Cockington Court was honoured to be visited by HRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall on Monday 20 July.
The Royal couple were met by TDA staff, to the sound of The Samba ROC band, before Cockington Court’s Director Marissa Wakefield gave a tour of the Grade II listed Manor House, grounds and its creative studios, which are home to 20 local artists and craft makers.
The centre which is managed by TDA on behalf of Torbay Council operates as both a visitor attraction and centre of creativity. It provides a thriving hub of creativity and nurtures an entrepreneurial spirit amongst talented and local creative makers. Seasonal exhibitions, along with Cockington Court’s ‘Artist in Residence Programme’ contribute to the site’s ongoing commitment to making art accessible to all.
During the visit, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall met with the Court’s Artist in Residence, James Murch after meeting some of the centres craft makers including Our Glass, who create coloured glassware using traditional roman glassmaking skills and Rex and Katie Latham, award-winning blacksmiths. The Royal couple were also introduced to several of the artists and craft makers based at Cockington Court in the beautiful rose garden.
For part of their visit, Their Royal Highnesses split. His Royal Highness, President of The Prince’s Trust took the opportunity to meet with young people supported by His Royal Highnesses youth charity, whilst Her Royal Highness met with representatives from the local Arts and Culture community.
Marissa Wakefield Cockington Court Director said, “It was an incredible privilege to welcome The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall to Cockington Court and be able to share what amazing things happen here. To be able to support local incredible creative talent has always been our passion and to receive royal recognition of the work we do here, and the awareness that their visit will create is just fantastic.”
Vince Flower, Chair of TDA Board said: “It has been a real honour to welcome The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall to Torbay. Their visit to Cockington Court shines a light on the fantastic work being done to support local creativity and to make art accessible for all. Cockington Court is a fantastic free visitor attraction for everyone to enjoy.”
Cockington Court has a busy schedule of events planned for the Summer including an Insect themed sculpture trail, gallery exhibition by award-winning sculptor Nik Burns as well as outdoor theatre performances, horse-drawn carriage rides alongside the chance to visit the creative makers of Cockington while they work on site in their studios.
Visit the Cockington Court website and discover the many reasons to visit.
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