The Steward’s House Art Gallery

The Steward’s House was built in the 1700s to act both as a residence and an office for the Mount Steward. At the time, the population of the village was about 300 people and included three pubs, a school and various activities connected to a thriving harbour. It is the grandest building in the harbour area and one of the few that survives from before the great Victorian restorations on the island that started in the 1870s.

This is one of the properties on the Mount that still belong to the St Aubyn family, who as well as restoring the building itself, have also created an intimate walled garden at the rear of the Steward’s House for visitors to enjoy.

Inside: Newlyn School artwork

The Steward’s House is currently home to the Sheila Hichens Collection which comprises artwork by Newlyn School artists that depict how life was lived in west Cornwall before the middle of the twentieth century. This exhibition of artwork will be available to visit in the Steward’s House, free of charge, for visitors to the island. 

Showcasing the famed Newlyn School

This culturally significant collection contains more than 40 paintings and is currently displayed in the Steward’s House. It includes many works by acclaimed Newlyn School artists such as Walter Langley, Stanhope Forbes, Laura Knight, and Harold Harvey. The Newlyn School began in the 1880s and continued into the first half of the twentieth century. Artists came to west Cornwall attracted by the beauty of the scenery, quality of light, simplicity of life, and the drama of the sea. They would often paint their subject in the open air, in a purer, more natural, setting.

Who was Sheila Hichens?

Sheila Hichens was born in 1924 and her childhood was deeply rooted in West Cornwall, where her father was headmaster of Lescudjack School in Penzance and her grandfather lived in Newlyn. After winning a scholarship to Exeter University, she had a successful career as an educationalist and travelled widely, but in retirement came back to live in Mousehole before she bought her grandfather’s old house in Newlyn. 

A significant Cornish art collection

Sheila died in 2012 and by virtue of her Will, the Sheila Hichens Trust was formed to create a specific art collection to showcase life in west Cornwall before the middle of the twentieth century. Her trustees are William Rogers and Lord St Levan.

Find out more about the Sheila Hichens Collection here.

Outside: a remarkable sculpture

A new work by sculptural artist Tom Leaper can be found in the Steward’s House garden.

Commissioned by Lord & Lady St Levan, the piece titled ‘St Michael’ is cast in patinated bronze and plated with gold. The abstract artwork represents Saint Michael the Archangel, the sweeping wings, the sword and the slaying of Satan. When sunlight falls upon the work from the west, it casts a shadowy silhouette of the serpent on the ground.

The precise placement of this piece is significant, standing in alignment with the church on top of the Mount which in turn aligns with the seven locations across Europe and the Middle East dedicated to the Archangel St Michael found on the St Michael line (also referred to as the Apollo ley line). These seven points are also referenced by seven circles of gold on the handle of the sword.