As part of Inspired Villages’ ethos of building communities, each village always works closely with local organisations. Austin Heath, Inspired’s village in Warwickshire, has a close link with Compton Verney, a historic manor with a large collection of paintings and picturesque gardens.

Austin Heath is not only a sponsor of Compton Verney but has also assisted the organisation with its pilot scheme aimed at tackling loneliness among retirees and before the coronavirus pandemic, ran regular events for residents focused on engaging with the artwork there.

As lockdown has prevented visits to view the art at Compton Verney, Inspired Villages’ communications manager, Ploy Radford, has interviewed Compton Verney’s director, Julie Finch, for her podcast Past Matters. The podcast asks different museums, galleries and historic houses to discuss their most underrated items.

In this episode, Julie picks a painting from Compton Verney’s large collection of folk art – ‘Schooner approaching the harbour’ by Alfred Wallis, which is painted on a tea tray in 1930. Julie picked this piece as it felt “really synonymous” with the creativity people are finding in lockdown. “I think people are being super creative at home, they are looking for things to do and I like the idea of people using found objects in their own home and using those to create new works of art themselves.”

You can listen to the full episode to find out more about the painting, folk art, and Compton Verney here: