250th Anniversary
A
weekend at Cherryburn on the 250th year of Thomas Bewicks
birth
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The
Birthday Events at Cherryburn
On Saturday and Sunday 9th and 10th of August, as nearly
as is known the birthday of Thomas Bewick, his birthplace
at Cherryburn (now in the care of the
National Trust) saw
an extended celebration of the 250th anniversary of his birth.
Over the two days several hundred visitors came through
the the
gates
of
Cherryburn to participate. There was music, singing, dancing,
story-telling, eating and drinking; with demonstrations,
exhibitions, talks and discussions...
On the
right, visitors in the garden of the farmhouse. Below,
the birthplace cottage itself. Originally it was thatched,
as can be seen in many Bewick vignettes. |
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Above, the kichen and living room of the cottage.
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June
Holmes, David Gardner-Medwin, & Iain Bain.
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The Cake
Iain Bain, the doyen of Bewick studies who has done much
to retrieve the reputation of Bewick obscured by inaccurate
popular publications, ceremoniously cuts the cake baked for
the celebrations. This took place in
the
front
room
of
the Cherryburn
farmhouse (built next to the cottage later in the nineteenth
century). On the wall behind can be seen the portrait of Bewick
as a young man. |
Some events were designed to augment
the Bewick experience.
Here
we see a book-binding demonstration, with some printing
equipment in the background, part of the display in the museum.
Almost all
Bewick's work was published in book form: most of it is still
available for purchase, often in bindings which have suffered
from two
centuries of use, so needing repair or rebinding.
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The
Sticks
Below Left, Iain Bain holds Bewick's walking sticks(from his own collection). Right, Hugh Dixon shows them to a visitor. Below, detailed views of the sticks.
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Several
more views of the cottage and vicinity...
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Below,
another view of the kitchen/living room in the Cottage.
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A view from the cottage across
the Tyne valley, with visitors relaxing in the shade. |
In
the courtyard is this tombstone of John and Jane Bewick, Thomas
Bewick's parents, and two of his sisters. It has been retrieved
in this cracked condition from its original location at Ovingham.
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