‘A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction’.
Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own, Penguin Classics 1928
‘And also a four cylinder saloonwith a hand operated clutch’.
Attributed to Richmal Crompton
The Hosking Houses Trust exists to provide women writers, poets, artists and musicians over 40 'a room of one's own' - a place where they can write, paint, compose, create. Church Cottage is a beautiful, one up-one down cottage in the heart of Clifford Chambers and offers just that. An established programme of writers in residence has marked the Trust as a key provider of an opportunity craved by those who create - space and time away from the often distracting world of the everyday. The Trust receives hundreds of requests from writers every year from women often working in difficult creative circumstances - everyday responsibilities and duties which can distract and engulf. In the cases of those chosen for residencies, a short time away from these responsibilities allows the creative process to flourish unfettered and gives them the simple gifts of time and space.
The next stage in the Trust's plan is to carry out much needed repairs and additions to Church Cottage - to enable its work to continue.
The cost of these renovations are ongoing, but over the next three years will be in the region of £20,000. The Trust is looking to raise a proportion of this through Crowdfunding to give people the chance to be a part of a unique and worthwhile arts project, which has an established national and international reputation whilst keeping it's feet well and truly on the ground.
Sarah Hosking, the founder of the Trust says: 'Having successfully established a ‘Writer in Residence’ (and it has taken about three thousand letters over ten years to achieve), my aim now is to secure the future and fabric of Church Cottage to provide a creative space in tranquil, domestic circumstances.'