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3 unusual facts about Charles Robert Ashbee


Charles Robert Ashbee

In 1918 he was appointed civic adviser to the British Mandate of Palestine, overseeing building works and the protection of historic sites and monuments as the chairman of the Pro-Jerusalem Society.

Ashbee wrote two utopian novels influenced by Morris, From Whitechapel to Camelot (1892) and The Building of Thelema (1910), the latter named after the abbey in François Rabelais' book Gargantua and Pantagruel.

Manchester School of Art

When founded, the school promoted the Arts and Crafts movement's philosophy and its collection includes metalwork, jewellery, wallpapers, a tapestry made by Morris & Co. designed by Edward Burne-Jones, Whitefriars glass by James Powell and Sons and George Henry Walton, silverware by Charles Robert Ashbee and ceramics from Pilkington's Art Pottery.


Toynbee Hall

Charles Robert Ashbee, son of erotomaniac Henry Spencer Ashbee, created his Guild of Handicraft whilst a resident at Toynbee Hall in the late 1880s


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