The Arts & Crafts movement has had a significant underlying influence on CHERCHBI from the start. Blackwell [8 miles up the road from CHERCHBI in Windermere] is Britain’s finest surviving Arts & Crafts house. Don’t take my word for it, if you’re in the Lakes and have any interest in interior or architectural design then it should be top of your list to see.

The house itself is incredible. The interiors are entirely original, the furniture and decorative items are either original, or of the period. It was designed by M H Baillie Scott for Manchester brewery owner Sir Edward Holt and completed in 1900. Despite numerous uses over the century, the internal & external structure have never been altered, so what remains today is the original design intact, albeit with some worthy restoration work by The Lakeland Arts Trust.

There are two rooms upstairs used as a gallery space, the last exhibition was Aspects of the Arts and Crafts Movement, which focused on Kendal furniture maker A W Simpson. The current show is Beauty in Repetition, a Metalwork and Jewellery showcase. Well worth it, go see.