Dimbola Lodge – Julia Margaret Cameron

Last week I was working in Portsmouth digitising the Overlord Embroidery at the DDay Museum. I’ll blog about that via the proper channels as it was work work.

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Heres a sneak preview that I posted on Twitter.

As I was in the area it seemed a shame to have driven all that way and not take the opportunity to visit Dimbola Lodge, the home of the Victorian Photographer Julia Margaret Cameron.

So on the Friday morning I took a hovercraft across from Portsmouth to the Isle of Wight. From the port, Ryde, I took a bus to Newport, and from there a bus to Freshwater via Falmouth. Lets just say I hadn’t realised how large the Isle of Wight is.

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Two and a half hours I arrived at Dimbola Lodge. £5 entry with Giftaid.

There are a number of different rooms on the upper floors. One section has a large number of “copies” of framed albumen prints. There are a number of cameras and small section describing the history of her photographic works.

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The small display with audio.

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Theres also her bedroom fitted out in Victorian furniture and textiles.

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A view from a window just for Shane.

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The other exhibitions were by a local artist and an exhibition about the Isle of White Music festival. This is the home of a much celebrated Victorian artist, overall I was glad I visited but felt a little disappointed in that there wasn’t really that much there. I’m sure there’s more that can be done than just some reproduction prints and an aged display. I appreciate that this is run by a charitable trust but I feel there is a missed opportunity here. An under utilised historical gem.

Theres a decent used book store next door thats well worth a visit.