Tag Archives: #event

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Cambridge Open Studios 2023

The weekend of the 8th-9th July saw the Barn, for the second time, host a number of local artists intent on showcasing their works as a part of this year’s Cambridge Open Studios.

Building on the success of last year (which saw the works of more than a dozen artists viewed by over 170 visitors) 12 artists again set up shop at the barn. The works displayed were very varied and provided lots of interest to a record number of visitors – over 230 across the two days.

Food for body and mind at the tithe barn at Landbeach during COS 2023

Reasonable weather and a selection of home-made refreshments and cold drinks all helped make for a pleasant and rewarding time for all who came. In addition to the art on display, there was a demonstration of basketry and some ‘plein air’* watercolour painting done onsite. There was also a lot of interest in the medieval barn and its history.

Artisitc inspiration – ‘Plein air’ watercolour painting at the tithe barn

Many people commented how much they enjoyed the event and admired the suitability of the barn as a venue. One visitor added that, for those who like to visit a number of artists over Open Studios fortnight, it was a lovely, relaxing experience to have so many artists grouped together. The ease of access for wheelchair users also was complimented.

This year’s participating artists were: Carole Ellison and Danusia Kielar (watercolour paintings, mostly landscapes), Rob Ellis (watercolour portraits), Colen Lumley and Andrew Oliver (oil paintings), Louis Marek (photography), Manda Barnes (works using resin and driftwood), Geraldine Poore (fine art basketry, demonstrated techniques on the Saturday), Steve Anderson (playful sculptures and mobiles), John Stephenson (life drawings), Mary B Fraser (mixed media: calligraphy and printmaking) and Melanie Hale (oil paintings, printmaking).

A total of 12 works were sold with Mary Fraser’s work proving particularly popular. We are already looking forward to hosting artists again for COS 2024!

A moment of relaxation at the tithe barn at Landbeach

* ‘Plein Air’ painting, the act of painting a landscape like a sitting portrait, with the artist able to better capture the changing light, weather and atmosphere. Go to https://www.thesimplethings.com/blog/pleinair-painting to learn more.

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Cambridge Open Studios at Landbeach tithe barn – a great success!

July 9 & 10 saw over 170 visitors view artworks by more than a dozen local and regional artists working in a wide range of media.

The wonderfully atmospheric Landbeach tithe barn and the fine weather made for a perfect location to take in and admire this display of East Anglian talent.

The exhibition included works by Cambridge Drawing Society members Rob Ellis (watercolours), Naomi Tomkys (oil paintings) and Rita Morton (linocuts). Others included Mary B Fraser (mixed media work, calligraphy and printmaking); Louis Hopper Marek (photography); John Stephenson, Manda Barnes and Pete Bucktrout (life drawing/painting); Gurpran (Bunny) Rau (abstracts) and last but by no means least, Tithe Barn trustee Melanie Hale (oil painting & printmaking).

In addition there was fine art basketry by Geraldine Poore, Melanie Hart and Sally Roach, wire sculptures by Manda Barnes, plus some interesting vitrines (display cases) by Victoria Smith. Watercolourist Rob Ellis also has made beautiful guitars and brought two of his instruments, inviting visitors to play them. At the end of the two days 12 artworks had been sold, including three photo prints by 17 year-old Louis, clearly a young talent with great potential.

John Stephenson’s work proved popular with three sold

Open Studio – Ready and waiting for visitors

Some examples of the work displayed by other artists are below.

Manda Barnes

Portrait of the artist as a tree (Rob Ellis)
Mary Fraser
Melanie Hale
Louis Hopper Marek
Rita Morton
Geraldine Poore

All artwork images copyright to artist. Used with permission.

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The Scottish Play comes to Landbeach!

Thursday 16th June finished with what can only be described as a quintessentially perfect English summer evening. It was then that the Tithe Barn Trust hosted in their lovely iconic tithe barn a most exciting and great event in the form of a much edited and reduced play by William Shakespeare. It was enacted by three members of the Cambridge School of Visual and Performing Arts in front of a large and eager audience more than 90 strong which encompassed ages from the very young to the not so young.

Shakespeare always wrote to entertain, but the actors this evening took that to yet another level. ‘Macbeth’ is considered one of Shakespeare’s serious plays but Chris McKay (on the staff of The School) and two of his 1st year students had us in fits of laughter for much of the hour-long entertainment. In fact the play was so changed by Chris’ rewriting of it that only parts had a semblance to the original work! The three performers took on at least five roles each and when necessary, calls to the audience came, when some quite young members came up and ably and confidently took on ‘as extras’!

There were two performances; the first at 4 pm for other students from the School to see, and a public one at 6 pm. Some of the audience came early to have a picnic on the Barn’s grass apron whilst others did likewise after the show. It was one of our most well attended events of the year and Chris says he will be more than happy to come again next year… which will be his seventh in bringing students to perform for us.

It was also wonderful to have in attendance our recently stepped down Chair, Gemma O’Shea with her two young girls and so many Friends of The Barn who have over these many years so generously donated to the Barn’s cause.

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Outdoor Gym and Furniture repair

Saturday 30th April. 09.00 – 13.00. Free. All welcome

Come and enjoy some fresh air and good company at Landbeach Tithe Barn this Saturday 30th April 2022.

We will be cleaning and restoring our furniture to make it ready for this year’s events. We will be working from 9am – 1pm and everyone is welcome to come at any time and to stay for as long as liked. No experience is necessary as you will be given tuition however experts in furniture restoration are particularly welcome.

Your efforts will make a valued contribution to improving the barn for our visitors. There are further details in the poster below and if you have any other questions or would like to learn more please email tithebarntrust@gmail.com

We look forward to seeing you this Saturday.


Carolin Göhler
Interim Chair – Tithe Barn Trust

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Romeo & Juliet & Angie!

The Tithe Barn Trust welcomed nearly one hundred visitors to the Tithe Barn, in Landbeach near Cambridge, on the evening of Thursday 20th June to watch ‘Romeo & Juliet & Angie!’.

After the success of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ last year at this historic Tithe Barn, the Cambridge School of Visual & Performing Arts (CSVPA) returned to present this adaption of one of Shakespeare’s most beloved and famous tragedies. Director Chris Mckay of CSVPA says “It was our pleasure to present this turbo charged, much abbreviated version of Romeo and Juliet, showcasing one student in particular (‘Angie’ Ziqi Huang) who will be joining us again next year for our foundation course. We performed this play with a cast of only three actors, Angie, myself, and following my cameo in last year’s production, I gleefully introduced Rachel Ellis, head of our drama program, into the cast!”.

Gemma O’Shea, Chair of the Tithe Barn Trust, says “We have to thank CSVPA for volunteering their time, bringing their energy and making Shakespeare accessible to so many.”

The Tithe Barn Trust is a small charity committed to saving and sympathetically restoring the Grade II Listed Tithe Barn. The Tithe Barn Trust has a 99 year lease of the Tithe Barn. Key to the Tithe Barn Trust’s charitable aim is maximising public access to the Tithe Barn and education. We want to ensure that the Tithe Barn has a vibrant and sustainable future and performances like this are very much part of the plan.

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Carols at the Barn

Carols at the Tithe Barn was the perfect way to start our festive season, so thank you to everyone for making this event so special. Visitors were able to escape the commercialisation of Christmas and sang classic carols such as Silent Night and Away in the Manger.

Of course we have to thank our volunteers too. Gemma O’Shea, Volunteer Chair of Trustees, says “We’re so lucky to have such dedicated volunteers who willingly give their time. As the event was free to everyone and we’re a small charity working with a tiny budget we have to be really resourceful. Maggie, one of our fabulous volunteers, used lots of foliage with holly and ivy foraged from the garden to create some traditional hand tied arrangements to hang around the unique timber frame Tithe Barn. Our thanks have to go to Tesco Milton also for donating mulled wine and mince pies for the event.

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Shakespeare at the Barn

On Thursday 14th June one hundred visitors came to watch Shakespeare’s comedy ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ at the Tithe Barn performed by the Cambridge School of Visual & Performing arts (CSVPA).
Rachel Ellis, Head of Drama at CSVPA, says “The Tithe Barn is such a wonderful piece of history and I am thrilled at the chance of our students being able to perform in it. The students on our performing arts courses at CSVPA undertake training in both classical and contemporary acting. Their June performance is a reduced Shakespeare play especially edited for a small cast, each actor playing multiple roles. It is a lot of fun! The barn is a vital piece of local history and I feel strongly that it is a gift to be able to share the local cultural heritage of such places with our very international cohort of students. We have students from Cambridgeshire but also as far afield as China, Russia and South America on our courses. We wanted to show our full support for the Tithe Barn Trust’s campaign to restore the barn.”

It was a fantastic evening and demonstrated the Tithe Barn’s true potential at bringing people together.

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April showers…

Huge thanks have to go to our visitors who braved the rain and came along to our April event. Despite the April showers, they were able to spot animals hiding around the Tithe Barn and win an Easter egg. Then they sowed dwarf French bean seeds to take home and grow their own veg for our July competition. Thank goodness we had a few spare pairs of wellies to borrow as the grass track was incredibly wet. At least the ducks loved it though!