Jane Dallaway

  • Exploring Royal Tunbridge Wells

    24 August 2026

    Tunbridge Wells is one of those places that I don’t really know much about. When I worked in Crowborough 20 or so years ago occasionally I’d rush there and back in my lunch break if there was something I specifically wanted. But I’d never really spent any time there. I thought it might be useful to consider it an explorer day and plan accordingly. While doing some research I came across the Marc Chagall windows at All Saints, Tudeley and so decided to combine that into my day.

    It was another beautiful sunny day and Tunbridge Wells seemed pretty busy, at least at the cafes along the Pantiles. I found a spot for a coffee and updated my notes before heading off for a wander.

    Royal TW Mineral Water shelves labelled with the elements they contain, iron, zinc, calcium and manganese

    Old wooden delivery cart bearing the Royal TW Spring Water crest and an 1736 date

    I walked past the site of the spring which seems to be a bit of a ghost town.

    I then headed off to The Amelia Scott. It is a museum and library combined, which is an excellent idea actually, putting art with books. I was met at the reception area and handed a leaflet with a map of the exhibitions, and was warned that the upstairs ones were closed because of the heat. Some of the artifacts weren’t coping that well with the temperatures and so they’ve put them away for safekeeping. This wasn’t something that had previously occurred to me, but I guess up and down the country museums and galleries have been making difficult decisions, working out what could stay out and what had to be put away. What a responsibility. There was a useful little exhibition called Story of the Wells, which says

    Discover how Royal Tunbridge Wells grew from a woodland spring into a celebrated spa town. It begins in 1606 with the discovery of the Chalybeate Spring by Dudley, Lord North. Trace the town’s transformation into a fashionable retreat, the elegant development of The Pantiles, the architectural legacy of Decimus Burton, and the invention of Subbuteo.

    This was a useful exhibition and helped fill some gaps in my knowledge - like why is it Royal Tunbridge Wells?

    Notice titled Temporary Migration explaining that some objects have been evacuated due to the heat

    I enjoyed the sign about the unavailable exhibits flagging it as a temporary migration.

    Ornate former opera house interior with gilded balconies and chandeliers, now a pub

    After leaving the Amelia, and hearing someone giving advice to another group, I headed into the nearby Wetherspoons pub to see the Opera House. An elaborate drinking establishment. The advisor had mentioned that every now and again it is closed as a pub and reopens to host an opera. That must be quite something!

    Sandstone rock outcrops on the open grassland of Tunbridge Wells Commons

    Having discovered that most of the cafes had closed by the time I got around to wanting lunch, I grabbed a sandwich from Gail’s and went and sat on the Commons to eat it before driving home. The Commons is a lovely space and I missed having Breezy with me to explore it more thoroughly.

    An interesting day out. The windows at All Saint’s church, Tudeley were my absolute highlight.

  • Visiting the Marc Chagall windows at All Saints' Church, Tudeley

    24 August 2026

    Large three-lancet stained glass window in yellow and red tones

    All Saints’ Tudeley is a quite remarkable place as it

    is the only church in the world* to have all its twelve windows decorated by the artist Marc Chagall

    *Despite some claims to the contrary, Tudeley really IS the only church in the world to have all its windows decorated by Chagall. The other contenders are the Hadassah Medical Centre in Jerusalem, but this is of course not a church, but a synagogue, and Le Saillant, Limousin, France, which is a chapel.

    I enjoyed the pedantry there!

    Close-up of a yellow stained glass panel showing Chagall's signature, the date 1974, and the Reims workshop mark, and the light reflected on the sill

    Yellow-toned stained glass panel with bird and ass, and light reflected on the sill

    Deep blue stained glass panel with light reflecting on the sills

    Coloured light from the stained glass windows cast across the stone floor tiles

    Blue and gold light patterns cast by the stained glass onto the floor

    I was really lucky with my timing and the day as I got to see the sunshine pour through the windows at the South side of the church making playful patterns on the sills and on the floor.

    Close-up of blue stained glass showing Marc Chagall's signature

    I enjoyed seeing Marc Chagall’s signature on the glass.

    Two lancet stained glass windows in pink, blue, orange and green, with a quatrefoil above

    I think this window was my favourite colours.

    Wide view inside All Saints Tudeley showing wooden pews, a pulpit, and a visitor looking closely at a sunlit stained glass window

    The light in the church changed tone and feeling as I moved from the south side, where the yellow windows are, and towards the north and east where the blue windows are. It’s almost impossible to capture that quality in photographs, so that’s something I’ll just have to remember. A beautiful place to visit.

  • Petworth House

    20 August 2026

    A friend and I visited Petworth House today. She grew up near Chichester and spent most of her life in Sussex but had never been inside. Today I had the pleasure of accompanying her as we walked around. It is an impressive place. Some of the paintings are vast - my friend and I were chatting to the room volunteer who confirmed that the particularly large one we were looking at doesn’t get moved from its position, other paintings move around it.

    Tall arched window overlooking green trees and a tower

    The scale of the place is ridiculous. Just look at the height of this window!

    Large blue and white porcelain sculptures displayed in Petworth's Marble Hall

    A tall floral porcelain vase in the Carved Room, with Grinling Gibbons' wood carvings behind

    Detail of a colourful floral porcelain vase in the Carved Room

    There is an exhibition Expressions in Blue: Monumental Porcelain by Felicity Aylieff being shown there at the moment which adds something to the experience. Some of the pieces are plain blue and white, while others are covered in bright floral enamel taking their cue from Grinling Gibbons’ wood carvings in the Carved room. These coloured ones were our favourites. These over-sized ceramics were why I thought this might be a good time to bring my friend. She’s partially sighted and so the sheer scale of these were helpful for her to get an idea of.

    A tall floral porcelain vase decorated in colourful patterned petals

    Petworth's grand painted staircase with a red patterned carpet runner

    The sheer scale of this piece in the stair well was incredible. I mean the staircase itself is incredible, my entire house could fit into that space.

    Each of the rooms in Petworth has a set of red books. Each book is full of information about all the paintings and statues in the room. This allowed my friend to find a picture that she could get an idea of, and then I could describe it and read the information about it. I did keep being asked by other people to look things up for them so I’m not sure if people thought I was a volunteer, or that I just looked helpful!

    A large full-length portrait of a woman in a blue and gold dress

    Portrait of Sarah Jennings, Duchess of Marlborough, by Sir Godfrey Kneller with legs tucked behind her

    After our recent trip to Parham House we were interested in finding portraits of people who had history with the house, and the Beauty Room was a particular highlight. The information panel explains how the paintings started off as full-length portraits of the ladies, but the 3rd Earl of Egremont decided he didn’t need to see their legs and so asked for them to be shortened. Fortunately, the workmen making the change decided to fold the lower portions behind the canvas rather than cut them away entirely. This allowed them to be restored to their former glory almost two centuries later.

    A skylight above the main gallery room, with a marble statue holding a spear below

    My friend was particularly taken with the ancient statues deciding that she could find a space for one in her garden. We did chuckle about how the roman artefacts might need to earn their keep were we to get hold of one for her, perhaps holding a trowel and a kneeler in their hands!