
Winterbourne has been inspiring artists for decades. Our exhibition in the second-floor lift room, ‘Winterbourne in the Frame’ explores the wide variety of media that artists have used to celebrate the beauty of Winterbourne, from hand-dyed textiles to polystyrene. When the house was opened to the public in 2010, the lift room on the second…

What do traditional Indian textiles and Winterbourne have in common? The answer: quite a lot! Last year, we were visited by members of a Sikh temple in Walsall. Some of the women were particularly excited by the textiles and wallpapers at Winterbourne, because the botanical imagery reminded them of traditional Indian design. Since William Morris…

I met up with volunteer Peta Goodman in the tea room for a morning chat over a cup of tea. Peta, a natural born storyteller, can turn even the most mundane conversations into something magical. She’s a fantastic ambassador for the Winterbourne Press. Natalie: How did you come to volunteer in the Winterbourne Press? Peta:…

When Winterbourne took responsibility for the University Herbarium a few years ago, we had no idea what treasures we were going to uncover. Opening some of the cardboard boxes revealed a major collection of prints by a significant figure in the history of botanical illustration, James Sowerby. Sowerby was born in 1757 at a time…

Our new art exhibition, which opened on 21 September, features the vibrant and colourful work of Helen Newton. Curator Henriette sat down with Helen to talk about the inspiration behind her work, her artistic techniques, and her attachment to Winterbourne. HL: Helen, you have been painting houses and gardens for some time now. What drew…