In July this year, we welcomed Year 6s from Elm Wood School to Bell House for our first ever school visit! The pupils learned all about bees and how honey is made on a trip round our beehives, and helped us make some beautiful quilts for premature babies at King’s Hospital.
They also explored the house itself, learning about Bell House and its place in local, national and global history, before bringing these histories to life in our creative writing sessions! This series, Elm Wood Writes Bell House, showcases the best of the poetry, diary- and story-writing from our time with the Year 6s. Read on for the first of these fantastic pieces:
Read moreGeorgian gardens were for showing off. Gardening was an illustration of your taste and status, and merchants like Thomas Wright aimed to copy, in miniature form, the larger estates of the landed gentry.
Read moreFrom illustration to poetry to new businesses, all the contributors to the Creative Voices Mind gallery and performances found their mental health informing their work. This event explored the relationship between art and mental health, and in the process challenged stigmas.
Read moreWhen Thomas Wright built Bell House in 1767, the garden was extremely important to him: it was a symbol of his wealth and status but it was also a refuge from his busy life as a City merchant.
Read moreGardens are wonderful for helping us all to feel happier and more relaxed. Simply being in a garden can alleviate stress and anxiety. Gardening as a physical activity releases endorphins, helping us to feel good about ourselves. From a pot-plant to a window-box, to the Bell House garden, being next to nature is good for us.
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