Meet Rye, the beautiful 15 year old Gypsy Cob owned by one of our cooks, Ann and her husband Ronnie. Rye was ‘driven’ up today by Jennifer pulling their racing carriage. (That’s Rye pulling the carriage, Jennifer was the ‘driver’ or ‘pilot’ or whatever the term should be – sorry, my ignorance must appear appalling)
Finally! We have been able to make a start on our long-awaited improvements to the Studio. The main purpose of this phase is to eliminate the need for steps to access the entire Studio space and also to add an accessible WC on the end. The builder is working with us to carry out the
Tutor Karen Quickfall used her lockdown time very wisely. She worked on a manual for Ruskin Lace which will serve textilers for years to come. This book is a worthy successor to the influential work in Ruskin Lace teaching of the late Elizabeth Prickett, who, Karen states in her Acknowledgements, told her she would one
Pennines-based artist and Higham Tutor Lionel Playford unveiled his stunning new commission in the form of a large landscape oil painting for us earlier this year. The short ceremony with 30 invited guests turned out to also be a celebration of being able to return to some sort of normality, as well as marking the
One of our most popular art Tutors, Frances Winder, has donated a painting of Higham to the college. The classic view of the house is from the perspective seen looking from over the wild meadow strip to the front of the grounds. The scarlet of the poppies (and dare I say the blue of the
On Frances Winder‘s recent MEADOWS painting course, the Students all collaborated on a single piece of work. This was achieved through combining a set of individual panels which, taking a leaf out of the patchwork handbook, were put together to make up a larger work. Each panel was worked on by three individuals – I
Higham regulars will be familiar with the sight of our rather large Rhododendron on the side lawn. Those who come to the outdoor Shakespeare may recognise this handy backdrop. When it flowers in spring, we tend to really feel we have finally said farewell to Winter, but also some of us are reminded of wobbly
We have a job going in our Office! This is a rare opportunity. What’s more, it is a full time position, joining three other colleagues. More details one our jobs page.
A welcome distraction from an evening session led by our Principal was provided on Easter Sunday of all days when he was upstaged by the birth of a lamb. In fact, the timely presence of Gardens Tutor Louise Staddart saved the day for a lamb struggling to be born in the farmer’s field to the
Why be normal? Rather than stick to the name of “Principal’s Blog”, I’ve decided to refer to what I have to say on this bloggy thing as “Prattlings”. There may be some who will agree that is exactly right for some of the things that venture from my lips and I will not disagree. Changing
Amazingly, there seemed to be quite a few ‘Highamites’ who used to read the things I would write. Certainly, a number of people would comment about the things I shared. With all the fun and games with our friend Mr Coronavirus, I found it necessary to suspend my ramblings, otherwise all you would have got would
Converting the ground floor of the Gatehouse to 2 ensuite bedrooms to provide practical ground floor accommodation. Formerly the Principal’s house (er, not the current Principal, I might add!), the Gatehouse has provided of late simply extra upstairs standard accommodation, with 4 bedrooms sharing 2 bathrooms. The ground floor has become redundant and we feel
I am thrilled to say we have finally managed to get Planning permission for significant improvements to our accessibility on the premises. In a nutshell, we intend to work in phases towards the following: Carry out the current Disabled Loo re-tiling, re-flooring and fitting (in period style), which we have already begun as part of
Pond Sitting Area – IN PROGRESS We are currently working on an area in the grounds next to the pond to create a pleasant gathering area from which artists may observe the Pond in all its beauty. Not quite Giverny, our aim however is to develop the view so that it can be a scene to
We have installed a rustic cleft wood fence from oak sourced from Ruskin’s home, Brantwood. Adding to safety, it also provided a subject to be included for artists drawing and painting the scene beyond. The Pond area beyond will continue to be developed by our Gardeners. They have plans, and we are now looking for
Regulars at Higham will know my relief when I can tell you that, finally, the front upper windows are getting repainted and repaired. Our 1828 gothic revival building has parts that are inaccessible to ladders, and so full frontal scaffolding has been errected. Apparently last time this was done, they were allowed to use ladders!!!
Yes! We have finally managed to double glaze both the Bungalow Cottage and the Gatehouse Bedrooms. Those of you who have been with us a while may be aware of the challenges we have had in reaching this stage, but now, finally, decent quality windows have been installed in these two buildings. Subsequently this accommodation
Those of you who have been in the past year will know how we had the end part of the Dining Room (the servery area) painting Red Sand at the bottom and Roman White at the top of the Dado rail. We have now extended this to the full Dining Room, repainting the ceiling (repaired,
As mentioned before, we have been keen to sympathetically redecorate our rooms bit by bit. We have recently had bedroom 19 redone. After converting this ensuite room into a single (rather than a small double) and having Simon our carpenter make oak veneered furniture and headboard for us for the now new single bed, we
Neil and co have made progress with the establishment of the pond seating area. As you can see on the left, a space has now been cleared and foundations laid for an outside matted area on which seating will be placed. Thought has been given to creating an area that will drain naturally, as well
Our decorator was suddenly available this week, so we have put them to work on Bedrooms 6 and 19. If you look closely in the top right window, you can see one of the decorators hard at work on the interior of the arched window in Room 6. As ever, we have chosen heritage shades,
Our Gardening Team work tirelessly in the grounds to keep them safe and beautiful. The grounds are a major resource for Higham, giving those who come space to be inspired, to learn from and to enjoy. The Psychological benefits are immense, but we also recognise the historical legacy of the Georgian/Victorian Garden and a moral
Here’s a link to a short 15 minute film (Reflections) that was shot in part at Higham in 2018. It’s interesting for us to see bits of the features at Higham used. See how many bits you recognise! The 1 minute trailer for the film gives you a good peek at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zddnZBnhsxM REFLECTIONS – A
The Raffle for the Robert Dutton picture has now been drawn and the winner notified by email. The winning ticket number was [471 orange] . Thank you to everybody who supported our fund raising for the pond area by buying a ticket. In all, 469 tickets were sold at a pound each. Thank you, especially,
Converting the Bungalow from 3 standard rooms sharing 1 bathroom to 4 ensuite bedrooms to provide practical ground floor accommodation. Whilst we are limited in the Hall itself as to what can be done (7 bedrooms are still non-ensuite and all are upstairs), we can improve things. We will transform the Bungalow to suit what
Using heritage colours and cues to refurbish bedrooms and public areas so that they reflect significant eras the building has been through. We are being fussy about what we are using and making sure things are done to a high standard, both for longevity and for aesthetic appeal. For instance, Bedroom 2 has been repainted
A shelter in the garden which will look out on the wonderful view we have here. Alston, a residential college much like Higham, was closed in December 2015 after many years serving Lancashire and its Friends group wished to use up some remaining funds to help something within the spirit of what they supported. Friends
A private donation was made for us to plant a tree and for a bench in memory of former Tutor Derek Hyatt [Guardian Obituary and Telegraph Obituary], who passed at the age of 84 back in 2015. It is not surprising why such a figure in the world of art should still be remembered after
Here he is, the successor to faithful old Hoskins who, after 13 plus years, has now gone to a retirement of lesser demand. The new boy comes from the Transit bloodline and has slightly fewer seats in the back – something we feel will provide a little more room. He certainly feels like a newer
The lucky winner who won the original picture by Robert Dutton was a lady called Carol. She says she never usually wins anything. Well she has now! The raffle, with Robert’s painting as the sole prize, sold 361 tickets and raised £361. This money will go towards the improvement of the pond area in the grounds
Robert Dutton has kindly donated this wonderful picture to help us raise funds. So far, 220 tickets have been sold, and we are hoping to sell a few more. It really is a beautiful ORIGINAL framed pastel by Robert Dutton, and, unlike many other raffles, your chances of winning are very good, as we are
We recently unearthed some photos of the occasion, 17 years ago, when The Millennium Wall Hanging was created by course attendees at Higham. You may catch sight of some past tutors Elizabeth Prickett (Ruskin Lace), Julie Andrews (Patchwork) and Bridget Rylands (Embroidery) and a number of their students. The Millennium Hanging currently adorns the chimney
Just about got Monty to sit long enough in the new Curve to capture a shot of him with the new plaque, cunningly installed on a tree trunk by Neil the gardener.
Four months or so on an we’ve done it! The Bungalow Cottage has now been converted to 4 en-suite bedrooms – all ground floor, naturally! The new rooms are: Elva The former kitchen, now a single ensuite with private access to the outside and inside, using the existing fully accessible bathroom as its ensuite. Colour
Alston Hall was, until the beginning of last year, a sister college to Higham based in the Ribble Valley in Lancashire. We shared many tutors and, indeed, students, and strived to be true to the same aims of lifelong learning, at one time both being part of the, now defunct, Adult Residential College’s Association (ARCA).
Well, we have completed the conversion of three of the bedrooms in the Bungalow Cottage to ensuites on time! There’s never an easy way, but we had to do it and the last couple of months have involved countless hours from several people, both paid and voluntary. Special mention must go especially to (Mrs Principal)
More than just a redecoration, this one. Those familiar with the Bungalow will recognise that this 1960s one 3 bedroom, one bathroom house originally built for the Warden when Higham was a girl’s school, was hardly up to scratch for modern needs, although it did boast one advantage – that it offers the only ground
As ever, with an old building – an ours’ is nearly 200 years old – there have been challenges with our redecoration. Because we are stubbornly refusing to compromise and do things by halves, we are facing these challenges head-on. In the long run, it will cost less money, but in the short term, we
Those of you who know Higham may be familiar with the end of the Dining Room where tea and coffee and some food is served. It was blue for a long time, clashing with the rest of the Dining Room. So we decided to bring it into line and match it up. We chose a
The Pictures tell the story really. There is always something else to do, whatever the job here at Higham. People who think it is just a case of a lick of paint are mistaken. Behind the job of redecorating the Study at the top of the main stairs have been two other major jobs: Repairing
One of our largest ensuite bedrooms in the Hall is having some TLC. Room 15 boasts two wonderful gothic arched windows facing the front. Unfortunately, it also has boasted leaks from both the roof through the window surrounds and the ceiling (due to condensation in the attic). These issues having been addressed, our professional decorator
We’ve finally sorted the majority of work on Rooms 4 and 5. If you remember, these both were in need of brightening up and we took on the challenge of improving them acoustically and aesthetically. The result is very pleasing, especially now the headboard and shelving have been fitted for each room which is now
Those students who are familiar with these two bedrooms may identify with the fact that they both suffered from ‘snore-bleed’ through the adjoining wall. This was due to the fact that when the rooms were originally divided many years ago, the wall between them was just a stud partition. Now, however, it has been enhanced
For a long time the wafer-thin wall between 4 & 5 has allowed deep snorers to keep their neighbours awake. Well, we are eliminating this problem, prior to a redecoration, by putting up an acoutsically-dampening wall between these two bedrooms. Room 5 has also over the years suffered from a bit of water ingress –
Finally we have managed to put up new curtains in the redecorated Room 2. The choices of colour and pattern have been very, very deliberate for reasons of both usability and aesthetics. The material chosen reflects the scheme’s queues taken from the framed piece of wallpaper on the feature wall, itself of a colour dictated
We are pleased with what we have managed to do with Bedrooms 1 and 2. We took a 19th Century wallpaper design as a cue and took heritage colours from it. An example of the wallpaper itself has been put in a black metal frame on the wall that has the feature colour. We decided,
It might sound like a small thing, but this banister will make all the difference. This is Bedroom 6, and you will notice that the entrance is up a slight slope – we think the idea was that a slope was better than a step. However, we have added the rail as a hand hold