Watts Chapel and Gallery, Compton, Surrey

We ventured out of London on Saturday to enjoy some country air and sunshine, with a walk along the North Downs Way from Guildford to the small village of Compton and its famous Watts Gallery and Chapel.

The Watts Gallery, built in 1904 to house the collection of Victorian artist G F Watts, is currently being restored. Although this means you can't see his work, the visitor centre does show a fascinating short video that gives some insight into his life and work - including the rather disturbing fact that at the age of 46 he eloped with the 16-year old actress Ellen Terry. The dirty old man.

And in case you're wondering, the G F stand for George Frederic. Watts was brought into this world on Handel's birthday and named after him.

There's a great tea rooms at the site, although it seems to have been recently refurbished and rather less pleasingly eclectic than when I last visited (which was about seven years ago). However, you still get served tea in mismatching china cups; I particularly recommend the artist's blend.

However, in many ways this all pales in comparison to the nearby Watts Chapel, which was financed by Watts and his Scottish designer/ceramicist wife Mary. It was built as the chapel for a new village cemetery, and was designed and decorated under Mary's guidance. The result is a tiny yet gobsmacking building.



Inside is full-blown and heavily symbolist Art Nouveau with the dome decorated with the swirling tendrils of the tree of life and a host of winged messengers.



Externally, the chapel is decorated with terracotta panels with a hybrid of Celtic patterns and Art Nouveau forms. These motifs are further found in many of the grave markers throughout the cemetery.









What's perhaps particularly interesting is that the whole thing was constructed with the assistance of local villagers. Mary was a passionate advocate of art as a social improver. According to the chapel's information leaflet, if the process of creating all the decorative panels kept the villagers "away from the gin palaces of Guildford, this was surely a good thing". Clay to make the panels was found in the grounds of Watts' house, and eventually involved participation from more than 70 locals.



If you haven't visited then you'd better make amends soonish.

Photos from Rome in the latest Building Design

I was lucky to be asked by Building Design magazine to shoot the Pantheon in one of my favourite cities, Rome. The photographs were commissioned as part of BD's ongoing Architect's Inspirations series. The subject of this installment was Renato Benedetti of McDowell + Benedetti.

It was one of those very long day trips (up before the lark, back after the last tube) but worth it to spend the day shooting on of my all-time top buildings, the Pantheon, as well as enjoying an adventure with top freelance journo Pamela Buxton.



It was originally commissioned by emperor Marcus Agrippa, but was rebuilt in the second century AD by Hadrian (of Wall fame).



The Pantheon is crowned by a hemisphere that is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. It's truly aweinspiring (and a little dizzying) to stand right in the middle of the space and look up to the oculus, which leaves the interior open to the elements. The floor gently slopes down towards the perimeter for rainwater drainage.






While shooting the exterior was no problem, the interior was another matter as no tripods are allowed. The popularity of the building with tourists also means that it is constantly crowded, adding to the challenge of getting shots.






One aspect I particularly love about this building is how it has worn over the centuries. Parts of the exterior look particularly ramshackle, which add to its charm and power. The portico is currently being restored, which made front elevation photographs impossible if you wanted to avoid scaffolding!