Lucy Abel Smith on Collecting

 For years I have been fascinated by the gardens at Quenington Old Rectory with interesting layout of different rooms and surprises round the corner as more sculptures appear. Rare Plant Fairs are held on the lawn, last year in spring when the Darmera peltata were flowering along the riverbank, they looked fantastic.  Lucy and David Abel Smith have lived in the Old Rectory for 37 years have developed not only the exterior, but also the interior as well in their own style. Lucy a self-confessed collector, is also involved in many projects, some outlined in the fascinating Guardian Interiors article in 2019. We have visited two sculpture shows as a Friends' group, and looking forward to visiting the 2024 show Lucy is preparing already. I was thrilled when Lucy agreed to give an illustrated Friends' talk via Zoom and having just returned from a book festival in Transylvania, the timing was not ideal. I took photos from the screen as Lucy talked and will try and fill in with some of the things covered.

Born in Scotland, Lucy was very aware of the Scottish colourists' work and her Father's collection of snuff boxes, seen above, and enjoyed handling them.

Above is a photograph of their east facing dining room in Quenington Old Rectory where the first thing they commissioned was a table designed by Fred Baier and chairs designed by William Burgess. Below the design of the archway fresco is based on the wonderful stone arches over the doors at the nearby Quenington Church, depicting the first coronation of the virgin.

This flatware set, below, was designed by Lucian Taylor

Lucy is a great collector of glass, and began collecting it aged 21, she mentioned Sam Herman, the great glass collector who talked to us in 2016: Friends of Swindon Museum & Art Gallery: Sam Herman in conversation with Graham Cooley  below you can see one of Lucy's pieces designed by Simon Moore

This bangle was designed by Wendy Ramshaw and held together with magnets, which must make wearing it quite difficult

This stained-glass piece is by Antony Newell and depicts Lucy and David, I think

Below is a photo of the drawing room where there is lots of inherited brown furniture

Here below is more of the glass collection

and then Lucy talked about the garden where there's a Loutro Bateman split bridge and the beautiful round library seen on the right of the photograph below designed by Michael Gold.  

Above is a photo of one of the seats in the garden, and below a tribute to Esme Bradburne who joined the gardening team aged 79and used her organic principles in the garden. The lettering says 'The soul of man resembles the water, the fate of man resembles the wind'. 

There are some lovely water sculptures in the garden, like this one below. 

My favourite is the large one in the centre of the river which I try and photograph every time I visit:

Lucy finished off by showing us some of her favourite small pieces:

Below is a glass piece by Angela Thwaite

and this ceramic piece is a Hans Coper

Thank you once again Lucy Abel Smith for such an extensive tour around your collections, looking forward to visiting the next Rare Plant Fair and of course the 2024 Sculpture show.

Trip to Fresh Air Sculpture Exhibition

A group of Friends visited the Fresh Air Sculpture exhibition set in the grounds of Quenington Old Rectory on the evening of the 9th of June, and were warmly welcomed by organiser Lucy Abel Smith and her husband, David. It's amazing to think that this exhibition has been running biennually for 30 years, making this the 15th exhibition. It would have been held in 2021, but Covid restrictions made that impossible, so it is especially wonderful to be able to attend as a group this year.

The Pool Gallery is a good place to start the tour. I loved the blue tits made by Emily Lawlor from vintage china and bought one which is now hanging/flying in my kitchen. From there, I began wandering round the garden and adjoining field and took a few photos of sculptures which attracted my attention:

I think this was my favourite exhibit, although I wouldn't necessarily want it in my garden, it's very clever, and presumably if you bought it, Sara would install it in your garden onto a suitable tree or shrub. It's called 'Cornucopia' by Sara Budzik

I liked this series of ribbon and stainless steel structures which hang in trees, they're by Edith Meusnier and called 'Dans L'Intervalle

I was a bit concerned that birds might fly into them.

This piece, 'The End is Nigh; Apophis' is made from wood, hinges and stainless steel bolts, made by Ben Rowe, it's sits well in this woodland setting.

From the intimate garden setting, the sculptures continue in the field reached by crossing the river

The piece below, 'Lotus and the Pearl of Wisdom' by Jessica Gill is a really striking piece, beautifully positioned by the river

Pete Moorhouse produces sculptures that rework traditional Islamic designs producing beautiful sculptures like this one called 'Zahir'

I haven't included many photos of Friends, but thought I'd include this one I took of Lesley and Gwyneth who very much enjoyed their time at the exhibition

And here's Neil trying out the bench which he said was very comfortable. It was made by Matthew Burt and commissioned by Lucy to be used in a contemplative place 

The final piece in my selection from so many great sculptures is titled 'Virus (Large)' by Joanne Risley, it's very beautifully constructed, and does resemble the microscopic photos we have seen of the Covid virus.

There is so much information about Quenington Old Rectory in the magnificent catalogue, too much to mention here, I hope you have access to one, if not, you can borrow mine. I'd like my final photo of this splendid copper beech, possibly among those trees planted 250 years ago, to recognise the wonderful work done by Robert, just putting his wheelbarrow away when we arrived at 6pm. The gardens are open for Rare Plant Fairs, and well worth a visit in their own right.

Thank you once again Lucy and David for your warm welcome when we came to visit, and for continuing to make such a difference to the lives of so many people.