Help shape the future of Blake Cottage

News archive

William Blake, Milton: a Poem (detail). Source: William Blake Archive →

News from The Blake Cottage Trust, grouped by year with the latest stories first. Dates refer to events where established, otherwise to the contemporary announcement.

2026

22 October · A new website for Blake Cottage

The Blake Cottage Trust’s redesigned website brings together the story of William and Catherine Blake in Felpham, conservation progress and plans for the cottage’s future. Visitors can explore community projects, browse past newsletters and find ways to support the work.

A film crew interviews a printing-press maker beside the wooden press structure in a workshop, 20 October 2026.

20 October · Filming the craft behind Blake’s printing press

A film crew recorded the skilled work behind the Trust’s wooden printing press. The filming followed the makers’ construction of the main structure and woodturner Phil Jones’s work on the support legs and rollers. The project offers a practical way to explore the craft that shaped Blake’s working life as an engraver and printer.

Printing-press makers filmed, 20 October 2026. Photograph supplied by The Blake Cottage Trust.

Members of the Chichester Festival Theatre cast of A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Doug Nicholls outside Blake Cottage, 12 October 2026.

12 October · Theatre visitors find inspiration at the cottage

Members of the Chichester Festival Theatre cast of A Midsummer Night’s Dream visited Blake Cottage, accompanied by Trust chair Doug Nicholls. Trust ambassador Delia Ryan organised the visit, giving the performers an opportunity to see William and Catherine Blake’s former home and the conservation work under way.

Chichester Festival Theatre cast visit, 12 October 2026. Photograph by Delia Ryan.

18 September · Conservation conversations with West Dean

Sarah Hughes, Subject Leader for BA (Hons) Art & Contemporary Craft, joined senior colleagues from West Dean, the Sussex college specialising in arts, craft and conservation, for a visit to Blake Cottage. They explored the conservation work and discussed possible connections with the Trust, bringing together shared interests in creative practice and the care of historic buildings.

Visitors in hard hats and high-visibility jackets outside Blake Cottage during the Heritage Open Day tours, 15 September 2026.

15 September · Hard hats and open doors

Timber-framing specialist Joe Thompson led tours on 13 September, followed by Heritage Open Day tours with conservation specialist Nick Tyson on 15 September. Visitors saw Blake Cottage as a work in progress, with hard hats and high-visibility jackets part of the experience. The tours also helped the Trust assess how to welcome visitors safely around the August 2027 bicentenary while conservation continues.

Heritage Open Day tours, 15 September 2026. Photograph by Sarah Parker.

A cleared ground-floor room at Blake Cottage, with temporary support props and a volunteer visible through the window, during the Amazon volunteer work in September 2026.

3 September · Amazon volunteers lend a hand

Volunteers from Amazon’s Bognor Regis facility spent two days clearing the cottage and garden, helping prepare the site for its next stage of work. Trust ambassador Delia Ryan and works supervisor Menche organised the practical effort, which complemented the continuing contribution of local volunteers caring for Blake Cottage.

A cleared cottage room during Amazon’s volunteer work, September 2026. Photograph supplied by The Blake Cottage Trust.

20 July · A visit from the Morgan Library

Jennifer Tonkovich, curator of drawings and prints at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York, visited Blake Cottage to discuss Blake and the Trust’s conservation work. Her visit followed that of Sheelagh Bevan, the Morgan’s curator of printed books and bindings, in September 2025. The visits connect Blake’s former home with a major international collection of his art and writing.

20 April · Young artists bring Blake into the subway

Young people from the 39 Youth Club completed Blake-inspired murals for a local foot tunnel, following workshops that began in March. Their designs reinterpreted Blake’s imagery in their own ways, bringing his work into an everyday public space. The project gave young people a practical part in celebrating his local legacy.

5 March · Blake Cottage in ROSA

Sussex arts magazine ROSA featured Blake Cottage in its spring edition after editors Rowena Easton and Alex Leith visited in January. The article introduced readers to the conservation project and the Trust’s plans for the building, placing the cottage within the wider creative life of Sussex.

4 March · Students put conservation on film

A student film project, directed by Suzy Lloyd, explored Blake Cottage through an interview with conservation specialist Nick Tyson. Students asked about the building’s history and the work needed to conserve it, giving them first-hand experience of recording a heritage project while helping share the story of the cottage’s rescue.

2025

3 December · Poetry brings Blake’s legacy to life

Simon Brett hosted a celebration of the Trust’s poetry competition, with Jean Rogers reading Blake’s work and the shortlisted poems and Rachel Searle speaking about his life in Felpham. Organised by trustee Irene Campbell with the library service and Bognor Heritage and Arts Society, the event brought local readers and writers together to celebrate new poetry alongside Blake’s enduring influence.

1 December · Frank Skinner visits Blake Cottage

Comedian and poetry podcast presenter Frank Skinner visited Blake Cottage with Robert Burston, treasurer of the Blake Society. The visit gave a prominent advocate for poetry an opportunity to see the conservation project first-hand and learn about the former home of William and Catherine Blake.

Fresh thatch along Blake Cottage’s brick-and-flint gable beneath scaffolding during roof repairs, August 2025.

9 September · A new thatched roof

Rethatching of the main cottage was completed on 9 September, a major milestone after the roof crisis of 2024. Work by timber, masonry and thatching specialists helped safeguard the historic building. Further work to protect the fabric from the elements and conserve the interior and garden remained ahead. Read the architects’ account →

Thatching work in progress, August 2025. Photograph supplied by The Blake Cottage Trust.

17 March · The Blake book collection is catalogued

Trustee and librarian Irene Campbell completed cataloguing the Trust’s existing collection of books about Blake. Identifying and recording the holdings helps the Trust care for the collection and plan how it can support future learning and research at the cottage. This work preceded the substantial library donation announced in 2026.

22 February · Sharing the story with the Women’s Institute

Trust chair Doug Nicholls took part in a national online Women’s Institute session about Blake Cottage. He shared the story of William and Catherine Blake’s time in Felpham and the campaign to conserve their former home, introducing the project to WI members beyond Sussex.

2024

30 November · Billy Bragg’s guitar supports the rescue

Musician Billy Bragg raised £2,566 for The Blake Cottage Trust by auctioning one of his guitars. The proceeds supported the conservation of William and Catherine Blake’s former home in Felpham, contributing to the emergency campaign to safeguard the cottage. Read the BBC report →

Two Trust volunteers welcome visitors at the Blake Cottage Trust stand at Fun on the Prom, with display banners and activities on the table, August 2024.

31 August · Listening to visitors at Fun on the Prom

At Fun on the Prom, the Trust invited local people to help shape Blake Cottage’s future. Children coloured Blake-inspired pictures, visitors completed poems and questionnaires, and tokens let people choose activities they would like to see at the cottage. The responses helped the Trust understand local interests as it developed its plans.

The Trust’s stand at Fun on the Prom, 31 August 2024. Photograph supplied by The Blake Cottage Trust.

18 July · Emergency protection for the roof

Scaffolders began securing Blake Cottage beneath a temporary protective roof as the poor condition of its historic roof demanded urgent action. The structure was an essential first stage in the rescue, providing protection and access for the specialist timber and thatch repairs that followed.

5 July · Andrew Graham-Dixon films at the cottage

Art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon visited Blake Cottage to film an appeal for its conservation. His contribution helped explain the significance of William and Catherine Blake’s former home and the urgent need to protect it, bringing the campaign to a wider audience interested in art and heritage. Watch Andrew Graham-Dixon at the cottage →

13 May · Bruce Dickinson becomes patron

Iron Maiden singer and Blake enthusiast Bruce Dickinson became patron of The Blake Cottage Trust. He expressed his wish to help restore the cottage, lending his support to the campaign to conserve the Felpham home where William and Catherine Blake lived and worked.

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