2 History

1905 to 1907 – Genesis in Hammersmith

The inevitable start of any history of the Guild of St Joseph and St Dominic is the figure of Eric Gill. He was born in Brighton in 1882, the son of an Anglican clergyman. For his first employment, he became a trainee architect in London with the firm of W.D. Caroe, but soon decided that this gave insufficient outlet to his creative powers, and he enrolled for evening classes in practical masonry and calligraphy. His calligraphy tutor was Edward Johnston of the Central School of Arts and Crafts, and it was this meeting that was to change his life. Johnston was an important figure in the Arts & Crafts movements, playing a leading part in the revival of lettering that had been pioneered by William Morris. Under Johnson’s influence, Gill became a specialist letter cutter.

Johnson himself was a resident of the Arts & Crafts enclave of Hammersmith, and this is where Gill moved in 1905. It was William Morris who had first established the Arts & Crafts and socialist connection when he took a lease on a riverside house in 1878, which he called Kelmscott House, and founded the Kelmscott Press nearby. Morris died in 1896, but his daughter May, still lived there in 1905, as did the celebrated printer Emery Walker, the metalworker Edward Spenser and numerous other lesser-known figures from the arts and political worlds. These including a civil servant and social theorist called Douglas Pepler who soon formed a strong bond with Gill and Johnson; these three were to spend many evenings debating and developing ideas about the arts and life.

Gill himself lived a little way from the Terrace, which was the epicentre of the arts community; he was however able to rent a stable building opposite the front of the terrace (now numbered 7a) and it was there that established his first stonemason’s workshop. Soon he needed an assistant and was introduced by Emery Walker to the 14-year-old Joseph Cribb and took him on as an apprentice. Meanwhile, the intellectual life of Hammersmith was having an immense impact on Gill; he was active in Fabian Society circles and became acquainted with Arthur Penty who was to become a key figure in the development of the set of ideas that came to be called Distributism.

Eventually though, in what was to be a pattern of his life, Gill tired of his life in Hammersmith and urban life generally. He decided to move to a rural setting and chose Ditchling, close to his childhood home of Brighton. There he would re-establish his workshop, continuing with Joseph Cribb as his apprentice. In Hammersmith, he had developed his ideas and was approaching his maturity as an artist; he had also made contract with almost every important figure in the arts world and was seen as a rising star. It would however be elsewhere that was to see the flowering of his unique talent.

Pepler meanwhile continued to live and develop his ideas in Hammersmith, while keeping in regular contact with Gill. One major initiative that he was involved in was founding the Hampshire House Club in 1907, a working men’s club in Hammersmith with a strong political and didactic agenda. When war broke out, the organisation was used as a basis to organise workshop facilities for refugee Belgian craftsmen in a structure not unlike what the Guild was to become. Indeed, lessons learnt from this experience were to inform the way the Guild was set up.

Links:

• Hammersmith Terrace and its residents – https://www.emerywalker.org.uk/hammersmith-terrace
• William Morris Museum – https://williammorrissociety.org/our-museum/

1907 to 1919 – Early years in Ditchling

When Gill moved to Ditchling in 1907, he acquired a house called Sopers in the heart of the village. The village was already home to several artists including painter Frank Brangwyn and weaver, Ethel Mairet, so, like Hammersmith, it was already something of an Arts & Crafts centre. His workshop at Sopers was opening in Spring 1908, but he still spent much time in London keeping up with his friends and contacts in the artistic community. Initially he had concentrated on lettering, but in 1909 he decided to become a sculptor. He also acquired new philosopher friends, in the sculptor Jacob Epstein and Ananda Coomaraswarmy, an expert in the arts and crafts of India. Indeed, from Epstein he acquired the important commission to design the lettering on Oscar Wilde’s tomb, Joseph Cribb carrying out the work itself.

In May 1912 there was another significant development in Gill’s life when he stayed at the Benedictine Monastery of Mont César. This awakened an interest in the Catholic Faith which led to his to his being received into the church in February 1913. Soon afterwards, he left Sopers and Ditchling village behind, acquiring a farm house called Hopkin’s Crank, about two miles away, on the edge of Ditchling Common. It was a further retreat into rural life, now embracing the idea of holy poverty. It was around this time that he received the commission that was to establish his reputation, that for the Stations of the Cross at Westminster Cathedral.

Throughout his time in Ditchling, Gill had kept in touch with Johnston and Pepler and, when Johnson was advised by his Doctor in 1912 to move to the country, he naturally sought out a location near Gill and moved to Ditching High Street. Pepler soon after followed ‘the prophet Johnson into the wilds’ buying Gill’s old residence of Sopers and taking up the craft of printing using an eighteenth century Stanhope Press in Gill’s old workshop. In 1916, Johnston and Pepler, moved to Hallett’s farm on the edge of the common and the three friends were able to revive their Hammersmith debates and conversations. It was about this time that they started the occasional journal, The Game, the title of which reflected the playful and joyous mood of those years.

An entirely new dimension was added to the enterprise in 1917 with the arrival in the area of Fr Vincent McNabb, an influential Dominican Monk. Described, perhaps unfairly, as a ‘thirteenth century Monk alive in the twentieth century’, his ardent Catholicism and interest in social justice fired the imagination of both Gill and the Quaker, Pepler who became a Catholic soon after. Johnston’s interest was also aroused, but he was unable to take the ultimate step of conversion, and this was to lead to his falling away from the others. On 29 July 1918, Pepler and Gill together with Gill’s wife, Commander Herbert Shove (a local resident) and  Desmond Chute (a student of Gill’s),  became Dominican Tertiaries, in a sense, lay members of the Order. They were soon joined by Joseph Cribb, Gill’s former apprentice, now assistant. In 1919 Pepler sold Halletts to Commander Shove and acquired Fragbarrow Farm, very close to Hopkins Crank. Johnson meanwhile returned to the village, now a little estranged following his friends’ conversion to Catholicism.

Gill’s and Pepler’s ideas continued to grow. In his book, The Servile State, Hilaire Belloc had argued for a decentralised society, proposing a return to private property in ownership of tools, workshops and land. Belloc was joined in his enthusiasm by GK Chesterton and Arthur Penty. McNabb was an ardent proponent of these ideas, and had convinced both Pepler and Gill of the rightness of the cause of rejecting of both state socialism and capitalism, instead advocating a widespread distribution of the ownership of the means of production. Arthur Penty had written about ways in which these ideas could be advanced by a revival of the medieval guild system, whereby self-employed craftsman could come together under the oversight of a shared organisation without sacrificing much of their independence. To this thinking, Gill added his Catholicism, largely influenced by Fr. McNabb and the vision by 1920, the vision was ready to be implemented.

1920 to 1921 – Foundation

As well as Gill and Pepler, there were two other craftsmen involved in the early days of the Guild: these were Desmond Chute, a young artist with whom Gill had formed a close bond and Joseph Cribb, Gill’s assistant An early decision was that there should be a chapel; it was also decided to erect a large crucifix, on the nearby hillock, formed from spoil from the railway cutting at the edge of the common and an appeal to this end was launched in 1920, stressing the link with the end of the War.

Moves were then taken to give the Guild a formal basis, and a constitution was agreed at a meeting held on 18 July 1920, subject only to approval by Fr McNabb. This is the constitution, lettering by Joseph Cribb:

The announcement of the formation of The Guild however, was not made until the September 1921 edition of The Game which set out the central principles:

As well as the chapel, Gill and Pepler build workshops for themselves and the Guild was under way.

1921 to 1925 – Growth and then Gill’s departure

The early years of the Guild were to be exciting and eventually fractious. The experiment received wide publicity and many young men were interested in its ethos of spiritually inspired counter-culture.  A notable departure however, was Desmond Chute who left for the priesthood in 1921. Chute’s departure had the effect of undermining the whole project for Gill; he was to write to Chute in 1925 “will anything have the vigour and freshness of that first spout?”.

Notable among the arrivals were David Jones, a brilliant painter and poet, recently emerged from the trenches and much taken with Gill’s charismatic personality. His lasting contribution to the Guild were the impressive paintings he made on the walls of the room adjoining the carpentry workshop which eventually were moved to the Guild chapel and are now part of the collection of the National Museum of Wales. Other important arrivals in 1922 were Philip Hagreen, founder-member of the Society of Wood Engravers and George Maxwell, a carpenter. A weaver, Valentine KilBride was on the verge of joining as well. Around this period, the two leading Catholic Distributist writers, Hillaire Beloc and GK Chesterton both paid visits.

In addition, many interested Catholics found their way to Ditchling Common for temporary stays. It is often quoted that at this time as many as 41 Catholics were living and working as part of the Guild. Who were they, I have wondered? Well there were the Gill Family (6), the Peplers (8), the Maxwells (7), the Cribbs (5), the Hagreens (4) and the five young men in Woodbarton cottage. That makes 34 – and then there may have been assistants in the workshops as well and teachers for the school so that figure is feasible.

Among the visitors were a fair number of priests and religious. Philip Hagreen reported that they were impressed by the devotional aspects of the way of life but less understanding of the philosophy of self-sufficiency and separation from the modern world. All too often the clergy felt that modern conveniences were not such a bad thing at all and did not share the Guild’s reluctance to use electricity for instance. This was partially reflected in the attitude of the local bishop who viewed the growing community with suspicion, perhaps because he had no jurisdiction over it. At any event, the chapel was not sanctioned as a mass centre.

Perversely, as the Guild success and fame grew, so did Gill’s disillusion until in 1925 he made the decision to relocate to the more remote location of Capel-y-ffin based in a deserted former Anglican monastery in the Llanthony Valley of the Black Mountains. Several explanations have been advanced for Gill’s desire to move. These include the following:

• Gill himself claimed that he needed to get away from the endless stream of visitors and the attendant publicity. In a sense, Capel-y-ffin was a further stage in his retreat to the wilderness.
• Gill had grown more distant from Pepler, even accusing him of financial impropriety; in reality it seems that this would be more accurately described as mild extravagance with Guild funds. Gill was always reluctant to spend money, even keeping some Guild funds in gold in a drawer in his desk. Pepler by contrast, was less of a hoarder and was prepared to use such funds as were available.
• Pepler’s son David had become engaged to Gill’s daughter Betty, and Gill was not enthused by the prospective marriage; he felt the couple were too young. He may have thought that separation of the families would put an and to the betrothal, although this did not happen.
• Others close to the Guild have speculated that Gill’s sexual activities were becoming more widely known, and he wished to disappear to a far-off place to prevent awkward questions being raised.
• My own view is that Gill was a man who liked control. Pepler had recently taken over the Chair of the Guild, Gill having served his term. I think Gill was not enthused by this democratic framework, preferring to be surrounded by acolytes rather than colleagues. In future set-ups, Gill would always to be in undisputed control of any arrangement to which he was a party. It is also possible as well that he wanted to concentrate more on his own career, which was blossoming, and less on the collective.

He sought to take the entire Guild with him, but was able to persuade only Jones and Hagreen. Both Maxwell and Cribb were inclined to join the move to Wales but were unable to convince their wives that it represented a practical proposition. The Capel project greatly appealed to Gill’s sense of drama but caused a fatal rift in his friendship with Pepler and his departure left behind a feeling of resentment amongst other Guild members which never dissipated. His leaving undoubtedly took some lustre from the community, and the intense pace of development didn’t merely slow but reached an abrupt halt. There was to be no more building, no more new crafts, the link with the Dominicans was to fall away, the school was to close, and agricultural self-sufficiency ceased to be an aspiration. Susan Faulkner records that her father, Hilary Pepler, undoubtedly lost some enthusiasm and there was a falling off of inspirational leadership. The various craftsmen settled down to run their own businesses in a quieter, less dramatic way. In a sense, it was the end of the Gill’d but the start of the Guild.

1926 to 1945 – Consolidation, Pepler’s departure, re-consolidation

Notwithstanding Gill’s departure, the Guild held together and continued to attract able and intelligent craftsmen. In 1925 Valentine KilBride started a weavers’ workshop and in 1926 became a full member of the Guild. The falling away of its early rigour is evidenced by the dropping, in 1928, of the requirement that Guild members had to become Dominican Tertiaries and, taking advantage of this, its activities were expanded in 1932 when Dunstan Pruden, a gifted silversmith joined the community.

The last of the founders had now left, and the spirit of innovation and experiment seems to have been overtaken by a more settled and resigned philosophy. A high point though was the arrival of a promising sculptor, Gill’s nephew John Skelton, who became apprenticed to Cribb. The war-years though, were not kind to the Guild. The KilBride and Brocklehurst families had to abandon the weaving workshop due to lack of silk; casualties of the fighting included George Maxwell’s son Stephen, Cribb’s former assistant Albert Leany and the eldest KilBride son.

1946 to 1988 – Post war and closure

After the war, the Guild might have seemed like a relic of a bygone era. Nevertheless, it soon found its numbers rising. The KilBrides returned from Scotland in 1946, Edward Holloway joined in 1946 as artist and engraver and Kenneth Eager replaced Skelton as apprentice to Cribb.

This litany of comings and goings all revolve around members of existing Guild families, illustrating the declining ability of the community to appeal to the post-war world. An important amendment to the constitution had been made in 1972 which stated that the surplus from winding up the Guild members would benefit Guild members instead of the Dominicans as was previously planned. This change had the effect of discouraging the admittance of new members, as the older members increasingly came to see the Guild assets as their pension fund.

Additionally, the building were in a poor state of repair, something exacerbated by the Great Storm of 1987, and a lot of money needed to rebuild them. Nevertheless, efforts were made to revitalise the Guild with a plan to bring the Ditchling Press back to the Common and open new workshops (including bringing in a stained-glass artist) at the centre of a counter-proposal from younger members, Ewan Clayton and Jenny KilBride. However proposals were turned down by the planning authorities and the issue came to a head in 1988 when an offer was received from a development company for the site. A split vote was passed in favour of sale and the closure of the Guild was filled with acrimony, which meant that it was not possible to save any buildings.

The six Guild members at the end were Ewan Clayton, Kenneth Eager, Edgar Holloway, Jenny KilBride, Winifred Pruden and Thomas KilBride.

1989 to date – Afterlife

It is now over thirty five years since the Guild was wound up and its workshops and Chapel demolished. It may be expected that, with only three former-members still living, it would have faded from consciousness. That, however, is not the case.

Members at the end

One reason for the continued interest in the Guild is that the members at the close have often gone on to distinguish themselves in later life.

• Edgar Holloway returned to lithography, as well as pursuing a new career as a water-colourist and has been the subject of several prestigious exhibitions.
• Kenneth Eager retired, first to France and then Malta. He was the subject of an obituary in the Daily Telegraph when he died in 2010.
• Thomas KilBride, moved away from Ditchling well before 1989 to set up as a traditional crofter in the Western Highlands of Scotland, a role continued until recently.
• Ewan Clayton continued his work as a Calligrapher and is now Professor in the Faculty of Arts, Design, and Media at the University of Sunderland. He has been awarded the MBE.
• Jenny KilBride discontinued her career as a weaver to become a fundraiser for the Glyndebourne Opera House. She then became chair of trustees for the Ditchling Museum and was instrumental in its transformation, for which she was awarded the MBE.
• Winefride Pruden was made one of the first Papal Dames around 1980 for her work for the Catholic Society of Artists.

Arts + Crafts Museum

The achievements of these individuals does illustrate how the Guild attracted extraordinary people, often with great gifts, which does much to explain why it continues to be an object of fascination. Nowhere is this more apparent than at the Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft. This museum, which grew out of a museum of village life, holds an internationally important collection of work by the artists and craftspeople who were drawn to the village, including Gill, Johnston, Jones, Pepler and the weaver Ethel Mairet. The museum produces a changing and dynamic programme of traditional and contemporary exhibitions and workshops

Meanwhile, the works of very many of the Guild Artists and Craftsmen change hands for considerable sums of money. To date no major history of the Guild has been produced, but hopefully this will be addressed in the near future.

Guild families

It is also notable that Guild families continue to practice the crafts of the Guild. Important examples are:

• Anton Pruden, grandson of Dustin Pruden, is a goldsmith and jointly owns the bespoke Jewelers in Ditchling, Pruden and Smith. He is now largely retired from the business.
• Gill’s great-neice, Helen Skelton, runs a Sculpture and letter carving workshop, known as Skelton Workshops, at Streat, neat Ditchling.
• Joseph Cribb’s great Nephew, Noel Cribb continues the family trade of letter carving, based at Cambridge.