Neil Thomas meets a father and daughter whose ‘crafty’ business offers a little creative therapy.
Lunch in the elegant yet homely dining room is informal and convivial. Guests – half a dozen ladies and me – help ourselves to coronation chicken, quiche, new potatoes, refreshing salads and delicious home-baked bread, prepared by our host Kate Elwell. Sumptuous home-made fudge follows.
At the head of the table is Kate’s 87-year-old father Roger Newton, with whom she keeps us entertained and at ease. Father and daughter display the practised air of those who are adept at socialising and comfortable in company.
Some of Kate’s stories revolve around the house we are in, Leighton Lodge. The three-storey redbrick Georgian home has a place in Shropshire’s history as the birthplace of novelist and poet Mary Webb. The author of Precious Bane and Gone to Earth was born here Margaret Gladys Meredith in 1881. Largely unheralded in her lifetime, her fame spread a year after her untimely death in 1927 when Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin called her “a neglected genius”.
Now Kate and Roger are writing a fresh chapter in the Leighton Lodge story. Clues are dotted around the house, not least in the shape of colourful waxed paper flowers, so superbly-fashioned that they are difficult to distinguish from the genuine article, and crafted objects that display exquisite gilding or an eye-catching paint finish.
A further clue is provided by the departure of our luncheon companions to an artist’s studio in a converted outbuilding where they resume their one-day Waxed Paper Flower making course, crafting Icelandic Poppies.
For Leighton Lodge is now the home of Master the Art – The Roger Newton & Daughter School of Decorative Finishes.
Today’s is part of a diverse programme of creative courses run from the studio, led by a team of acknowledged experts in their field.
At their head is Roger, one of the few remaining master gilders in the country. His traditional and decorative gilding courses offer the chance to learn something of a dying art – and, of course, help to keep it alive.
Roger’s three-day courses teach the art of traditional water gilding, where students learn how to prepare gesso – a white primer generally made up of chalk and animal glue binder (“rabbit skin glue is perfect”) – and lay and burnish gold leaf, as well as decorative oil gilding.
Kate’s speciality – and passion – is paint finish. Along with Roger, she runs three-day paint finish courses, guiding students through the process of replicating marble, malachite, tortoiseshell, wood graining and porphyry by using oil paints on any wooden surface. The results can be remarkable, often stunning.
Though it initially focused on the art of traditional gilding or paint finishes, the school now offers an expanding programme of workshops preserving heritage crafts, which people fly in from all over the world to enjoy. Of which more later. First, to Roger and Kate. They founded Master the Art in 2021, launching with a series of intensive three-day courses, hosting guests at Leighton Lodge.
Roger began his training in 1955 at the London studio of Colefax and Fowler, probably the country’s best-known decorating firm, many of whose commissions were from the upper echelons of society. Roger was taught the art of furniture decoration and had the opportunity to work on pieces from some of the finest houses for private clients and The National Trust.
“In those days, the company was rather different from today,” Roger recalls. Today it has a global market for its stylish wallpaper and fabrics, with a team of more than 300. When Roger joined the company, there was a staff of 20 whose business was essentially interior decorating.
“I studied under John Fowler, who was my mentor,” Roger recalls. “Lady Sybil Colefax had left by this point.”
In fact, Lady Sybil, who founded the company in the 1930s, had sold it in 1948 to American heiress Nancy Lancaster who had lived in England for many years. Her social connections – she was the niece of Nancy Astor – opened some impressive doors in the 1950s enabling Fowler to work, for instance, at Chequers, the official country residence of the Prime Minister, or on the Audience Room at Buckingham Palace, for Her Majesty the Queen.
“By the time John Fowler joined Sybil Colefax in the 1940s, he was already established in his own right and had a reputation for creating particularly glamorous interiors. Colefax and Fowler gave me a very good grounding,” Roger reflects.
These were heady days – the company’s shop was at 39 Brook Street in the heart of fashionable Mayfair.
In 1961, Roger opened his own workshop on the King’s Road in West London, specialising in furniture painting, gilding and lacquering, which quickly established a reputation for high-quality work. What’s more, his address put him at the very heart of the Swinging Sixties, for the King’s Road – which runs through Chelsea and Fulham – became a magnet for pop stars and actors, drawn in by its stylish boutiques, art shops and restaurants.
“You would see famous people walking along the street all the time. Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull came into my shop. So too Tom Courtenay and Albert Finney.”
The end of the ‘60s brought with it a dramatic change of direction for Roger.
“Someone offered to buy my shop with the idea of turning it into a restaurant, believing it would make more money” he recalls. “I turned the offer down as I was happy as I was. However, the more I thought about it, the more I could see it made sense. So, I decided to open a restaurant myself.”
Newton’s was a fixture on the King’s Road for 10 years and numbered Courtenay, Finney and other celebrities amongst its diners.
Meanwhile Roger continued to hone his craft, accepting commissions from private clients as well as heritage organisations like the National Trust.
The 1980s, though, brought with it a complete change of pace as Roger and wife Christine moved to Guernsey, second largest of the Channel Islands but by any yardstick a sleepy backwater after the hubbub of central London.
“We were attracted by the idea of a different life,” Roger reflects with a smile, of the family’s switch to a sea-encircled community with a population in 1980 of 54,000. Here, in 1982, Roger opened a school running intensive courses specifically for furniture painting and gilding.
“We were in Guernsey for seven years and enjoyed it. They are lovely people.”
Then it was a return London, where Roger established a studio for his courses in Battersea, which ran for many years.
As we chat over coffee in the large garden of Leighton Lodge, looking towards neighbouring Leighton Hall, throwaway remarks such as “when I was hired by an American firm to oversee development of a factory in the Philippines”, offer a glimpse into the rich variety of Roger’s long, successful career.
In 2018, he and Christine opted again for a more tranquil life with a move to their present home in Shropshire, with the added joys of being nearer to family.
Kate is the youngest of Roger’s five children by 10 years and it is clear there is a special bond between father and daughter. She remembers helping her father with paint effects as soon as she was old enough to hold a brush.
“Daddy’s studio was my happy place and I always headed there whenever I could,” she reflects with a smile.
However, the need to earn a steady living precluded an economically uncertain life in the world of arts and crafts. After graduating from university, Kate’s career took her to the City, where she practised Financial PR for some of the top FTSE 100 companies. In her spare time, though, she always retreated to her father’s studio to unwind.
“Paint finishing was still very much my hobby and the way to escape from the pressures of work,” she recalls.
For 11 years, she worked as private secretary to the Sultan of Oman. “In fact, I took over from my mother, who had worked for the Sultan for 17 years.”
She recalls an occasion when an overzealous cleaner damaged particularly opulent gilding at the Sultan’s London home while he was away.
“I called my father and said ‘Daddy, you need to drop everything and get here as soon as possible’. He answered the emergency and restored it all perfectly. Of course, we had to tell the Sultan but to everyone’s relief he was pleased with the way it was handled and the outcome.”
Much as she enjoyed the London life, Kate had long cherished the dream of running a business with her father centred around heritage crafts.
In 2020 she determined to make it happen and with husband James and their young sons Hector and Arthur moved to Leighton Lodge.
“It was not far from my parents’ home and my husband is from the Bridgnorth area, so there were strong family reasons to move here.”
The family’s arrival in Shropshire coincided with the Covid pandemic. However, they put the various lockdowns of 2020 and ‘21 to good use.
“The house was in need of some repair but luckily my husband is a plumber and very practical so we were able to do much of the work ourselves. One of our main projects was to covert an outbuilding into a studio to make the ideal base for Master the Art.
“And that is what we try to do – to help people to master the art of heritage crafts.”
Roger and Kate began running the courses themselves in their respective areas of expertise.
The courses are so intensive, though, that they soon realised they couldn’t really do more than one a month. So, Kate started to investigate crafts she wanted to learn herself and look for specialists to teach them – many of whom she discovered were on the doorstep.
It means Master the Art has grown to offer a wider range of one-day courses led by other experts. They have so far hosted workshops teaching modern decoupage, oil painting flowers, marbled paper, paper flowers dipped in wax, block printing, lampshade making, botanical art with metal, willow weaving, hand painting lampshades, chair caning, Christmas wreath making, planting a bulb lasagne and lino printing.
Master the Art has clearly struck a chord, with around 800 students signing up for courses since the business began, travelling from all over the country as well as wider Europe, the USA and Asia. They are of all ages and backgrounds and although today’s class is made up entirely of women, the female/male percentage split is around 70-30.
Kate believes the courses speak to a basic need. “In an increasingly fast-paced digital world, taking time for yourself is so important. But taking time for yourself and learning a new skill – screen-free – is incredible. The satisfaction of learning something new, perhaps something you didn’t think you were capable of, and making something you can treasure is so therapeutic. We like to think we offer a creative country retreat.
“No prior experience is needed for any course, and bespoke packages can be arranged for groups wanting to share the experience. Our aim is for students to become adept in the techniques of their chosen craft, with the emphasis being on first-hand experience under close supervision with an expert in their field.” Students depart well-versed with something tangible, having hopefully had a fun day learning a new skill.
Though a Master of his craft, Roger firmly believes that anyone can achieve high levels of skill. “Gilding is about precision and perfection and much of it comes with practice. I can demonstrate techniques and help our students acquire them and then it is down to practice, practice, practice.”
Master the Art’s Waxed Paper Flowers courses are run by Charlotte Hepworth, and the Icelandic Poppies made by today’s students – our luncheon companions – are truly impressive. Annabel, from south Shropshire, says: “The course appealed to me as something a little different and I’ve really enjoyed it. The atmosphere is friendly and encouraging and I feel I’ve learnt quite a lot. I’m certainly happy with what I produced.”
Hazel, who travelled across from Lincolnshire, is a self-confessed craft course addict. “I do travel around for courses, it’s my hobby, and this one has been excellent really enjoyable.”
They are full of praise for Shropshire-based Charlotte, who has been crafting waxed paper flowers for over 30 years, an art form rooted in the legacy of the renowned Constance Spry artificial flower studio in London. Trained in art and inspired after meeting a student of Spry’s studio, Charlotte began her career making paper flowers for prestigious clients, including the National Trust and Chatsworth House.
Her work has been featured at numerous fairs across the UK, such as House & Garden and Homes & Gardens in London. Charlotte’s intricate, hand-crafted flowers have also been commissioned by historic venues like Fairfax House in York and Attingham Park.
“I can’t believe I found Charlotte on the doorstep,” says Kate with a broad smile. “So lucky!”
By bizarre chance, it was not Charlotte’s first brush with the family.
“I actually enrolled on one of Roger’s courses many years ago. Of course, he doesn’t remember,” she explains with a broad smile.
Courses at Master the Art are scheduled well into 2026 and there is one that cookery enthusiast Kate is particularly looking forward to. Cooking for Festive Entertaining will be hosted by Jane Lovett, on 7 and 8 November.
The cook, food stylist, recipe developer and author has more than 40 years of experience, having trained at the Cordon Bleu, before teaching at Prue Leith’s School of Food and Wine and going on to run her own catering company in London. As a food stylist, she tested and developed recipes for cookery books, magazines and TV.
“I’m really excited about it. It is a little bit of a coup to have Jane Lovett coming,” Kate adds.
Master the Art has an online shop selling a range of products combining a craft-look with functionality, including hand-painted wall sconces, waste bins and tissue boxes. Other products display malachite, lapis, tortoiseshell or porphyry finishes.
As well as running her courses, Kate undertakes private commissions, the most recent of which was a three-month project involving interior design work at a 27-bedroom Scottish castle.
It’s a full life with Shropshire an integral part of it.
“We’re so happy that we decided to move here,” she reflects.
Unlike her two brothers and two sisters, Kate was born and spent her early years on Guernsey. “I loved it. I have to go back every year.
“Shropshire’s a lot like Guernsey in many ways,” she reflects, adding with a smile, “without the sea obviously.”
For more information visit mastertheart.uk
