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AN EXHIBITION
StoreyG2’s “LANDED” project was featured in an exhibition at the Peter Scott Gallery, Lancaster University in 2018. This group exhibition was entitled “CONDUCT” included displays on both the completed project “Landed (Freeman’s Wood)”, and the then current project “Landed (Cadastral Maps)”. It included the Land Registry plot map by Layla Curtis, the Ordnance Survey map of the study area, and a selection of photocopies of archive documents displayed loose on a shelf.
A FIELD TRIP
The Landscape Research Group (LRG), which had funded the pilot project “LANDED (Cadastral Maps)”, decided to hold their annual meeting in Lancaster in May 2019, requesting me and the other artists, Layla Curtis and Rebecca Chesney, to contribute presentations about this work. Also, they asked if I could lead a guided visit to the selected geographic slice of north Lancashire.
I was delighted to be given this opportunity not only to tell people about our work, but to show them the land. The LRG arranged the hire of a minibus, and I planned a route from the coast at Cockersand Abbey to the moors at the Trough of Bowland, exploring the ownership of the land on the way.
On the previous evening, Rebecca Chesney gave a talk about the project to the Group. Next day the LRG members, who had come from around the UK and across Europe, were joined by Layla Curtis and I on the minibus.
I had planned the route to include short visits to the notable locations in our study, where possible, and to point out others as we passed.
The first stop was to walk across the field to the remains of Cockersand Abbey, which is on the coast, and is our westerly marker point. We then headed east and drove up to the front of Thurnham Hall for a quick look.
Next going south through Cockerham village, east across to the A6, and briefly north to the grand entranceway to Ellel Grange. Then crossing the railway and the M6, the next location I pointed out was land owned by the Duchy of Lancaster.
We looked over the hedge at Wyreside Hall as we passed, and then drove up onto the moors, where we stopped at one of the highest points on the road and got out for a chat, and to enjoy a spectacular view of our plot, looking west to the coast and north and east across the valley of Over Wyresdale. Most of the land in this valley and the surrounding moorland is owned by the Duke of Westminster.
Then we continued to our east marker point, the Great Stone of Trough at the Trough of Bowland, which marks the old border between the counties of Lancashire and Yorkshire. After a lengthy stop we back turned west, and next stopped for a short walk up the northern side of the valley where we could see across to our earlier stopping point on the south side, and again west to the sea.
Next we stopped near Abbeystead for short talks by various members of the party. It was then time to make our way back to Lancaster for participants to catch trains towards home from the station.