Date/Time
Date(s) - 15th Jul 2025
14:00-15:30
Location
St Matthew's Church
Categories
Join Kirsty Hartsiotis to explore the history of women’s work in the churches of the Cotswolds. Women’s work has always been in our churches, but never more so than in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. Sometimes we don’t know their names – but they’ve executed countless banners, vestments, and altar frontals as part of their work for their local churches. It’s definitely not only church flowers and kneelers, though! The growing emancipation of women in the latter part of the 19th century allowed them to set up in business, going into areas that men thought they couldn’t – stained glass, wood carving, metalwork. After the First and Second World Wars, women produced intricate calligraphy for rolls of honour, carved memorials and created memorial windows. We’ll discover work by women such as Theo Moorman, Veronica Whall, Mary Lowndes, Nora Yoxall and Nan Reid, among many unsung women whose work enriches our churches right up the present day.
Kirsty Hartsiotis was the curator of the decorative and fine art at The Wilson Art Gallery and Museum, Cheltenham from 2008 to 2023. She is currently a curator at Swindon Museums, where she also worked prior to 2008. She’s curated many exhibitions, including A Very British Art Revolution, Ernest Gimson: Observation, Imagination & Making and Crafting Change. She’s also an Accredited Arts Society lecturer, and a freelance researcher, currently researching the work of Arts and Crafts designers in churches in the South West. She’s also been an oral storyteller for over 20 years, and has published a number of collections of stories. She is a regular columnist for Cotswold Life, was the newsletter editor for Society of Decorative Art Collections from 2009 to 2023, and writes for diverse other publications on art history and folklore.
Please note we have moved our talks at St Matthews to TUESDAYS.
Cost per person including tea/coffee and cake: FoTW members £11, non-members £13
Non-members welcome.
If you have any questions about the event or booking please phone Alison on 01242 519413 or Sue Reeves on 01242 675497 or email events@friendsofthewilson.org.uk.
Please book using one of the following options:
- On-line bookings with a debit or credit card can be made using the form below.
- Bank transfer – please email events@friendsofthewilson.org.uk to let us know you have sent your transfer so that we can send you a booking confirmation. Bank transfers should be made to Friends of The Wilson Sort Code 30-91-87 Account 00005816. The reference must include your surname plus as much of the event title as will fit, for example SMITH KIRSTY.
- Cheque – please complete a booking form (download here ) and post it with your cheque. Please make cheques payable to Friends of The Wilson and send with a SAE or clearly written email address to Mrs Alison Pascoe, 77 Naunton Lane, Cheltenham, GL53 7AZ.
Places are not confirmed until payment is received.
Terms & Conditions: When taking part in the talk please follow these guidelines:
- Please do not attend a talk if you have any Covid-19 symptoms
- You are undertaking this event at your own risk
If you have any problems with our booking system please email events@friendsofthewilson.org.uk and we will be happy to help.