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All images © copyright Cedric Quayle.

John Ruskin touched an extraordinary number of lives during his life; he applied his formidable intellect to pressing social issues of his time including some which are only now being seriously considered. He influenced people outside his own class who set about translating his ideas into practical application. The talk touches on all these matters and tells of a group of men and women of Liverpool who came to Bewdley to put his principles into practice and Ruskin's own visit there in 1877.

John Ruskin was the son of wealthy, evangelical Christian parents who supervised his early education. They took him on cultural tours of the Continent and when he moved up to Oxford to read for a degree his mother accompanied him. He was an exceptionally bright student who decided that his true vocation lay in the realms of art teacher, writer and critic. Between 1843 and 1860 he published Modern Painters, in which he championed Turner, and supported the work of the Pre-Raphelites. Other writings followed and Oxford University appointed him the first Slade Professor of Fine Art.

For Ruskin 'Art' was not an isolated discipline; all good art must have a religious element: 'All Art is Praise!' he said. In 1860, concerned by the social injustice created by the Industrial Revolution, he published Unto this Last , a series of four articles which shocked the economists of his day; just wages should be paid by law; economic activity should not be driven by self-interest and profit but should be concerned with the improvement of the quality of life. Machinery was destroying the tradition of good craftsmanship and workers' 'job satisfaction.'

Thus he conceived the idea of forming a dedicated band of men and women who would practice his ideals in their lives. He launched the project in 1871 by publishing a series of letters entitled Fors Clavigera addressed to 'The Workmen and Labourers of Great Britain.' This led to the formation of 'The Guild of St. George.' Such was Ruskin's influence that a number of working people came forward to enroll in the Guild and apply his teaching to farming and craftsmanship.

A little Guild Community was formed in a suburb of Liverpool, meeting regularly at Mulberry Cottage–a cottage with a walled garden in Wavertree–from 1884 to 1901. Five families from this community moved to thhe Wyre Forest near Bewdley, Worcs. The formation of this new community was due to the interest of George Baker, a prominent Quaker businessman and Alderman of Birmingham. Baker had bought 381 acres of land in the Wyre Forest and was planning to build a country home on the estate. Beaucastle, his country residence was completed in 1877. Baker had made an offer land from his estate to Ruskin with the objective of establishing a Guild community. The first family moved from Mulberry Cottage to establish a Guild smallholding at Bewdley in August 1889. In the years leading up to the First World War the settlement developed to became a model Guild community and its properties are still maintained by the Guild of St. George to the present day.

Source:
'Ruskin and Bewdley' (1989): Peter Wardle and Cedric Quayle.

The Guild of St. George today remains committed to the practical implementation of Ruskin's ideas in the modern world. For information about the Guild please contact the Secretary:
C. C. Quayle
Bowcastle Farm
Bewdley
Worcestershire
DY12 2LN.