
    Adult £7.50; Child £5.00; Disabled £5.00; Family ticket £20.00.

    Concessions £5.50 Thursday only.

    Fridays themed tour £9.00.

    Garden only:
    Adult £3.00; Child £1.50.

    Organised groups should telephone 01323 811626 for rates and information.

    Directions
    Road: sign-posted off the A27, 7 miles east of Lewes, between Firle and Selmeston.
    Rail: regular service from London Victoria to Lewes.
    Show map of Charleston...

    Charleston Postcode for SatNav: BN8 6LL

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