Art and history on display for 1951 Festival of Britain
THE Festival of Britain was a celebration of British culture, heritage and industry aimed to lift the spirits of the nation in the dark days of post-war austerity.
The focus of the festival was on the South Bank Exhibition in London with the newly built Royal Festival Hall, Dome of Discovery and Skylon among the cutting edge designs.
Official events were held across the nation and each local authority made its own contribution. In the Borough of Stourbridge a Festival of Britain Historical and Art Exhibition was staged in the Town Hall.
Thanks to Bugle reader John Taylor of Kidderminster, we can share with you this copy of the exhibition programme. John collects all kinds of material related to Stourbridge and the wider Black Country and found this copy of the programme on an online auction. It had originally been given by local historian H.J. Haden to the County High School for Girls, now called Red Hill School.
In the programme the then Mayor of Stourbridge, Edward Reginald Reed Tooby, set out the aims of the exhibition:
“The Festival of Britain commemorates the Great Crystal Palace Exhibition of 1851. Stourbridge, for its part, has made preparations to celebrate the Festival, and one of the largest efforts has been the preparation of this Historical
and Art Exhibition which is far ahead of anything of this type that has previously been staged in the Borough.
“The Festival Historical Souvenir tells the story of the development of the Borough
during the past hundred years, and this Exhibition illustrates some salient features of this story. In addition the Exhibition is made the more interesting by its exhibits dating from times prior to 1851. The Historical
Society has produced a most interesting and instructive exhibit by preparing three sitting rooms representing the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries – the authentic pieces of furniture being obtained from purely local sources.
“Stourbridge Glass, world famous as it is, is now shown for the first time in a new arrangement – one stand exhibiting examples of Glassware representative of the 17th and 18th centuries, and the other main focus on the Victorian period. This latter has a wonderful show of 19th century glass never before collected. Some of the pieces were actually exhibits at the Great Exhibition of 1851, and some of the later pieces show the great inventiveness and craftsmanship of the glassworkers at the end of the last century.
“The works of Sir Frank Short RA (who was born in Stourbridge in 1857) are now shown for a second time in the town, and form a most important part of this Exhibition.
“I have no doubt that visitors will derive great pleasure
and much information from a visit to this Exhibition and will marvel that so fine a display has been produced by a voluntary committee. By their work, by the willing assistance of many friends and firms in the district, we have in this Exhibition a fine illustration of living up to our Stourbridge
Some of the pieces were actually exhibits at the Great Exhibition of 1851 Edward R.R. Tooby
Motto – ‘One Heart – One Way.’”
The main feature of exhibition was the stand of the Stourbridge Historical and Archaeological Society with its three rooms representing the 1670s, 1770 and 1870s.
On the next stand was a display by National Savings Committee
and that was followed by a display of flowers by the Stourbridge Parks Department.
That was followed by the Worcester City and County Fire Brigade with a display of historic equipment, such as an 18th century manual pump, and pictures of the very latest fire fighting appliances.
Next was the display of glass. The first stand told the story of Stourbridge glass over 350 years with examples of the finest work. The second stand featured modern domestic and industrial glass from the likes of Chance Brothers, Triplex and Plowden and Thompson.
There were also exhibits from the Midland Electricity Board, the Stourbridge School of Art and Crafts, the churches of Stourbridge, the road safety committee, and the Stourbridge Theatre Society and other local drama groups.
In the old council chamber was the display of works by the artist Sir Frank Short (18571945), the leading maker of etchings and mezzotints of his age.