Bell House Spring 2025 Newsletter

March 1, 2025 Cher Roque

The four seasons of 2024 have flashed by! We are so excited to bring you our Spring quarterly newsletter with four new Bell House articles which we really hope you enjoy reading.

“A home from home”. QA Quilts adding a colourful touch to the Ronald McDonald House in Camberwell

by Janis Fuller and Marianne ten Kate - QA founders

The Quilt Academy - QA for short - has been making quilts for Project Linus* for children and babies in King’s College Hospital since we began in 2018. Angus was keen for practical skills to be part of the Bell House mix, so in 2017 he contacted Dulwich Quilters. Janis and Marianne, who run QA, are both members of Dulwich Quilters and took on the challenge of sharing their passion for all things quilting in weekly drop-in sessions at Bell House. Charity quilts are a staple of quilters far and wide, so the makers are encouraged to make one and then they are hooked!

These colourful and cuddly textiles came to the attention of Ronald McDonald House** staff who also work with King’s to support the families of those children. Families who live far from King’s can stay nearby in the RMH residential home in Camberwell.

It’s a newly refurbished building with 24 bedrooms, each with twin beds which can be used separately or joined, in now gleaming wonderful hotel-like rooms.

And therein lay the problem.

The rooms needed something special to make them feel like a “home away from home”. Both family and young patients benefit so much from the daily, often day-long ward visits. Afterwards, the families are able to return to the RMH and make a meal, meet with other siblings and parents and rest ready for the next day.

RMH staff asked Project Linus if each room could have a pair of quilts to make the beds look inviting and cosy. It would be an ideal way to make the haven they create at RMH to feel like home too.

If there’s one thing we know about at QA, it’s making quilts and we love a challenge. It takes a lot of time and effort to make a beautiful and hard wearing quilt — one that can be washed and loved for years.

Each month, the QA stitchers learn a new block of just the right size to make a beautiful quilt top. Quilt blocks are made of pieces of fabric, known as patches, sewn together often in complex patterns. Quilt tops are variously made from repeating blocks set together, or a design appliquéd onto patches, or plain patches set together — as long as the geometry works and the maker is happy with the result. The photo above is of Gill, a QA regular, with a partially completed Economy Block quilt top to one of our RMH quilts.

We learned during the Covid-19 pandemic that to get a big job done, we need to involve other quilt groups. Dulwich Quilters, Half Moon Stitchers and Shirley Quilters are going to pitch in, but QA is best placed to make many of the quilts as we have benefited so much from the generous fabric donations we receive and the ability for us to store them (and our purchased supplies) at Bell House.

Each quilt requires approximately 10 yards of fabric — just over 9 metres — and 2.5 metres of wadding (the stuff in the middle). We can supply most, but not all the fabric from our ‘stash’ of fabric, but the wadding has to be purchased and we will need a lot of it. So we rely on sales at Bell House events and the generosity of our quilters and friends.

We’re happy to be part of this wonderful project and would welcome any support to get our beautiful quilts into Ronald McDonald House as soon as possible — and there is ALWAYS another beautiful block or technique we need and want to share.

*Project Linus

**Ronald McDonald House - RMH

No “Rough Sleeping” for the Bell House Honey Bees

by Annie McGeoch, Bell House Beekeeper

The bees have been surviving winter for the last 35 million years. All the 60 kinds of bees in London have ways of coping with the cold and damp. But the difference with honey bees is that we as humans help them, or try to. They are still wild creatures and can leave at any time but humans have offered them cavities that they can live in. They still respond to the seasons and weather and changes in them. The connection to seasons and change is part of the pleasure of keeping bees.

In the wild they would have a nest in a hollow tree at least 20 feet above ground. Humans have been working with the bees taking their winter stores for at least 8000 years. There is a drawing carved on a cave wall in Spain showing humans taking honey.

At Bell House we try and mimic the insulation of thick tree walls so the bees can stay in a warm almost closed cavity and control the heat and scent environment they live in. Communication in a totally dark warm cavity is by scent that the queen produces and is passed from bee to bee and fills the cavity. By insulating and providing thick walls in the hive, the bees can keep the colony in a cluster.

The colony consists of one queen, some drones (males only during the summer) and thousands of female worker bees. Each summer female worker only lives about 6 weeks. In the autumn the summer worker bees die away and winter bees are bred that live 6 months until the spring. We always talk about worker bees but there are really two kinds of worker bee.

The bees use propolis, an antibacterial mixture of pine tree resin and beeswax to seal the drafts and control the ventilation and use honey stores around them in the nest as another layer of insulation. The bees cluster round the queen and slowly work inwards to care for her then work their way back to the outside of the cluster.

On a warmer day in winter with sunshine the outer bees will go out of the box to defecate and may even collect supplies of pollen or nectar if the snowdrops or crocus have flowered. Once the days begin to lengthen the queen will start laying and the larvae will need protein to grow. Mostly we hope the cluster moves over the food stores and the honey bees eat their own supplies . At Bell House I always leave at least 30 pounds of honey for the bees to use over winter.

It is not clear why bees make so much more honey than they can possibly eat over the winter, maybe after centuries of human interference they have evolved to make more than they need.

There are a series of evenings booked into the garden and apiary during the 2025 season. We will look at the planting for all invertebrates in the beautiful garden and then don bee suits and look inside a beehive.

What connects a 10ft tall Paper Sculpture of a Polar Bear and Bell House? Read on…….!

Mike Coates Interviewed by Sally Graham

There are so many wonderful volunteers running Bell House - our unsung heroes as we call them.

We start with an interview with Mike Coates - a previous house Guardian and now an indispensable employee and volunteer.

How and when did you discover Bell House?

Mike and his family had lived in East Dulwich for 30 years and had driven though the village many a time and even had a coffee or two in the Dulwich Picture Gallery café - but they’d never noticed Bell House - after all, it looked like “just another huge village property”.

It would take something quite remarkable for Mike to discover Bell House.

How did you first become involved with Bell House?

Mike had informally met Suzanne Jessel - Bell House Dyslexia extraordinaire - and one day in October 2021 she told him about her plans for a weekend in the Lake District. She, and her husband John (the photographer), were helping a Quaker artist to transport a 10ft tall bamboo and tissue paper sculpture of a Polar Bear. The bear was being ’walked’ from Shropshire to the COP26 conference in Glasgow as a protest about climate change. (BTW - the number of the COP doesn’t match the year.) By coincidence Mike was going to be walking in the Lake District that same weekend and he asked if he could help out.

During their walk Mike and Suzanne had a chance to really chat. To cut a long story short, Mike and his wife Sarah were looking for somewhere to live and Suzanne said “Perfect. We’re looking for Guardians for Bell House - would you be interested?".

What are your strongest memories of the time you and your wife lived at the house?

When Mike met Angus and Fabienne he found they had so much in common - most importantly a keenness to “build community”. After many years of teaching Mike had moved to London to take a course in community building - this was exactly the plan for Bell House.

Mike’s strongest memory of his time in Bell House?

Being inspired by Angus and Fabienne’s vision for Bell House.

What is your involvement now you are a volunteer?

Mike is employed on Thursdays and then volunteers on Saturdays. His nickname is “Man Thursday” - but that doesn't say it all.

You’re known as ‘Mike can sort/fix anything”. Have you ever got ‘stumped’ when you’ve been asked to help out with something?

To quote Mike: “If I’m stumped, I’m probably not the right person to be performing the task. I’ve finally learnt that not everything is my responsibility!”

But normally he knows who should be asked. As he says: “I may not be able to solve the problem myself but it does mean I no longer have to worry about it.”

Apparently Angus’s nickname for Mike is ”Henry Kissinger, known as the peacemaker.” No surprises there!

If you were asked to become the ‘Bell House Cryer’ what would you shout out through the streets of Dulwich?

Mike said he would refuse to be the cryer. He has never wanted to be a ‘front man”.

However he does applaud the vision of Bell House. To finish with Mike’s thoughts: “This ties in with my values - it’s all about the community - about development and cohesion.”

A big thank you to Mike.

The Bell House Exhibitions Team - serving the local artist and community

by Anna-Maria Amato, Leader of the Exhibitions Team

The exhibitions team came about in response to the many requests Bell House received from artists and the community to hold exhibitions.

As a result there was a call out for people to do just that - to organise exhibitions in the house, outside and in addition to the annual Artists’ Open House which takes place in May. The aim is to utilise the space by creating shows which ‘enrich visitors' curiosity and in turn, their relationship to the house and their lives outside Bell House.

Anna-Maria was asked to lead this team. “I selected the team members based on their enthusiasm and reliability, and appreciated that different people will have different contributions to offer. I am excited by our valuable group members and the unique team we have."

The first exhibition the team will open is titled ‘Intergenerational’. We were initially inspired to work with this theme, in response to the recent Dulwich Picture Gallery exhibition ‘Yoshinda: Three Generations of Japanese Printmaking’, which displayed journeys through the generations within a family of printmakers.

We used this as a springboard to investigate art which covers generations, explores generations and describes generations. In addition we have designed a workshop which will bring visitors into practically exploring the theme with us. There will be a list of briefs - fun and thoughtful, plus guided activities if you wish, and a chance to make a zine or family portrait telling your story of intergenerations.

The artists we invited we felt explored the theme from many facets and therefore we believe will make a varied and interesting show. The artists explore family connections, the cycle of life, memories, heritage, shared histories. The art work will reflect how the past informs our understanding of life and creativity.

The artists are varied in their styles, materials and concepts, from Jo Lewis, who creates with ink and watercolour, exploring movement, natural processes and stasis to Helen Barff’s work which is concerned with memory, explored through playing with the perceived physicality of textiles.

‘Intergenerational’ promises an interesting and exciting show. It’s free and no booking required, so do visit - it’s running next weekend!

Bell House Winter 2024 Newsletter

December 5, 2024 Cher Roque

In the 2024 Winter edition, you’ll find a selection of recent news and updates from Bell House, which we hope you will enjoy!

“Never throw anything out without asking …” Restoring a treasured house and finding treasure.

by Angus Hanton, Building Volunteer

For the last few years Bell House Dulwich has spent any surplus funds on the restoration and development of its buildings and grounds. On day one, in September 2016, we found a sword of a type made by George Widdowson a metal craftsman who owned the house in the mid-19th century. Since then we have had many finds, both inside and out, guided by the words of Sharon O’Connor, the Bell House historian, who told us, “never throw out old stuff, even scraps of paper, without showing me first.”

While building the pottery studio and the room for the ground source heat pump we came across a perfectly intact skeleton of a pigeon which must have been over 50 years old, and digging in the garden revealed coins, bottles and a Victorian jar for hair gel. These finds inspired us to set up a small museum cupboard as well as the “Cabinet of Curiosities” in the rack that had been for the boys’ shoes and boots, when the building was a junior school boarding house.

Bell House is Grade II* listed so general maintenance and minor repairs do not need permission. Even so, we often ask for advice from Southwark and the Historic Houses Association when deciding which materials and fixings to use. For the brickwork we employ a lime mortar specialist, Matthew Wilson, who recently rebuilt the two largest chimneys making then vertical and shorter. He also brought along a few apprentices, who are learning preservation techniques.

Some of our recent restoration works have been functional such as Jarek’s rehabilitation of the basement so that it can be used for courses on the Albion Press, letterpress printing, and bookbinding. All works prompt detective work to find out how the rooms were used previously - in the cellar there is some Pink Floyd graffiti from the boys in the 1970s who used the cellar as their games den.

This winter Jarek and Merlin - who have been working on the house since the beginning (2016, not 1767) - took up dozens of floorboards in the Victorian extension on the North side so that we could clear the spaces between the joists and insulate for sound and heat. There was literally a skip-full of rubble and wood shavings to clear but amongst it we found lots of historical artefacts from the time when these rooms were used as dormitories: UNO cards, handwritten notes, and a set-square. There is an advert for shredded wheat entitled, “Best of all the beauty hints’, and packaging from a ‘Multi-Use gun” for firing bits of potatoes. A dozen or so old cigarette packets and old matchboxes had also been discarded, probably by the builders who put in the heating in 1946/7 or those who did the rewiring in the 1970s. Show-me-first Sharon supplied some of these photos.

The Bell House Dyslexia Team announce their exciting ‘big’ plans for 2025

by Lydia Baldwin and the Dyslexia team

The Dyslexia Fair at the end of September was buzzing with the usual energy and positivity, as we welcomed nearly 400 visitors in glorious sunshine. This year’s programme explicitly reflected the rapidly growing recognition that Dyslexia often sits alongside other Specific Learning Difficulties such as ADHD, Dyspraxia, Dyscalculia and ASD. Being aware of this likely ‘cooccurrence’ is one of the challenges – and opportunities - for parents and carers, specialists, educators and students.

After the fair, the Dyslexia team, which has expanded in the past year, held a strategy session to reflect on the fair and consider how our increased capacity may be put to best use in the coming year. We have agreed that our priority in 2025 is to expand Bell House’s reach within the local community, finding practical ways to bring local families and students to Bell House for advice, support and connection.

In the immediate term, the dyslexia team is offering coffee mornings at local schools where a specialist will talk to parents about dyslexia and how they can support their children. One recent coffee morning was very well attended, and we have two more in the works.

We are continually looking for ways to bring local children, students and families to Bell House, building on the parenting workshops and touch-typing courses that will continue in 2025. The Fair’s Advice Clinics were as popular as ever, with the available slots booked out very quickly. So thanks to the expansion of the team, we will offer these on a monthly basis from January, with slots bookable in advance via the website. We will also be applying for funding to establish a bursary-based after school offer for children with dyslexia and literacy difficulties.

We had fantastic feedback about many of the speakers, some of whose talks were so popular that there was standing room only! (See photo above) We will be kicking off the 2025 Talks programme by inviting our 2024 Fair speakers to host an online talk, offering an opportunity for others who were not able to attend on the day. The ongoing programme will continue to look at the frequent ‘cooccurrence’ of dyslexia alongside other Specific Learning Difficulties and prioritise practical, cost-effective tips and strategies which parents and individuals can put into place. Finally, we will be increasing the number of screenings and assessments that Bell House can offer, thanks to the expansion of the team.

We would again like to thank everyone who attended the Fair and who provided such valuable feedback. We are excited about the year ahead and about welcoming even more people into the Bell House community to get support, advice and connection around dyslexia and other neurodivergent needs.

Great Excitement for the very first Bell House Writing Festival April 2025

by Raul Peschiera, Bell House Writing Team

A highlight of the Bell House creative writing programme is its commitment to building a vibrant community. (See photo above.) Writers of all levels are invited to share their work, discuss challenges, and connect with others who are equally passionate about storytelling. On 26 April 2025, Bell House will host its first one-day Creative Writing Festival, celebrating fiction, poetry, and prose, with panel discussions, open mic sessions, workshops, and more.

Bell House’s creative writing programme is not only a place to develop technical skills but also a nurturing space where creativity flourishes. With courses led by experienced writers and instructors, Bell House is the ideal setting for anyone looking to start their writing journey or advance their existing craft, right in the heart of Dulwich.

For beginners, Bell House provides foundational courses that introduce essential writing techniques, including character development, plot structuring, suspense, narrative style, and the basics of poetry. These sessions are perfect for those looking to explore creative writing for the first time, rekindle a dormant passion, or complete a cherished work in progress. Classes include writing exercises, group discussions, and gentle feedback, allowing new writers to feel encouraged as they navigate the creative process.

Experienced writers can delve into advanced workshops focusing on areas like dialogue, scene-building, descriptive prose, and manuscript polishing. These courses include specialised sessions on honing voice and style, helping writers refine their craft and deepen their storytelling abilities. Peer review and instructor feedback play a key role in these classes, enabling participants to gain fresh insights and discover new ways to enhance their writing. Participants from the storytelling course have now set up their own autonomous writers’ group, meeting once a month.

Bell House also offers focused poetry writing workshops, catering to both new poets and those looking to expand their poetic skills. These workshops explore elements such as rhythm, imagery, and structure, encouraging writers to experiment with poetic forms and discover their unique approach to poetry. Whether participants wish to craft free-verse or try their hand at more poetic forms, such as sonnets and ballads, each session provides a space for creative exploration and self-expression.

The creative writing programme at Bell House offers workshops designed to inspire, challenge, and support writers at all stages of their journey. Set in the welcoming, historic Bell House, our courses foster creativity in a supportive and collaborative environment. Each session is crafted to help participants expand their skills, build confidence, and unlock their unique voice.

Join us to find your voice, explore new genres, and connect with a welcoming community of writers.

“Have you read the one about the “Parable of the Vinegar?”

by Sharon O’Connor, Bell House Historian

Bell House volunteers Tania and Sharon recently visited Oxford to follow in Thomas Wright’s footsteps, to see where he made the fortune that built Bell House and meet with university staff. Above is a photo of them with Richard Lawrence, Superintendent of The Bibliographical Press at the Bodleian Library, Oxford University - (as Sharon says: “They do like fancy titles!”)

Thomas Wright made his fortune from paper and books. That makes it all the more fitting that we now have a letterpress studio and a book bindery at Bell House. And what is extraordinary is that during their visit, Tania and Sharon were able to give the Oxford University Press staff new details about Thomas Wright’s printing techniques!

In 1765 his firm, Wright & Gill, won the contract to print religious books for Oxford University, when Oxford dismissed the previous contractors for printing books riddled with errors. One book was mocked as the ‘vinegar bible’, because the parable of the vineyard was printed as the parable of the vinegar.

Thomas Wright’s books were popular and within two years of winning the contract he had earnt enough to build Bell House.

Wright & Gill printed in the Clarendon Building which still stands opposite the Bodleian Library and there were ‘large and elegant’ apartments for entertaining university VIPs. Their bible became the standard Oxford text. It has a modern style with simplified spelling, fewer capital letters. The more important books within the bible begin on the right-hand page, resulting in extra white space - unusual for the time - given paper was expensive but making for a more visually pleasing and easier to navigate book.

During their visit to Oxford, Tania and Sharon spent time in the historic print workshop, now housed in the Schola Musicae, tucked away in the Bodleian Old Library quadrangle. The room has the original 17th century stands that Thomas Wright’s workers used, with their upper case for storing capital letters and their lower case for small letters and punctuation. Like Simon and Tania in our print room, the Oxford printers use innovative materials to print, even toy bricks! Tania talked about print activities for schoolchildren and swapped useful tips.

Tania and Sharon also visited the Oxford University Press and handled the extremely rare 17th century “Fell types” and usually kept securely locked away! (“Fell Types” is a collection of typographic materials assembled for The Oxford University Press by Dr John Fell, Bishop of Oxford, educator, author, editor and typographer.)

Our volunteers saw Oxford’s almanacs, like the ones Thomas Wright made in London. (Oxford University Press had a monopoly on publishing the annual almanacs for Oxford University from 1674 through to 2019.)

Our printers are now planning even more workshops and events for Bell House so look out for those as they get booked up very quickly.

Bell House Autumn 2024 Newsletter

September 3, 2024 Cher Roque

Welcome to our second Autumn seasonal newsletter. In this edition you’ll find out what’s been going on in the Gardens, the Pottery Studio and the Print Room and Bindery. The volunteers have worked hard to create the success stories you will read below. We thought you’d enjoy hearing about the detail of how it’s all been achieved and celebrate the wonder and magic that is Bell House.

Bell House Garden - such busy bees….

We started 2024 with ambitious plans for the year and the pace of development has been pleasingly rapid. Our growing number of volunteers have all bought into our vision of sustainability and habitat variety and are instrumental in making it all happen.

The biggest visible change is the new, nectar rich, mixed flower border. Roughly sixty square metres of turf was lifted, much of it being relayed elsewhere in the garden. We received a grant from the London Beekeepers' Association and used it to buy many young plug plants. These were grown-on in the polytunnel and have planted up the new pollinator bed. Recently the association came to visit and were very pleased with what we’d achieved!

The polytunnel is now full of tomatoes and chillies and will prove very useful for overwintering young and more tender plants.

We have built a compost and pot store for potting up stock plants grown from seed and cuttings. Our revamped composting system, of more carefully shredding woody material and layering in grass and clippings, as well as torn cardboard is working well. With judicious watering and turning in situ it’s getting much hotter and breaking down far quicker. We hope to buy-in far less compost going forward.

Our open days have been well attended, adding income and attracting new volunteers. We have also sold a few plants, all proceeds helping to improve the garden.

Jarek has been working hard on our new gardener’s pavillion in the Pickwick garden. We hope this will be fully usable by the autumn, giving us a base to meet and plan, as well as shelter from the rain. A gardeners' reference library will be a useful additional asset. Our beautiful new tool and potting shed is up and just needs a little bit more fitting out before coming fulling operational.

Recently, a new round terrace has been completed near the bottom of the main garden. Pleasantly, it catches the evening sun and will be planted up soon. We have plans to landscape the main entrance by the pottery. This will tidy up the area and give us an opportunity to plant attractive drought resistant perennials and herbs. The south facing bed of the walled garden will be sorted out and permanently planted and the meadow areas improved. The current tabled potting area will be removed and more fruit trees planted. There are many areas of the garden that still need our attention and plenty of work for our growing clan of committed and enthusiastic volunteers. There is so very much to look forward to.

The gardens are opened every first Saturday of the month - do visit, wander at your leisure, talk to our volunteers about the work undertaken or find out about opportunities to get involved if you’re interested.

Author: Martin Cook
Photo: Sara Lloyd

Bell House Pottery - what an amazing success…

We have completed our first full year of operation. It’s been an amazing year. Since September 2023, we have run 129 courses attended by 870 students who have made several thousands of pots which are now (mostly) sitting proudly on the shelf at home or doing good service in the kitchen or dining room.

Student feedback has been so positive. Students say they love the calm environment of the studio, the view of the garden and the clear teaching. Many students have returned for several courses – building their skills term by term.

Our main offerings have been our 2-hour taster sessions and our 6-week courses, which have nearly all been sold out. We have also experimented with weekend workshops on Portrait Modelling, Throwing Big, Christmas Tea Lights and one Saturday and Sunday weekend workshop led by visiting teacher Claire Spindler on Throwing Bottles.

We have also extended Bell House reach into the community providing free ‘Let’s Clay Together’ events for the St Barnabas Ukrainian Youth Group, Kingswood Arts, Crawford School and for Southwark GP receptionists. One participant commented: ‘That was the best two hours I’ve spent in years.’

Looking forward, we are intending to repeat similar courses for the coming year. The first half term is almost fully booked. However we are also introducing two brand new courses:

i. A 4-week Throwing on the Wheel course for teenagers (13-17). This takes place on Saturday mornings from 21st September to 12th October

ii. A 2-day Life Sculpture workshop 19th to 20th October which follows on from Ben Swift’s Portrait Modelling course last year.

During the year we also hope to see the completion of the patio area behind the studio. The garage store was removed last term which opened up the view of the garden and once funding has been secured, the re-landscaping of the area behind the pottery is going to transform our view through the studio picture window and also improve disabled access to the studio. So much to look forward to.

While we employ professional paid teachers and technicians, it’s a core group of volunteers who have looked after everything else: marketing, finance, administration and much more. If you would like to join us (and be eligible for discounted places on our courses!) get in touch with [email protected].

Author: Jim Belben
Photo: Nicki Dowey

Uncovering the Secret History….

Whilst we’ve been applying the final touches to the new-build Pottery Studio in the Lodge, we’ve also been busy down in the basement of Bell House. This latest project has involved lorries delivering strange heavy lumps of metal to be lowered down the concrete stairs by teams of skilled men using chains and ropes.

Bell House is thrilled to announce an exciting new addition that is sure to captivate enthusiasts of traditional craftsmanship and vintage printing techniques. Two of the rooms in the basement are being transformed into what is being named the ‘Bell House Print Room & Bindery’. A home to a treasure trove of vintage letterpress equipment and book-binding machinery, including an exquisite 1860s Albion printing press, donated by the Type Archive in Stockwell and a whole suite of book-binding equipment from Dulwich College.

Individually these elements are things of wonder but put together they will lift what we can do. The joys of setting up the Bell House Print Room and Bindery are numerous.

Firstly it has enabled us to spend more time with the wonderful archivist Sharon O’Connor and to feed off her infectious enthusiasm for BH’s history. Secondly it has brought us joy at the sight of people’s eyes lighting up when they first see the newly-assembled Aladdin’s cave of inky delights. Thirdly the warmth of creativity that erupts during our bookbinding and printing workshops is utterly heart-warming and, finally it has enabled us to become a custodian not only for the heritage crafts we are helping to keep alive, but also custodians of the printing equipment itself.

When one enters through the Bindery and admires the panoply of bookbinding equipment generously donated by Dulwich College and then one turns a corner - and then everyone STOPS at this point - usually causing an instant bottleneck in the narrow doorway. It isn’t the sight of the 1930’s Adana handpresses or the 1950’s Showcards presses, impressive as they are, BUT they do not have the impact and ‘wow factor’ of our centrepiece, the jewel in our crown - our 1860’s Hopkinson Cope Albion printing press.

Our press, still unnamed, came to us when the Type Archive in Stockwell was sadly closing its doors. We were told it had gone to Stockwell from a printing firm called Clowes in the 1990’s but little more than that. There were at least a hundred years of missing history and no end of internet searches brought anything more to the surface – especially as there appeared to be no serial number anywhere on the vast metal beast that might help us.

But then some magic happened – Sharon spotted a partially obscured name on a sticker on the oar-shaped ‘rounce’ handle and I could see from the gleam in her eyes that THE HUNT WAS ON! Within a few short weeks she had tracked down almost the complete history of the press from when it was bought new to where it stands today. Apparently our vintage press had not only survived being in a bombed-out factory, lived through a terrible fire and possibly even flooding at one point. There is, no doubt, much more still to come to light and Sharon, Tania and are excited by what tales there are still to be told.

So while we continue our research do come and see us and meet the press on the first Saturday of every month when the gardens are open or, even better, book onto one of our courses and actually get to use it….but when pulling your first print do think of the thousands of hands before you that have added to its history…

Author and Photo: Simon Trewin and Tania Hurt-Newton

Bell House News from the USA…

Dating back to 1767, Bell House has a long and fascinating history with a surprisingly long reach!

Recently, an American professor contacted us. He is a historian of capitalism in the American Civil War and had come across our website because he is researching Charles Gowan who grew up in Dulwich and moved to Bell House in 1873, living here for more than 20 years with his wife, five children and a large retinue of staff.

Charles Gowan’s firm, Gowan & Marx, played a crucial role in financing American infrastructure such as railways and even had an important railway engine named after them.

American states were ideologically averse to taxation so they borrowed money to fund the building of these transport links, hoping to then benefit from the economic growth that would follow.

State indebtedness to firms like Gowan & Marx grew to huge proportions and then came crashing down as the states could not make their interest payments.

Professor Thomson told us that while many states tried to improve their financial positions, some doubled down on their borrowing much to the horror of international owners of the debt, like Charles Gowan.

Professor Thomson was hoping we might have some Gowan family’ papers which would help shed light on this era. While we do not, our historian Sharon O’Connor was able to tell him that Gowan banked with Smith, Payne, Smith, now owned by NatWest, so the NatWest archive might be able to help him.

She also put him in touch with a direct descendant of Charles Gowan who is checking family attics for relevant papers. We Have invited him to visit Bell House the next time he is in England which he said he would love to do.

Author and Photo: Sharon O’Connor

Bell House Summer 2024 Newsletter

June 3, 2024 Cher Roque

Welcome to our Summer newsletter - ‘our call out to help out’ edition!

A Call Out to Newsletter Readers….

This is a Call Out to Help Out to all our Newsletter Readers.

On June 8th, Bell House will be running The Big Help Out Open Day. The aim of the open day is to welcome more visitors to Bell House on the day itself, and to encourage visitors to become regular supporters. And of course, we want to spread the word about all the wonderful things that go on at the house.

In particular, we'd love to reach more local people who sadly don't know very much about everything that goes on at the house or how they can participate, get involved and generally lend their support.

We’re holding this rather special Big Help Out Open Day at Bell House on Saturday June 8th from 10am to 1.00pm with Free Entry for all visitors.

Our open day coincides with the second King’s Big Help Out Weekend. Countrywide, more than seven million took part in this last year.

As King Charles III says:"Whoever and wherever you are, each of us will have a chance to play a small part in helping transform our communities for the benefit of all".

As a newsletter recipient, could we please ask you to bring along a local friend or neighbour to visit Bell House, maybe for the first time? Our volunteers will show visitors around the house and garden, explaining our history and our aims and what is on offer. There is no need to book and no entry charge.

With your help, we'd love to double 2023’s visitor numbers on this, our second Big Help Out Open Day.

In addition to encouraging more visitors and newsletter readers, we also need more helpers. Bell House is dependent on its volunteers to run everything that goes on here for its community. (Our Big Help Out day is being run totally by volunteers.)

Volunteer roles are varied and can suit most people’s interests and available free time - just one hour can make a big difference. Some areas in which we'd love more support include: help with general marketing; social media; distributing posters/flyers; running an event; gardening; photography; catering for Open House/Garden events and so much more.

Interestingly, a recent poll found that nearly one in two 18-24 year olds want to volunteer. So if you have a child or grandchild in that age group, maybe you could tempt them to come with you - there will be refreshments available! But everyone of any age is most welcome.

Bell House is proud of the role it plays in the local community - it’s thriving but we can always do more. We’d love more people to sign up for our newsletter so they know what’s going on and can plan a future visit - to enjoy an event, learn a new skill, join a class - maybe even run a new class or sign up as a volunteer, but always to feel a part of our community.

We appreciate it is a bit short notice, but if you can spare a little time to bring a neighbour or South East London friend on Saturday, June 8th 10.00am to 1.00pm, our volunteers would be so very pleased to welcome you.

If you can't make the date, you can still help out by asking a friend to sign up to the Bell House newsletter.

Signing off with a ‘BIG THANK YOU FOR HELPING OUT’.

An interview with Bell House Artist-in Residence, Atalanta Xanthe - her first 6 months

1. You’ve been living in and working in Bell House for 6 months - what are your 3 most inspiring moments so far?

Walking in the garden on the first sunny day, and seeing how many hundreds of leaf shapes there were - it was like opening a thesaurus and realising the word you wanted to replace has thousands of synonyms, each of them brilliant.

It's not an individual moment, but in general, watching people express their own style while working in my art class is so exciting. Everyone starts out with the same instructions, but ends up with this beautiful chimera of the prompt I've given them, and the artistic tendencies they have inside them.

Also, during Dulwich Festival/Artists Open House I met a local composer, and we had such a great and energising conversation about theatre and art - we are now in the early stages of planning an installation together!

2. What impact do you think Bell House and its community has had on the way you approached and created your new series?

I think it's made me feel more empowered to make the work I want to make, and not to worry about the art world so much. Partly because Bell House feels so much like its own independent world - the galleries of Chelsea and Fitzrovia feel (and are) quite far away.

It's also been special watching different people, especially children, come into the studio and look at the work. One of my favourite interactions has been watching a kid come over and try and figure out the story behind each painting I'm making and ask me questions about the pictures - I didn't realise before how important it was for me to think of myself as a storyteller.

Being in such a big and old house creates this special kind of concentration and calmness when I'm in the studio, especially late at night when it's silent. I've been so much more productive than I was this time last year.

3. Every fortnight you run a Saturday morning creative workshop. Everyone who is lucky enough to get a ticket loves what you do. What do you think is the secret to your success?

Everyone makes art as a child and I think every adult still wants to - even if that interest has been crushed by a fear of not being good enough, or not knowing where to start. I try to make my classes really encouraging and approachable, but also packed with teaching.

And for those who haven't been able to get a ticket, my class usually has one or two no-shows, so you are welcome to show up on the day and we can probably squeeze you in!

4. What are you planning for the second 6 months of your residency?

So many things! I have a solo exhibition I'm preparing for in October with my gallery Alice Black. I want to run some plein-air painting workshops in the garden in July or August.

There's still so much for me to do in terms of widening the outreach for the classes I'm running; I've been talking with two local women's refuges about doing partnerships with them, so I'd love to get that up and running.

I'm really excited about this collaboration I've started with local composer Pete Wyer - we are hoping to do a small presentation of my paintings and the soundscapes inspired by them in late August, so it will be nose to the grindstone.

5. Rumour has it that you had an unusual morning routine when you lived in the States. What was it and have you been able to carry on here in Dulwich?

I used to start the day with an hour or two of wrestling, at a Brazilian jiu-jitsu gym - I loved it so much! Nothing wakes you up like trying to escape a sweaty headlock.

Now, I go for a morning walk in Dulwich parks most days. Dulwich is so beautiful and calming. When I lived in Brooklyn, I used to wake up in my bedroom (a large sofa cushion on the living room floor) and then cycle through heavy traffic to my gym then studio, counting how many dead rats I passed.

Now, alas, I descend from my beautiful bedroom to have tea in the garden and watch foxes, crows and magpies gambol around the roses - not a headlock in sight.

One must suffer for one's art.

A Call Out to Instagram Users….

Are you on Instagram? Please support our Call Out to Help Out by promoting Bell House's Instagram account @bellhousedulwich to help us increase our followers.

Instagram reaches 2.4 billion people, and this number is growing daily. To put this into context, 24,000 users represents just 0.0001% and Bell House currently has a following of just over 2,800 - about 0.000012% of all users. With your help, we'd love to be able to double that number.

However many followers you have ... every little helps ... as Tesco has been telling us for years.

How can you help? Whenever you see a Bell House post online, please ‘like’, ‘comment’, follow’ and ‘share’ the post with your Instagram followers to help spread the word about Bell House and to increase local awareness of everything that goes on here.

It really is as simple as that.

And you’d become a social media volunteer for Bell House at the same time!

Thank you.

Residents in Residence - the Bell House Podcast

**Image:** Original deeds showing plan of Bell House courtesy of Dulwich College Archive

Bell House has been home to many wealthy individuals and their families over the centuries - immigrants, self-made entrepreneurs, reformers and philanthropists among them. The lives of Bell House's residents chart the country’s social and economic changes through time.

In the Podcast The Residents of Bell House, local historian Sharon O’Connor tells their often surprising stories. Discover which future Lord Mayor of London, and son of a pastry cook, built the house in 1767 and which resident was responsible for the first ever department store (and no, it wasn’t Mr Selfridge).

You’ll also hear about wanton drunkenness, teenage high jinx, blended families, patriotic grief and theosophy (we had to look this up!) and the strange tale of the man who kept his coffin behind his chair in order to be forever reminded of the inevitability of death.

Visit our website to listen to the Podcast and you can also view the History section to find out more about the many families that have taken up residence in Bell House.

Just one to whet your appetite. Sydney Fordham was a butcher in Rye Lane, Peckham. Born in Islington in June 1885, he went on to work as a Smithfield meat market clerk and in 1909 married Ella Gertrude Parsons.

Sydney and Ella set up house together in Elmwood Road before moving to 58 Chestnut Road in Norwood. They moved into Bell House with their two children, Leslie Sydney Victor and Eileen Ella in 1924, with an annual rent of £225.

Whilst living in Bell House, they rented the Lodge to the families of two of their servants: the Wells in the top flat and the Riches in the lower flat, for 15 shillings a week each, as well as letting a bungalow in the garden to the son of the gardener at Dulwich Picture Gallery.

Sydney had a butcher shop at 228 Rye Lane where Leslie later joined him. However, the Fordhams didn’t stay at Bell House for long, as they left in 1925, moving on to Beckenham.

Bell House Spring 2024 Newsletter

March 2, 2024 Cher Roque

The four seasons of 2023 have flashed by! We are so excited to bring you our second Spring quarterly newsletter with four new Bell House articles which we really hope you enjoy reading.

Magic can happen in a Shared Reading Group

During lockdown in 2020, Bell House hosted an ‘Elevenses’ coffee morning on Zoom for volunteers to chat and support each other. At one of these meetings, they were introduced to Ben Abel and the concept of “Shared Reading”. And so the Bell House “Shared Reading Group” was born. As a long term member says: “It saved my sanity during lockdown and was great fun.”

The reading group is now run by Guilia Cellerini who joined Ben in the early days, then subsequently took on the role of host. Giulia is a recently-qualified Primary teacher working in Kennington. But what is really fascinating is how she became involved in Shared Reading.

After reading English at London University, Giulia was applying for a PGCE teaching qualification and wanted to strengthen her personal statement. Her professor recommended that she look into the charity 'The Reader'.

The Reader is a national charity, originating in Liverpool, that wants to bring about a Reading Revolution “so that everyone can experience and enjoy great literature”, which the charity believes is “a tool for helping humans survive and live well".

It is free to all and available to everyone. The charity reads with schools, families and looked-after-children, adults in community spaces, people in care homes, people with physical and mental health conditions, those coping with or recovering from addiction, and people in the criminal justice system - globally.

The Reader has extensive reading resources but groups can also choose their own pieces. The meetings happen in all kinds of places - libraries, community centres, shops and high-street cafes and in the case of Bell House, on-line.

Research shows Shared Reading improves wellbeing, reduces isolation and helps us find new meaning in our lives.

“Hearing others read aloud and taking time to pause and reflect, is a therapeutic experience.”

”Shared reading supports me through difficult times.”

“Reading together, you can end up sharing things that you may not share with others - you’re not hiding these things - they just haven’t come up before.”

Giulia successfully applied to The Reader, was trained and then was recommended to Bell House in 2020.

Her groups are small; she has some regulars, others drop in. One regular lives alone and values the company; another is unable to leave her home; and further afield there’s a regular attendee from Canada, who joins the session at 5am in the morning. This lady is always very relaxed, she may be looking out of her window sipping a coffee and may or may not participate vocally - but she tells Giulia she very much values the group. There are even drop-ins from North America, India, Sri Lanka and Eastern Europe to name but a few!

Giulia says that the most popular reading subjects are about Nature, Familial Relationships and the Emotions of Love - so very much reflecting lived experiences. As one of her regulars says: “I love the varied programme with lots of literature I would not have known about.”

When asked about her feelings on her Shared Reading group, Giulia says: “I surprised myself. I have found that I get from these sessions exactly what the groups are set up for - a feeling of community and a coming together for the pure joy of reading. Sharing a poem or a short story creates precious moments of connection and intimacy - the impact of shared reading is profound.”

Bell House Shared Reading sessions are run on a Wednesday at 6.30pm - March sessions 13th, & 27th. Why not drop in? You just need to register and the sessions are free.

As Giulia says: “Something magical happens in a shared reading group.”

Click here if you’d like to learn more about The Reader charity and maybe get involved.

The 2024 plans for the Bell House Garden are “the bee’s knees!”

Plans for the Bell House garden are mind-blowing - in fact we think they’re the bee’s knees! Just read on to learn more.

The 2.5 acre site at Bell House provides the garden team with plenty of scope to create a range of habitats for wildlife and different garden spaces for visitors and volunteers.

Work began in the autumn to create a series of new flower beds around the main lawn to be filled with plants for pollinators. Paths will take visitors through drifts of bulbs, perennials, grasses and shrubs specially chosen to provide pollen, nectar and year-round interest.

Volunteers will learn to grow the plants from seed, cuttings and small plugs, potted out and brought on in the polytunnel.

Hornbeam and yew hedges will frame the beds, providing a backdrop to the planting and a shelter point for birds foraging in the garden whilst lavender will surround the terrace to bring colour and scent to attract pollinators.

A new native hedge will be planted in the Pickwick garden, with willows and dogwood to soak up the ground water. The plants are part of a grant awarded by The Tree Council to support community engagement, enhance wildlife and education around on-going care.

Parts of the Pickwick garden are very wet after the winter, so swales will be dug to allow water to collect naturally, creating temporary lagoons now and sunny hollows in the summer. Soil removed will be left exposed as banks for mining bees to tunnel and nest.

The Bell House honeybees are now settled in a new apiary under an oak tree, surrounded by a low log wall built by the volunteers - see photo above. All fallen branches and cuttings are kept on site and added to log piles and the stumpery.

The stumpery, built by three keen volunteers, is made of logs half-buried in the soil to provide a valuable resource for beetles, woodlice, wood wasps and other insects who need deadwood for survival.

In the walled garden, the vegetable beds have been mulched and weeded, ready for this year’s growing season. Two new apple trees, a morello cherry and mulberry have been planted in the orchard. Each has been chosen by our visiting orchard expert to cross-pollinate with our existing trees and be resistant to disease. Heritage varieties were chosen, which could have been planted by the Victorian owners when the new servants’ wing was added to the house.

Come and see the garden and our plans for 2024 on the first Saturday of every month, 11.30pm to 1.00am. And if you have been amazed by what you’ve just read and would like to get involved, do check out our volunteer programme using the links below or email direct to: [email protected]

Photo: Sara Lloyd

Bell Health - here to help

Is there a health issue you’d like to talk about with an expert and fellow sufferers - to learn and share knowledge and experiences?

Bell House is renowned for its support of Dyslexia - in fact it was the raison d'être for the original conception of the charity. Over the years there have been so many other different health initiatives for the body and mind. For example, Bell House is currently offering a course on menopause and have a talk planned on men’s mental health in April.

Bell Health is a new team tasked with further developing health support and events at Bell House, with an important focus on demand from the Bell House community.

In fact a perfect example of what Bell Health plans is the current ‘Menopause Connections’ - an Holistic Approach to Menopause, proudly presented by a team of local menopause practitioners. Menopause Connections covers nutrition, fitness and pelvic health, as well as medical and natural approaches to managing menopause symptoms. Take a look online to get an idea of how it is being run. The feedback has been very positive: “What a great session, so informative.” and “The best talk on menopause that I’ve been to. Informative and clear.” The course will be a template for future events.

So what would you like to learn more about? Anxiety or depression; sleep issues; coping with arthritis; dealing with IBS; building greater self confidence; dermatological problems; loneliness; the list is endless.

Bell Health's aim is to create a safe space at Bell House to run support groups with a common health issue - where attendees can learn from an expert, feel comfortable asking questions and, as a result, share their experiences. When you’re part of a community, you not only learn more about the subject but also more about yourself.

As this initiative is demand-led - we are dependent on you talking to us. We need to hear from members of our Bell House community - that means we need to hear from you! Use the link below to contact Bell Health. Please take a little time to tell us about the health issues you’re interested in, or to tell us about any specialist subject support you could offer: [email protected]

Please help us build a thriving Bell Health community at Bell House - we’re here to help.

Exiled for a coat!

In 1769 James Simpson was accused of stealing a livery coat, valued at £1 (about £140 today), belonging to Thomas Wright’s coachman and left in the coach outside the Bell House stables, which are shown in the photo above.

Simpson was foolish enough to offer the coat to a clothes dealer in Paternoster Row. At that time, old clothes were sold there as it was the centre for the paper trade, in times when paper was made from rags.

Unfortunately for Simpson, Paternoster Row was the very place where paper merchant Thomas Wright worked. So Simpson had taken the coat to the one place in London (apart from Dulwich) where Thomas Wright’s livery would be recognised. Added to that bad luck, he offered it to someone who was an off-duty City of London policeman.

Simpson was duly arrested and sentenced to transportation to the American colonies - all for stealing a coat!

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