Our new brochure – covering October 2023 to March 2024, should now be winging its way to those on our postal mailing list now. We have had a busy time recently as our regular mailing company are no more and we have had to make new arrangements. These have finally been sorted, but there were
Our new Cook, David, has a very neat little drone which has captured some fantastic footage of Higham and our surroundings. David uploaded to his YouTube channel, on which there are plenty of other drone videos which may be of interest to lots of people, especially those who live ‘opp north’! Thanks to David
I am very pleased to announce that my replacement has now been chosen by the Trustees. Dr. Elizabeth Fisher will be a safe, understanding and intelligent pair of hands to pass over to. I am sure she will go down well with the whole Higham community and will build upon the progress already made keeping
In the end we have had 25 applicants for the role of Principal of Higham Hall. The majority display ‘impressive pedigrees’, a phrase I have been using recently in this context, with professional experiences spanning a number of relevant environments. What is especially gratifying is that the quality of applicants has been high, with many
In summer 1926, the then resident Fisher family played host to a young Evelyn Waugh (1903 – 1966), who was on the verge of giving up a teaching position to take up writing more fully. He was taken otter hunting down on the River Derwent before a whistletop tour of the Lakes. Entry From The
I have made the hard decision to step down as Principal of Higham Hall College at the end of August so that we can move to be closer to family. News about my planned departure is now out in the open, and will take time to filter through to all relevant parties. For those who
Earlier this year, the nation celebrated the 70th Anniversary of HRH Queen Elizabeth’s accession to the throne. At that time, Higham ordered a special tree and a plaque to commemorate this once in a lifetime occasion. Finally the tree has arrived. It took a long time to source the right one, but it had been
Looks like our Amy has been busy. A little video has appeared on our Instagram spreading a little seasonal joy: https://www.instagram.com/highamhall/ There’s even some Michael Buble if you turn up your sound! Enjoy!
https://cacn.co.uk/podcast/ I keep on recommending this excellent half hour monthly Podcast (it’s like listening to a programme on the radio on demand) called Behind the Scenery to people because I really do feel it has relevance to what goes on around our region. It is produced so very well and visits different creative people and
Here’s a bit of information which shows the level of knowledge useful in a place like Higham. This concerns our commercial dishwasher – a fine tower of stainless steel gracing our back room behind the scenes in the kitchen. It accepts trays of dirty dishes and, minutes later (yes, you hear that right – just
Voila! Le new window est installed dans le Harness Room! Now it is in, you can see one of the challenges we have in that the Courtyard itself is always sloping in one direction or other. This made it tricky for us to make a fully accessible step-free route through the French Window. Hence we
Harness Room We have, today, got a gaping hole in our wall. It’s deliberate – Builders are changing a window for a ‘porte’. …. That’s a ‘french window’, in case you’re wondering. At the moment, j’admit it’s not looking terribly chique. A board has been put up and, hopefully, the new fensetration will be in place
As far as I know, there is no royal connection whatsoever between Higham and royalty, whether it be as a grand family house, a youth hostel, a girl’s school or an adult residential college . However, we still feel the loss of our Sovereign, who has been a royal presence in the life of everybody
Part of what makes Higham so valuable, in our eyes, is the potential we have to improve the lives of those involved with us. Seriously – 100 percent sincerity here – we recognise the importance of simply having a safe place to go and spend time in. In one respect, every single course we offer
The second episode of the CACN podcast is now available. It is very professionally done (You’d be hard pressed to distinguish the Podcast from a Radio Four walk and talk programme. Not too much of surprise, since podcst presenter Tom Speight has worked for the ‘Beeb’ for 25 years!) – and you can listen to
As Bert might have said: “Blimey, Mary Poppins! Cop a load of ’em apples and pears.” Perhaps an overlooked feature within the modest grounds at Higham are the espaliers which line the inside wall of our rear car park. Each year these delightful trees yield some interesting apples and pears. This year, they are coming
For those interested in all things cultural around the region there is a new Podcast: Higham is a member of the excellent Cumbria Arts and Culture Network whose mission is to connect, empower, champion and extend arts and cultural provision within the region and beyond.
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.