Stanley Spencer Gallery

Following a Heritage Lottery Fund award of £800,000 the Gallery has now re-opened (on September 29, 2007) after being closed for one year.

The Stanley Spencer Gallery, opened in 1962, is unique as the only gallery in Britain devoted exclusively to an artist in the village where he was born and spent most of his working life.

To Spencer, Cookham was the scene of heavenly visitations and its influence can be seen when touring the village. Set in the heart of the village he immortalised, the gallery occupies the former Victorian Methodist Chapel where Spencer was taken as a child to worship.

Not far from 'Fernlea', the cottage where Spencer was born and lived in Cookham High Street, the gallery was opened in 1962 as a memorial through the effort of the people of Cookham and support from far beyond. It can be found at the end of the High Street (opposite the Bel and Dragon pub).

The gallery is self-supporting and exhibits are changed during the year. It contains a permanent collection of his work, together with letters, documents, memorabilia, and the pram in which Spencer wheeled his equipment when painting landscapes. It also displays important works on long-term loan, and mounts a winter and summer exhibition each year. Over a thousand works have been shown since the gallery opened.