Bucks Mills Cabin
Artists Residency
May and June 2010
Funding awarded by the North Devon Coast AONB
to the National Trust

Selected Artist - Kate Paxman

“From the broken, contorted rocks of Hartland to the vast sand-dunes of Braunton Burrows, and the towering cliffs of Exmoor, the North Devon coastline is breathtaking. Wild, windswept uplands and shattered cliffs pounded by the Atlantic waves contrast with sweeping bays filled with golden sand and massive, plunging cliffs clothed in a green carpet of dense woodland.”

Along The Shore, Mike Towns

Bucks Mills Cabin

National Trust and Arts Council England to develop a programme of contemporary visual arts commissions and partnerships with arts organisations. Placing high-quality and innovative contemporary art within historic settings can inspire artists and audiences and encourage new ways of looking at the work and the world.

The Cabin, owned by The National Trust, is situated in the ancient fishing hamlet of Bucks Mills. The hamlet lies at the end of a long steep valley, it overlooks the wide sweep of Bideford Bay with views of some of North Devon’s most iconic and dramatic coastline. From the Cabin itself there is a panoramic view out across the Bay which includes Lundy Island and large stretches of this world class coastline.

The history of both the Cabin and Bucks Mills lie in their close relationship with the coast. In past centuries, livelihoods were dependent on fishing, imported lime, grain and even wrecking. Many painters have been inspired by this coastline, including J M W Turner and Samuel Palmer.

From the 1920’s up to the 1970’s the Cabin was used as an artists studio by Judith Ackland and Mary Stella Edwards. The Burton Art Gallery & Museum in nearby Bideford, hold the ‘Ackland and Edwards Collection’ of watercolours, drawings and dioramas which were created by the artists between 1913 and 1965. As custodians of the Cabin, The National Trust plan to continue the unique artistic heritage of the Cabin, this residency is the first such opportunity.

The Cabin has been preserved almost exactly as the artists left it over 30 years ago. When you open the green door, you step into another world with antique china, a wood burning stove, old cupboards stuffed full of bric a brac, all bathed in a wonderful natural light. It is an evocative and charismatic stone building, with two rooms, one up and one down. The Cabin sits on the South West Coast Path and is not far from the famous village of Clovelly, the nearest major town being Bideford.

Artists Residency
Appledore Arts and The National Trust are excited to offer, for the first time, this unique opportunity. The history and natural setting of the Bucks Mills Cabin offer the selected artist a truly inspirational opportunity to spend time exploring ideas and creating new work. Through this residency we want to inspire a contemporary visual artist to respond to the Cabin and its environment. Our relationship with the coast and sea has profoundly influenced our history, our identity and our character and this setting provides the selected artist with an opportunity to develop an intimate awareness of North Devon’s beautiful and rugged coastline.

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