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On April 5th 2015 the National Trust property, home to the late artists Mary Stella Edwards and Judith Ackland, had an open day in collaboration with the Burton Art Gallery. Warren Collum, Exhibitions Officer for the Burton, was present and provided information about the artists and their lives prior to and during their lives at the Cabin.

It was a great relief to finally be able to see The Cabin after reading about their lives in the place and seeing the Ackland and Edwards: Read through the Lines exhibition.

I'm going to be honest, the word "pokey" just doesn't cut how small and old everything in The Cabin is. It's more grimy than "vintage" if you know what I mean, which, for me, is surprising as they were living in the Cabin until the 1970s. I expected the interior to be more dainty as their Jackanda's were so beautiful, delicate and refined; however I was wrong to assume that. Interior design aside I found all their little items and furniture very charming. There was a sense of nostalgia and by gone times when looking around their small cottage, the feeling present was almost like they had just left and everything was still there, just where they had last left it. I kept seeing items and thinking "Ah I saw that in a photo" or "Judith must have used this everyday" etcetera.

It was also nice to go down onto the beach as they did quite a few watercolours on the same strand of rocks that are outside the Cabin today. Bucks Mills as a whole is awfully quaint and worth a visit in and of itself. If you didn't manage to go to the April 2015 Open Day then keep an eye on the North Devon National Trust website to find out when their next Open Day is.

Check out my story on Steller!

This exhibition of selected works makes interesting connections to many of the watercolours of the area by Hubert Coop in the Burton's Permanent Collection, defining an era and uniquely capturing our past.

This exhibition is generously supported by the Estate of Vernon C. Boyle." source