Westbury U3A – talks on the American Museum and traditional canal painting

Many people in Westbury have visited the American Museum at Bath and the speaker at the U3A March meeting, Sue Hobson, is a volunteer at the museum with a particular interest in the quilts that are on display in the museum. 

Sue has been a keen quilter throughout her life; she is a quilt judge, qualified to officiate worldwide.

Sue started by giving a short history of Claverton Manor the home of the museum. It is the third manor, but the first on that site; the first two being in the village. Built in 1820 it has a varied history, including being used by the RAF during WWII, and as a dormitory for students at the Cookery School in Bath. 

It was a partnership of four founders that started the museum which opened to the public in 1961. They were Dr Dallas Pratt from New York, John Judkyn, Nick Bell Knight and Ian McCallum. John Judkyn lived in Freshford Manor and was an enthusiastic collector of American Folk Art, Nick Bell Knight was a furniture restorer who worked at Freshford Manor whilst Dr Dallas Pratt had connections with the Rockefeller family. 

Sue explained that the museum rooms show how the history of America from the early settlers, through Independence and beyond. There are over 200 quilts in the world famous collection and they are displayed in rotation. The range to those made during the late 1700’s to some made in 1973. 

Documentation helps to bring the history alive; one quilt is known to have been made by a descendant of one of the people who sailed on the Mayflower. Contrary to popular belief the majority of quilts were made by a single person. Sue showed slides of many of the quilts, the range of styles and detail being breath-taking.

The museum suffered flood damage in March 2018 and has recently reopened after repair, development of new gardens and a new entrance. The name has also changed to American Museum and Gardens.

The U3A members attending the meeting on Tuesday 9th April were treated to a fascinating talk by Robert Wright.

 Robert is a Journeyman of the, now defunct, Waterways Craft Guild. The title “Traditional Canal Painting” only gave a taster of what was to come. In order to explain the techniques and origin of the decoration that is to be seen on most canal narrow boats Robert gave us a history lesson, a description of the lives and living conditions of the canal families and a description of how the decoration is achieved.

Firstly Robert reminded us that the canals were used to carry goods from one part of the country to another during the industrial revolution. Initially narrowboats were crewed by two men, captain (sometimes the owner) and mate and the families alongside the canals. They were fairly affluent and had furniture and possessions decorated in the fashion, (ornate and intricate flowers and castles) of the time, 1770-1830. The horse drawn boats carried around 30 times the load of a horse drawn cart. 

However the arrival of the railways which could carry many 100 times the load of a narrowboat led to a rapid decline. The canals were still used, but in order to save costs, the families lived on the narrowboats, the wife steering the boat whilst her husband walked with the horse. The living quarters were cramped, 10 x 7 feet being common, and carefully designed. Boats were decorated on the outside with the name, owner’s name and registration number and simplified roses and castles. The living cabin was also decorated in the same style.

Robert then showed us a video of the stages in painting both roses and castles in the traditional way. He spent a considerable time answering questions.

May sees our AGM and a talk on the use of ICE numbers and other hints and tips enabling a greater knowledge of the functions of the smart phones available today. 

The meeting, on Tuesday 14th May, starts at 2pm and will be held at the United Reformed Church Hall.