The Greyhound Inn sits below the remains of the Outer Bailey wall of Henry the First’s Corfe Castle between the Outer Gatehouse and the Horseshoe Tower which were added between 1280 and 1285. It was originally a 17th century coaching inn called the Black Dog and its porch bears the inscription I.C. 1733 this being the initials of the then owner, John Cockram.
Today is the anniversary of Frances Hodgkins’ birthday on April 28th 1869.
We are pleased to recommend an excellent exhibition Frances Hodgkins: Between Croft and Corfe curated by Lauren Gutsell at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery which will be on display until July 23rd.
Today is the anniversary of Frances Hodgkins’ birthday on April 28th 1869.
We are pleased to recommend an excellent exhibition Frances Hodgkins: Between Croft and Corfe curated by Lauren Gutsell at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery which will be on display until July 23rd.
In 2019 Jonathan Gooderham visited Solva, Wales, hoping to trace the origins of one of Frances Hodgkins’ iconic Welsh paintings – her vibrant village scene Methodist Chapel. Each year Jonathan retraces the travels of Frances Hodgkins and researches the provenance and location of her works from a particular area.
In June 2017 Jonathan Gooderham set out for Somerset to locate Geoffrey Gorer’s cottage and the weir on the River Tone, depicted in Hodgkins painting River Tone, Somerset c. 1939, pictured above.
Armed with an old listing for the sale of The Croft and a post code Jonathan drove into the small village of Bradford-on-Tone and parked outside St Giles Church. He set off on foot for the small stone bridge that crossed the River Tone. Having walked the riverbank for half a mile to the west, he realised that he was walking in the wrong direction. He retraced his steps, walking next to a beautiful field of golden wheat, listening to the ambling tone of the river which gradually increased in volume. The volume intensified and around the next bend in the river Jonathan spotted the water cascading down a weir (a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level).
In August 1931 Frances Hodgkins decided to leave the bustling city of London for a quieter life in the country and consequently moved to ‘The Nook’, Bodinnick-by-Fowey in Cornwall. In a letter to Dorothy Selby, Frances wrote, ‘The Nook is neither of the “Rookery” or the “Cosy” sort but suits my needs – no other fool could stand it.’ Frances painted the surrounding countryside relentlessly, as she feared her contract with galleries in London might be terminated because of the ever-worsening depression, caused by the stock market crash in 1929. Her hard work paid off and in February 1932 she exhibited with the Seven and Five Society and later that year with the Salford Gallery near Manchester, and also with Zwemmer, Tooth’s & Wertheim galleries in London.
