I had this to say back in March. “After my recent soaking on Longridge Fell I decided on some indoor culture for Tuesday. There were some interesting exhibitions at Abbot Hall Gallery in Kendal. I drove up in horrendous wet conditions on the motorway, found somewhere to park, £3.50, and walked to the hall only to find it only opens Thursday to Saturday at this time of year! Why didn’t I check? I phoned Sir Hugh in Arnside hoping for some sympathy and coffee, but ironically he was in Preston shopping. Drove back down the motorway in more horrendous wet conditions. Hope I didn’t get a speeding fine.”
So Kendal has been calling me back ever since. The exhibitions I wanted to see are still on, but not for much longer. Time to enlist my cultural friend Clare, of ‘slate poem’ fame. I kept my camera in my pocket for most of the day, you will have to visit yourself.
After parking we get distracted by the adjacent imposing Holy Trinity Church. 
On entering the church you are immediately struck by its size, a central nave with two aisles on either side. One of the widest churches in England.
Photo from kendalparishchurch.co.uk
We wandered around admiring the stained glass windows and various chapels. A shaft of an Anglian cross dated approximately AD 850 took my attention, I’m fascinated by ancient crosses, their history and importance. Clare was drawn to a tapestry depicting John Speed’s 1612 map of Kendal. Threads Through Time, a community effort, commissioned by the Environment Agency and the church to celebrate the history and heritage of Kendal and its related Flood Risk Management Scheme.. This early map is significant because it highlights the important links between the town and river, and references the town’s woollen trade.
Unveiling of the tapestry June 2023. Facebook.
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Abbot Hall is just across the park. It isn’t very welcoming from this side, somehow we go in via a side door and end up in the café from where complicated stairs lead us back to reception. I have an Art Fund Pass which gives me free or reduced price to most galleries. My card shows an expiry date of May 2024, I suspect I have kept this one and thrown the new one away! I pay up the £12 fee which does at least give you access to Abbot Hall for a year.
The back side of Abbot Hall, or is it the front?
There are four themed exhibitions on display at present. Art Herbarium, Lakeland Art collection of Portraits, Claude Cahun prints and Gilbert Spencer. We just follow our noses around the charming intimate rooms. As a distraction there are are views of the grounds towards the river from the windows. 
But first there is a room dedicated to The Great Picture which depicts family history of Lady Anne Clifford (1590-1676) and her fight for her rights. Painted during the English Civil War by a Jan van Belcamp (1610-1653), a Dutch artist. “it is a rare celebration of the life of a woman from that period”. Not easy to photograph.
Art Herbarium.
A selection from their collection focusing on nature. John Ruskin was represented as was an ‘unidentified Sea Captain’. Beautiful flower paintings by Winifred Nicholson and the even more exquisitely illuminated letters from the Cumbrian artist Percy Kelly. 
Portrait Galleries
Contemporary artists, such as Kendal-based artist Lela Harris have been invited to exhibit alongside the Abbot Hall collection. Highlights from the collection include works by George Romney, Joan Eardley, Lucian Freud, Hilde Goldschmidt, Victor Pasmore, Celia Paul, Kurt Schwitters, Stanley Spencer and Charmaine Watkiss. 
Claude Cahun.
An exhibition of giclee prints blurring and distorting her age, identity, and gender. Born Lucy Schwob, she adopted the pseudonym Claude Cahun in 1917 to free herself from the narrow confines of gender. All a little unnerving to my delicate palate. 
Gilbert Spencer.
A selection of this English painter’s major works. “Painter, muralist, illustrator, teacher and writer, Spencer’s career spanned more than six decades. During his lifetime he was recognised as one of the leading artists of his generation and one of the most successful art professors; teaching at the Royal College of Art, Camberwell College and Glasgow School of Art” His brother Stanley Spencer is possibly better known. Of particular interest here is the time the artist and his students were evacuated from London to Ambleside in the Second World War. There was a series of cartoon like sketches from his time in the home guard. 
And one I particularly liked in memory of the ardent Wolves fan Dave. 
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On the way out we spotted a statue in the church grounds. A quick park up revealed this to be a beautiful wooden carved piece by James Mitchell, unveiled only last week based on Speed’s map of Kendal we had been looking at in the church. The Kendal Parish Riverside Sculpture. This was another commission by the Environment and Kendal Parish Church as part of the flood relief scheme. “It is made from an Oak tree that came down during storm Arwen which was kindly donated by Bill and Ali Lloyd and came from their farm in the Upper Kent Valley. This 170yr old tree was a vital part of the ecosystem and helped slow the flow and nourish our landscape. The map shows Kendal as it was then and is populated with parts of that history and wildlife. It shows the valley and is headed with the hills of the Kentmere horseshoe. The other side of the tree is an abstract form that represents the flow of the river, the contours and texture of the landscape and the stunning beauty of the wood itself.”
Why had neither of us taken a photo of the tapestry?
James Mitchell carving. Facebook.
On the way home was an opportune time to call in on Sir Hugh for cha and chatter.
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This afternoon whilst writing this post I can’t get a certain song out of my head – Kendal no, but it’s London Calling, a post punk hit from the 80’s. Joe Strummer at his pomp. Not to everyone’s taste but it will liven up a dull Sunday.
