Cumbrian artists represented at new Dacre Hall exhibition

Dacre Hall, which is reputedly the oldest village hall in England, will feature a wide range of work throughout August, with visitors encouraged to come and examine a selection of the best works from people across the county.

Located in Lanercost Priory, the exhibition has been going for around 45 years now, although the core group of organisers, known as the Craftsmen at the Priory, is constantly evolving.

The current Craftsmen at the Priory include six artists; Richard Kennedy, Denise Huddleston, Carolyn Marr, Julia Neubauer, Mary Kennedy, and Tricia Meynell, and they work together and collaborate with other local artists to create the exhibition.

Tricia Meynell, who creates painterly, abstract images with her own, unique photographic techniques, told the News & Star: "The aim of it is to have a really high-quality show each year, so we’re very careful about who we select.

"Their work is always top standard, it’s not a craft fair, it’s more of an art exhibition with top-quality bits of pieces.

"We’d love to welcome anybody in. The show is always manned by at least two exhibiting artists who can talk you through a lot of the work in there. There is a lot to see for everybody.

"We’ve got an artisan blacksmith, ironwork, woodwork, ceramics, textiles, painting, photography, artwork, watercolors and glasswork.

"We’ve even got soap. It’s something that everybody can enjoy.

"It’s only £1 to get in and that benefits Dacre Hall, which is an amazing building. It’s the oldest village hall in England. You can’t get into it normally unless there is an event on.

"People who pay the money to get in are getting to see the medieval hall as well.

"It’s an amazing, beautiful building in its own right and we stuff it full of really beautiful artwork.

"The setting lends itself really well and we’re particularly pleased with this year’s exhibition."

Visitors can see the exhibition until 5pm on Tuesday, August 29.