ABOUT THE HANDBOOKS
‘In 2005 Barrie and Wendy Armstrong published a wonderful guide to the Arts and Crafts Movement in the north-west of England. Now they have tackled the north-east including Yorkshire, and found so much that they have had to publish two volumes, one for the North East and the other for Yorkshire. Both are packed with the Armstrongs’ typical blend of scholarly research, fine photography and infectious enthusiasm, and both will be a delight to use.’
Alan Crawford, Art Historian, author and lecturer.
Barrie and Wendy Armstrong, the authors of the widely acclaimed ‘The Arts and Crafts Movement in the North West of England’, have spent eight years exploring the north-eastern counties of England in search of surviving examples of the works and influence of the Arts and Craft Movement.
During two years of extensive research they scoured contemporary and present-day guidebooks, histories, biographies and hundreds of articles in magazines and journals and delved into the national and local archives of Public Record Offices, Art Galleries & Museums, Libraries and Diocesan Offices. The result was a massive list of over 1500 places to visit.
Their journey started on the banks of the River Tweed and took them though the magnificent countryside of Northumberland rich in the heritage left by the Romans and the Northumbrian saints; through the towns and villages between the Tyne and the Tees spending time in the cities of Durham, Newcastle and Sunderland reaching at last the erstwhile ship-building and iron and steel town of Middlesbrough.
But that was less than halfway for Yorkshire, the largest county in England, covering some 6000 square miles, was to follow: a county well-known for its rolling Yorkshire Dales and rugged moorlands, for its genteel spa towns of Harrogate and Ilkley, for its popular Edwardian sea side resorts of Whitby, Scarborough, Filey and Bridlington and for its industrial conurbations of Hull, Leeds, Bradford and Sheffield.
Not surprisingly they gathered enough information to overfill two books. In these the reader will find over 1200 places where examples of architecture, sculpture, stained glass, metalwork, ceramics and other decorative arts inspired by the Arts and Crafts Movement can be found.
The authors are only too aware that while they have brought together much new information there is still more to be found and more research needs to be done. There is ample scope for many a college research assignment or useful and challenging retirement project. They came across many new names of artists, craftsmen and designers about whom they were able to find very little and hope that relatives or other people who may know about these largely unknown talents will, through the miracle of the internet, get in touch with them via the Contact Form on this website.
The Arts and Crafts Movement in the North East of England: A Handbook – 304 pages, 360 colour photographs
The Arts and Crafts Movement in Yorkshire: A Handbook – 424 pages, 535 colour photographs
by Barrie and Wendy Armstrong