The Watts Gallery AND ARTISTs’ Village
a day Visit With The Arts Society Sherborne
Thursday 2 July 2026
The Watts Gallery is situated in Compton, near to Guildford.
The coach will leave Culverhayes Car Park Sherborne at 8.00am and shortly after will pick up in Wincanton. We hope to arrive in Compton at approximately 10.30am.
The Watts Gallery was founded in 1904 by George Frederick(GF) and Mary Seton Watts. Artists and pioneers GF and Mary initially relocated to Compton from Holland Park, West London having built Limnerslease as a winter retreat. GF was one of the foremost artists of the nineteenth century and became known as ‘England’s Michelangelo’ due to his powerful works and paintings. Mary, a visionary designer and artist, founded the Potters’ Art Guild at Compton. The Watts Gallery site includes the Arts and Crafts home, Limnerslease which houses their studios. The surroundings are beautiful, both gardens and buildings. The Galleries include remarkable paintings and sculptures and the Grade 1 listed Arts and Crafts Watts Chapel, is approximately an 8 minute walk from the Gallery.
The Watts Gallery, the shop and the café are all fully accessible. The Watts Chapel and Watts Contemporary Gallery are not suitable for wheel chairs. Don’t miss the excellent shop!
Coffee will be served on arrival. This will be followed by freetime to see what you wish. Lunch will be served at 1 pm.
If you have booked to take the tour, this will be after lunch, at 2.00pm.
This is Limnerlease the artists’ home. It includes GF Watts studio and the Mary Watts Gallery. It is within the gardens of the site.
The Watts Cemetery Chapel is an Arts and Crafts masterpiece. There are 4 friezes of hope, truth, love and life. It is a peaceful place of reflection and inspiration . It is a community creation by over 70 people including children. The building was started in 1895 and consecrated in 1898, the Watts gave it to the village.
Various tours are available but we have chosen the Watts Chapel Tour, which lasts 75 minutes. The Chapel is a Grade 1 listed Arts and Crafts building with unique interior decoration which was created by Mary Watts and the local community of Compton. This will take place in the afternoon
We are planning to leave in the coach at around 4.30pm.
Please note that the visit involves some uphill walking. If you have doubts about your fitness to participate please use the contact form at the bottom of the page to request further information before booking.
You can view the Watts Gallery website here.
Booking for this visit is now closed