Haworth Art Gallery – Accrington
Hosted by the Friends of Haworth Art Gallery
Hurrah – the storage boxes for the coins have arrived. With great excitement, we opened the boxes on Tuesday when we went in to the gallery to do some more documentation.
The Friends paid for them as we agreed at our last meeting. The storage boxes were desperately needed as we had coins and medals in many envelopes in a shoe box and open plastic box. So their storage was unsafe.
Now that we have suitable archive boxe
s, all these items will now be secure.
Haworth Art Gallery was nominated in the Hyndburn Business Awards 2023 and was a finalist in two of the categories. The results were announced at a dinner and presentation at the Dunkenhalgh and the gallery had a table there. Gallery staff, a representative of the Artists’ Studios and gallery volunteers went along for the dinner, which was accompanied by live music prior to the presentations. Three of the Friends were represented amongst the volunteers.
Whilst the gallery didn’t win, it was a prestigious occasion to attend and had done well in being finalists.
Gillian and Amelia, gallery staff with Marilyn, volunteer and member of the Friends.
Paddy representing the Artists
and Harry, volunteer and
member of the Friends.
Liz, volunteeer, alongside Alison and Sam, gallery staff.
Jean, volunteer and member of
the Friends with Liz, volunteer,
and Alison, gallery staff.
At the Haworth
Art Gallery on Sunday, May 7th , we celebrated the Coronation of King Charles lll by holding a community event for our local families. Organised by Gallery staff, Accrington town councillors and the Frien
ds of Haworth Art Gallery, with funding by Hyndburn Borough Council, a brilliant day was had by all. Following the singing of the National Anthem, where children from St Nicholas Primary School, Church accompanied the 
soloist, the fun commenced.
The Red Rose Singers performed in the rose garden as did the group, much to the delight and enjoyment of visitors.
Also outside, children and adu
lts alike were able to enjoy making giant bubbles , which soared away into the sky and over the gallery. There was lots of fun inside as well. Vintage games proved to be really
popular with lots of discussion with children about the toys that were played with over 100 years ago.
Spinning tops became very competitive—
who could make their toy spin the longest! A bagatelle and table skittles tested everyone’s skills and we were entertained by children acting out stories in the puppet theatre.
Crafts for children also had loads of clients and the crowns made 
were seen all afternoon on children’s heads in the gallery. Dressing up was amazingly popular with adults more so than children and the opportunit
y to “Have your photo taken with our king” was well subscribed as was the ever popular tombola, which did a roaring trade
Visitors who wished were taken on a guided tour of the house, looking at all the marvellous Arts and Crafts features of our building.
Every child attending received a party bag , which included a Coronation Commemorative medal, and enjoyed 
an ice cream with sprinkles in coronation colours. Featured in the gallery was a display of art work by children from St John Primary School, Baxenden and prizes for the best pieces were presented.
| Special Viewing Day of Items from the Permanent Collections at the Haworth Art Gallery |
In April, The Friends of Haworth Art Gallery were able to view some of the weird and won derful items that are the gallery collections.
Three of the Friends have spent several years of voluntary work documenting the collections and chose items to view . |
| Three magnificent silver plated items by Elkington were the first to look at. These elaborately ornamented pieces dated from the Victorian era and, whilst not intrinsically valuable, represent Victorian workmanship at its best.
We also viewed the miniature portrait of William Haworth , which must have been a treasured possession of Anne Haworth as a memorial of her brother. Anne had also saved a sampler made by her mother, Mary Rushworth around 1810 . This had been discovered in a corner of the attic when we were documenting artifacts. A remarkable find. |
 By contrast, we were amused to read the poster from the public library, shown on the left. Quite who had the job of deciding who was “a dirty person” we will never know. Whilst we do not know the date of this poster, it dates from after 1908, the date when the build of Accrington’s Carnegie Library was finished.
This poster reminded us of similar ones that were posted in the various mills across Lancashire and Yorkshire of “Rules of the Mill”.
|
Documentation of Haworth Art Gallery Permanent Collections
Documentation of Haworth Art Gallery permanent collections has been going on for well over 5 years. Three of the Friends of Haworth Art Gallery have been involved in this along with, from time to time, other volunteers, gallery staff and university students on placement.
Currently ( March 2023), Jean and Harry Emmett and Sandy Spence are busy working on the coin/medal and commemoratives collection. There have been many weird and wonderful items to be seen, including “cowrie” money, Chinese knife money and beautiful commemorative coins, including ones made especially for Accrington’s celebration of the Coronation of Edward Vll and Queen Alexandra. Also found were medals that had been presented to babies at an Accrington Mother and Baby day in 1929. This was held in Oak Hill Park and 700 mothers and their babies attended. An interesting insight into life in Accrington then.
Here Jean, Sandy and Harry are busy documenting coins fro
m George lll’s reign.
The coin documentation should be finalised in April. What will we be working on then? Who knows, but we hope to still be working with the fascinating collections held a
t the gallery.
Didn’t we have a lovely time, the day we went Edwardian? As the old song goes – and all for under a pound, you know.
The fun and friendly Heritage Open Day, hosted by the Friends and staff of Haworth Art Gallery, was a huge success, thanks largely to the 500 visitors who turned out to enjoy an afternoon of Edwardian-era fun .
Some splendid period entertainment, including games, crafts and educational activities helped bring to life the beautiful old arts and crafts house and surroundings in ways its first owners the Haworths would surely have recognised.
From piles of period costumes for dressing up and snapping selfies, to great games and toys of the times, such as bagatelle and table skittles, there were free activities for old and young – and everyone in between – including giant bubble-blowing and wild welly-wanging. Wow!
And from demonstrations of the needlecrafts that were typical of the era, to making your own crafty creations – or learning how to handle some of the Haworth’s huge collection of artefacts – most of the day’s activities were absolutely free.
The hope was to provide an event where everyone would feel welcome, and we were delighted to be joined by people from a wide range of backgrounds and abilities to join in the fun.
Also free were fascinating talks about the house and its surroundings, the stables, the motor house and its very rare petrol store.
Audiences were regaled by tales of amazing inventions of which the Haworths were early-adopters – and treated to a visit from a stunning SCAT car – a contemporary of the Haworths’ motor cars.
For a small fee, visitors could chance their arm on the tempting tombola or the human fruit machine – a fun and fruity way to win a perfect prize.
For those who just wanted to sit back and take in the balmy, end-of-summer mood, the hypnotic moves of the 400 Roses and T’Thorns (see main image), entranced the crowds with their genre-defying brand of traditional dance – a real must-see.
The brilliant Baxenden Concert Band delighted everyone with their pitch-perfect performances of classics old and new, drifting through the rose garden. A wonderful way to unwind on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
A huge thank you to our many visitors, staff and volunteers, who helped make it such a memorable day in a friendly and welcoming atmosphere.
And while it may have been a day of looking back to a bygone era, we’re already looking forward to seeing you at our next event.
Pip pip!
What did the Edwardians ever do for us? (To misquote Monty Python.) Or the late Victorians for that matter?!
Well, they gave us HUGE numbers of things we now take for granted. Hot and cold running water, electric lighting, central heating, the motor car, the telephone – too many to mention . And just some of the inventions championed by early adopters William and Anne Haworth at their beautiful home, Hollins Hill – which, just over a century ago, of course, became the Haworth Art Gallery.
But don’t just take our word for it – come and see for yourself! Our free Heritage Open Day (Sunday, September 18th, 12pm-4pm) is your chance to learn about all the cutting-edge inventions of the day here at the Haworth – to learn about the place and its people – in a fun, festival atmosphere filled with music and dance, Edwardian dress-up and crafty activities, with games and prizes for all the family.
Tours of the house and surroundings, led by the Haworths’ lady’s maid Ellen Priestly and coachman William Beach (they’ve aged very well!) will delight and inform you. Grab your chance to dress in the fashions of the day from our Edwardian wardrobe and pose for a period portrait. Test your skills on vintage games and try your luck in the tombola. Or chance your arm on the Human Fruit Machine – much more fun than a one-armed bandit! Take part in kids’ crafting workshops or be forever blowing bubbles with our giant bubble-maker.
And if you’d just like to sit and take it all in, you can relax to the soothing sounds of the Baxenden Concert Band and the mesmerising moves of the 400 Roses and T’Thorns cloggers. Or stop for refreshments in our very own Edwardian tea rooms at the Gallery Kitchen.
The Haworth Art Gallery and Artists Studios will be open for visitors, showcasing the talents of our resident artists and the current range of exhibitions. No matter how well – or how little – you know the Haworth, you’ll find something new (or old!) and absolutely fascinating at our heritage fun day.
Come as you are – or in Edwardian dress if it takes your fancy – you’ll fit right in with the staff and Friends of Haworth Art Gallery. Entrance is free, as are almost all of the day’s activities.
We look forward to seeing you here!
A visit from our very own Friends Group member and ex-teacher, Linda Fisk, provided a fun packed history lesson for Year 3 at Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School in Accrington.
Teacher, Miss Dawes, contacted the Friends of the Haworth Art Gallery to ask if someone could visit the school to deliver a talk for the children to help them learn about the history of the gallery and the people who lived there when it was called Hollins Hill. Miss Dawes was also keen for Year 3 children finding out more about the Tiffany Glass Collection.
During her visit to the school, Linda provided a lively and interactive session for the children who were able to see pictures from over 100 years ago of Hollins Hill Farm area, William and Anne Haworth and the beautiful house they had built which we now all know as the Haworth Art Gallery. Wearing a full Edwardian dress complete with gloves and broach, Linda was able to bring a little bit of living history into the classroom and some of the children were able to have a go at trying some of the clothing adornments of the time, like a top hat & collar and ladies chokers made from lace and beads.
A couple of weeks after the school visit by Linda, the lucky Year 3 class visited the Haworth Art Gallery with their teacher and had their own private tour by the Gallery Manager and Curator Gillian Berry. Here they were able to see the Tiffany Glass collection and hear all about local lad Joseph Briggs who made his way to the top of the Tiffany company and sent precious and unique pieces of glass back to Accrington when the company wound down in 1933.
