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The Lost Companions and John Ruskins Guild of St George

The Lost Companions and John Ruskins Guild of St George

Mark Frost

(2014)

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Abstract

This important work in Ruskin studies provides for the first time an authoritative study of Ruskin’s Guild of St George. It introduces new material that is important in its own right as a significant piece of social history, and as a means to re-examine Ruskin’s Guild idea of self-sufficient, co-operative agrarian communities founded on principles of artisanal (non-mechanised) labour, creativity and environmental sustainability. The remarkable story of William Graham and other Companions lost to Guild history provides a means to fundamentally transform our understanding of Ruskin’s utopianism.


This major work in Ruskin studies offers a timely re-evaluation of the origins, formation and workings of John Ruskin’s Guild of St George. Drawing on both significant and recently discovered archive material and existing research, this work looks afresh at the genesis of Ruskin’s ideas and their translation into practice.

Since Ruskin criticism began, attention has been drawn to the Guild of St George, Ruskin’s attempt in the 1870s and 1880s to foster a series of self-sufficient, co-operative agrarian communities founded on principles of artisanal (non-mechanised) labour, and creativity and environmental sustainability. While endorsing previous accounts which point to the positive impact of Ruskin’s Guild, this book tempers such readings by considering the often destructive effect of Guild life on the Companions who worked in the communities. An astonishing wealth of previously unpublished correspondence reveals the extent to which Ruskin’s ideological position caused a failure to translate well-meaning idealism into effective social action, and often devastating consequences for those who worked St George’s land. By drawing on entirely new material, it is possible to reveal in detail for the first time the realities of Guild life over an extended period of time. This monograph provides an authoritative work on Ruskin’s utopian experiment, enriching ongoing discussions on sustainable community and bringing Ruskin’s work to a wider audience.


‘The history of the Guild of St George, conceived by Ruskin in 1871 to promote education, handicraft and land use (and still flourishing today), has never been explored in depth. This absorbing book based on new research tells the story of its early years, filled with dreams, disputes and fascinating characters.’ —Stephen Wildman, Director of the Ruskin Library and Research Centre, Lancaster University


‘This is an exceptionally important book which is startlingly original in its historical inquiry. The recovery of the “lost Companions” reveals a sharply different story that will have major significance for understanding Ruskin’s political work.’ —Francis O’Gorman, University of Leeds


‘In a series of extremely well-written chapters, and using a wealth of material missed by those who have written about it previously, Mark Frost reveals the story of the Guild of St George. In the end, it is a tragic story, but a vitally important one for Ruskin studies, for Victorian studies, and for anyone interested in how the sometimes awful costs of good intentions come into being. It is a major contribution.’ —James Spates, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, New York


‘This is an exceptionally important book which is startlingly original in its historical inquiry. The recovery of the “lost Companions” reveals a sharply different story that will have major significance for understanding Ruskin’s political work.’ —Francis O’Gorman, University of Leeds


‘Deftly using a wide range of often unfamiliar or previously unknown sources, Frost completely rewrites the history of Ruskin’s Guild. Meticulously researched, this study recuperates the role played by early Companions in attempting to realise on the ground the fertile ideas Ruskin was articulating in his books and exposes the damaging gulf that increasingly separated the Master from his disciples.’ —Stuart Eagles, author of ‘After Ruskin’


‘In a series of extremely well-written chapters, and using a wealth of material missed by those who have written about it previously, Mark Frost reveals the story of the Guild of St George. In the end, it is a tragic story, but a vitally important one for Ruskin studies, for Victorian studies, and for anyone interested in how the sometimes awful costs of good intentions come into being. It is a major contribution.’ —James Spates, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, New York


‘Deftly using a wide range of often unfamiliar or previously unknown sources, Frost completely rewrites the history of Ruskin’s Guild. Meticulously researched, this study recuperates the role played by early Companions in attempting to realise on the ground the fertile ideas Ruskin was articulating in his books and exposes the damaging gulf that increasingly separated the Master from his disciples.’ —Stuart Eagles, author of ‘After Ruskin’


Mark Frost is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Portsmouth. He received his PhD from the University of Southampton.

Table of Contents

Section Title Page Action Price
The Lost Companions and John Ruskin’s Guild of St George i
Title iii
Copyright iv
CONTENTS vii
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ix
PREFACE xi
FREQUENTLY CITED SOURCES xiii
INTRODUCTION 1
‘Delivering Knights’ 2
New Ground 5
‘The Pathetic Dream’ 6
Towards Polyphony: Back to the Land 10
Chapter One ROOT 15
Springs 16
The Forming Time 16
Ultra-Toryism 20
Eternal Toryism 21
The Denmark Hill Oikos 23
‘No Life Ought to Have Phantoms to Lay’ 24
Interwoven Temper 26
The Trees of Eden 32
Finding Faith 35
Providential Government 37
Venice 40
A Political Writer 43
Charitas 45
Education 47
Sacred Earth 49
Chapter Two GLIMPSING EDEN: 1867– 70 53
The Deluge 54
A Larger Eden 56
The Nation’s Future 57
On the Brink 60
Chapter Three ‘AT LEAST A BEGINING’: 1871–75 61
‘A Legitimate Businessman’: George Allen & Co. (1871–1914) 63
Force, Fortitude, and Fortune: Fors Clavigera (1871–83) 65
‘The First Object of All Work’ 68
Glass Pockets, National Stores 68
Bewdley and Legalities 71
St Giles (1872) 72
Margaret’s Well: Wandel Cleansing (1872–84?) 73
The Paddington Tea Shop (1874–76) 80
Companionship 82
A Mysterious Company 83
Dragon Slayers 85
An Ideal Road: Hinksey (1874–75) 87
1874: Anxious Times 89
Barmouth, 1874 93
The End of the Beginning 95
Chapter Four OPPORTUNITIES: 1875–77 107
Old Projects, Old Problems 108
The Guild Museum 109
The Swans 111
The People’s Museum 113
A Company Creed 117
Militant Companions 118
‘A Grave Thing to Take a Man from His Business’ 121
Spinning Yarns: Egbert Rydings 123
Trials 125
Companionship 129
Barmouth: ‘The First Bit of Ground’ 131
The Sheffield Communists 133
Life on the Farm 139
Trouble in Paradise 142
Totley and the Trustees 144
The Museum 145
Shepherd’s Library 149
The Guild 150
Chapter Five DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES: 1878–81 153
‘The Dream’ 155
Totley: End of Phase 1 158
A Disciple Of Whitman: William Harrison Riley (Fig. 3) 160
St George’s Farm 163
Downhill: Totley Phase 2 166
Bewdley, 1878 173
‘My Dear Graham’ 175
Cloughton Pioneers 179
‘Unable to Attend to Business of that Nature’ 185
James Burdon’s Trial 188
St George’s Mill, 1878 189
The National Store 193
An Organisation 194
Chapter Six THE LONG DECLINE AND THE GREAT DISPUTE: 1882–1900 197
Swansong 199
May Queens 200
Susan Miller 201
Huddersfield 202
Thomson and Rydings: Companion Weavers? 203
Langdale 204
‘Unpardonable Defects’ 206
Dirty Linen 209
‘Best to Pay Him Off ’ 214
‘A “Companions Militant” Point of View’ 217
AFTERWORD 221
Appendix COMPANIONS OF THE GUILD OF ST GEORGE: EARLY LISTS 225
March 1876 Companions Roll: 32 Companions (Cook and Wedderburn, 34.703) 225
1876 Diary List of Companions: 37 Companions (Ruskin Library, MS 20, p.103v, p. 104v) 225
December 1883 Companions List: 41 Companions (Fors Clavigera, Letter 93; Cook and Wedderburn, 29.477) 225
Members of the Guild 1884 (appended to Trustee’s Report 1883): 57 Companions (Cook and Wedderburn, 30.86) 226
NOTES 227
Introduction 227
Chapter One Roots 227
Chapter Two Glimpsing Eden: 1867–70 228
Chapter Three ‘At Least a Beginning’: 1871–75 229
Chapter Four Opportunities: 1875–77 230
Chapter Five Dreams and Nightmares: 1878–81 231
Chapter Six The Long Decline and the Great Dispute: 1882–1900 232
BIBLIOGRAPHY 233
INDEX 239