Joss and I have just this week moved to a new studio on Quonians Lane, Lichfield. It’s a wonderful space, filled with light and beams that still show the chisel marks of the sculptors of Robert Bridgeman and Sons who used this space to create ecclesiastical sculptures in the 19th century. Their works can be seen a stone’s throw away on the front of Lichfield cathedral.
We’re in the historic heart of the city here. The building we’re in was built as a medieval barn in 1520 and housed a girl’s school, the very first in the city I believe. Before that, in the 13th century the site was owned by a house of Cluniac nuns. The water cistern was at the end of the lane, a place where Lichfeldians met to discuss the matters of the day and I can sit in the wide bay window where I paint and still watch the business of the city happening all around – a wonderful thing for a painter fascinated by street-life.
Right now we’re still unpacking, I’ll post some pictures once we’re set up. The studio will be open from 14th March. If you’re passing, feel free to pop in and say hello. We’ll put the kettle on.