Egham Visions: Land in Bend of the River

Researched and planning throughout 2020 (in lockdown) and installed in early 2021, the ‘Egham Visions: Land in the Bend of the River’ exhibition brings together the artistic practice of Estella Castle and the collection of the Egham Museum.

The centrepieces of the exhibition are Castle’s two life-size pieces or a horse and haystack, set to the backdrop of the 19th Century draftsman’s pieces of John Hassell.

The ‘Egham Visions’ project, funded by the Arts Council of England, draws on the Egham Museum’s John Hassell watercolour collection, painted in the 1820s, as a backdrop for exploring hidden stories. As well as placing these pictures in the wider context of contemporary political, agricultural, industrial and social lives, there are relevant local stories which display humour, sadness and normal everyday life of the inhabitants of rural Egham in the 1820s.

After a period of research uncovering stories of those who lived and worked in the Egham area, the project culminates in this exhibition. Working with Egham Museum and the Heritage Crafts Association to highlight several endangered crafts, the exhibition will feature work from Artist in Residence, Estella Castle, who has drawn inspiration from life in Georgian Egham and the trades and crafts of the day, in particular, straw Corn Dolly making. The Enclosures Map of 1805 lists field names that indicate wheat growing activity once took place locally. In a cluster around the Barley Mow Pub in Englefield Green, names such as ‘In Three Acres Medlake or Thorpe Lammas’, ‘Bread Croft and Harvest Corner’ paint a picture of where and how local grain was harvested.

This exhibition is free to enter during normal museum opening times, no need to book.