The Motor House
The Motor House in North Yorkshire is a place where several major traditions in the making of art in Britain are grounded, coming together in a unique form. It is a place of making and collaboration, focussed on experimental and innovative work, and has been established as a working space for artists for over 40 years.
In practice it embodies the work of Miles Richmond and David Seaton, and in heritage the work of David Bomberg, William Morris, Philip Webb, and John Ruskin. It is a place of singular importance, holding threads of uniquely pressurised concerns for the arts.
The Motor House is one of the most important surviving buildings at Rounton. Designed by Philip Webb’s assistant and successor to Webb’s practice George Jack, The Motor House originally housed the cars for the Bell family. On the ground floor are 6 garages, 5 of which have been converted into studio space. There are spacious outbuildings, an adjoining Fowl House, (part of the original Rounton Grange and which was remodelled as stabling by Philip Webb) which now serves as workshop space, coupled with extensive outdoor space. The house was designed with living premises for the chauffeur and his family on the first floor. It is a well-crafted and unique building.
In the early 1980s The Motor House was repurposed as studios by Miles and Susanna Richmond and their extended family, notably David Seaton. The first workshop held at The Motor House in 1982 was conducted by Harry Thubron. Since the early 1980s The Motor House has been host to many visiting groups of artists, and has worked with a wide variety of universities and independent groups to provide space for artists to work at scale and in all media. It has been a catalyst for creativity for many artists and some of our working partners to date include The University of Hertfordshire, Teesside University and The Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam.
