Art and design students from Telford College will have their work exhibited at one of Shropshire’s historic country houses next month, thanks to a partnership with the National Trust.
Second-year students on the level two and three courses took a field trip to Sunnycroft in Wellington to create pieces of work for a live art competition.
Their work will be displayed at the historic Victorian villa, off Holyhead Road, over the bank holiday weekend of May 3-6.
Sunnycroft is a time capsule tourist attraction with original wallpapers, Maw’s tiles, gold medal winning fireplaces, and everyday items belonging to the families who once lived there.
The five acres of garden is complete with a glass house, conservatory, kennels, pigsties and stables, plus a croquet lawn, and Edwardian tea-room.
A fundraising campaign is currently under way to pay for renovation work on the glass house – one of only two remaining R. Halliday designs of its kind in the country.
Telford College tutor Anna Dowdall said: “Students hope their work, inspired by the building and its grounds, will encourage visitors to Sunnycroft to help raise further funds.
“They really enjoyed having exclusive access to the house and grounds, and learnt a lot about the history of the house and the owners.
“They created some lovely primary studies to inspire their design ideas, and it was also great team-building time.”
Chloe Jones, one of the students, said: “I love it here – I want to live here. Another member of the group, Kimberley Okai, added: “We had a great day; it’s been such a laugh.”
