Ariel Crittall

Ariel in 2008 at Park Hall. Photograph: Clive Tarling.

Ariel Crittall was born at Orford House, Ugley on November 30th, 1914. Tragically a telegram had been received by Ariel’s mother Margaret on the 19th November to say that that her husband Archie Mercer had been killed in the desert fighting the Turks, only fifteen months after their marriage.

With Ariel’s mother serving in the Voluntary Aid Detachment, Ariel was raised at Orford House by her grandparents. Her grandfather, Will Tennant, or Papa, as she called him, was a huge figure in her life, a benevolent, guiding influence on her.

Ariel had a privileged but at times lonely childhood: ‘In earliest childhood the house did not seem especially large. There were quite separate parts, for example, the attics where the maids slept, (I discovered they were bitterly cold, apparently unheated, when I was exploring aged about five and told my grandmother this dismaying news, I cannot remember her reaction). The nursery had its own bathroom, and backstairs, leading to the kitchen, down which I used to creep hoping to see the young footman who seemed to me wildly good looking.’

‘Ariel on Topsy,’ painting by R A Buxton.

Ariel’s mother remarried in 1922 to brain specialist Jim Birley, with Ariel as bridesmaid. They made their home at 10 Upper Wimpole Street, London. Brother Tom was born in 1923 followed by Linnet and Jay.

At Orford House a French governess taught the children in the school room upstairs, but now in London, Ariel attended a Parents National Educational Union School near Marble Arch run by two redoubtable ladies, enjoying the walk to and from school. Ariel moved on to Queen’s College in Harley Street before going to a boarding school at Haye’s Court near Bromley, a so-called progressive school. On Wednesdays the art class was taken by Marion Richardson, who had revolutionised the methods of teaching art. “All children are gifted with the power to create and should therefore be given equal opportunity to express themselves.”

Drawing of Ariel, aged about 11 by Penny Sutton.

After leaving school, Ariel spent a year in both Paris and Munich learning the languages, studying painting and music and appreciating the culture. And that was how she came to be in Munich in 1933 with her aunt, Nancy Tennant. Nancy, on being asked at a dinner party who she would like to meet in Munich, replied, Adolf Hitler. Expecting nothing more than seeing the chancellor drive past, Ariel and Nancy were amazed to find themselves later being escorted to the heart of the growing Nazi machine, watching Sepp Dietrich, Rudolph Hess and other newly-established Nazis leaving a meeting before being introduced to Hitler. Although Ariel spoke no German, Nancy was fluent, and the 15-minute meeting left a profound impact on them both. Hitler’s most striking features were his, ‘strange, compelling eyes’, recalls Ariel who was chilled, not charmed, by the encounter.

The following turbulent year was spent in Munich, at times in the challenging company of Diana and Unity Mitford, who notoriously fell under Hitler’s spell. But for Ariel, witnessing ranks of boy soldiers training in the forests and hearing first-hand from her Russian landlady, Baronin Von Feilitsch, about conditions in the notorious Hitler youth camps, she heard the distant drums of war. Leaving the worrying affairs in Germany, Ariel returned home and in 1936 she met the handsome John Crittall.

There followed a six-month engagement, the wedding held in 1936 at Thaxted Church. The service was conducted by the Rev. Conrad Noel, known as the Red Vicar of Thaxted because when the flags of the nations were hung in the church during WW1 he insisted on including the red flag from Soviet Russia. The marriage would span half a century.

The Wedding. John and Ariel arriving at Munich Airport on honeymoon.

The couple began married life in Shalford at a house called The Firs but changed by John to ‘Pages’ after the family that had lived there the longest. Harriet was born in a London nursing home on 3rd January 1938. WW2 started and with food rationed a project keeping pigs, goats and bees helped to supply the household rations. Son Francis arrived on 7th April 1940. Ariel recalls: ‘By 1941 the nightly blitz on London was a constant threat: the steady roar of aircraft, the sky toward the city alight from the bombings and the fires. I found it impossible to sleep, coming down into the garden, where at least one other creature was awake, a friendly hornet, buzzing quietly round and round the pear tree.’

During this time Ariel and John made friends with John and Julia Strachey and with Eric and Tirzah Ravilious, then living in Castle Hedingham. Their children were all much the same age as Harriet and Francis.

Ever since on a visit to Tirzah in Castle Hedingham when she opened a door under the stairs and three frogs had jumped out, Ariel was horrified at Tirzah having to live in such a damp house with their three small children, John, James and Ann. She suggested that maybe they could rent the Strachey’s house, which they duly did.

Ariel Crittall, ‘St Mark’s Square,’ c1938. ‘The very first painting I exhibited……. The two seated at table in the extreme right-hand corner are supposed to be John and myself on our honeymoon.

With the war came Ariel’s involvement in local activities, something that was to become an integral part of her life, particularly in the fields of education, health and the arts. Ariel supported many important organisations; she drove one of the first early mobile Citizens Advice Bureau vans, served for many years as a governor of the Tabor High School, was a governor of St George’s Hospital in London and a trustee of Braintree District Museum. Music too was a life-long pleasure and the setting up of the Veteran’s Choir in Finchingfield, was a proud achievement for her. John played an active role in the establishment of the University of Essex for which he was made a CBE in 1979.

By 1942 John was becoming restless working for the Crittall Company and enlisted in the Royal Engineers as a Captain. John was soon posted to Cairo and Ravilious to Iceland. ‘This was, very sadly, the last time that we saw Eric…searching for a missing aircraft…and was never seen again. Tirzah, shattered by this news, soon moved from Shalford to Boydells, near Wethersfield with her three children. We continued to share their lives much as, or more than, before.’

Family group, Crittell’s, Ravilious’s and Strachey’s with Ariel’s childhood friend Maureen Passfield (front centre). Left Ariel holding Laura. Back – James Ravilious, Tirzah, Anne Ravilious, John Ravilious.

John finally returned home from the Lebanon in 1945 and with Ariel’s mother looking after the children enjoyed a trip to Dublin. Baby Charles was born 13th September 1946 with Jim Richards, who had married Peggy Angus, as Godfather.

Feeling a little cramped in their home the family moved to Grove House in Sible Hedingham in March 1948. On the 4th November, a fourth and last baby Laura was born.

The post-war years saw many enjoyable travels and parties with an ever-widening circle of friends. However, John was becoming increasingly annoyed by the hum of cars passing the house and desired a home that was truly quiet and peaceful. Park Hall, near Great Bardfield was once again (1952) on the market and John, having missed the sale of the home four years earlier, this time snapped it up. The 33 acres of land included two cottages, a wide lawn and a small lake.

Park Hall from the lake. Park Hall sitting room.

The 1950s were exciting times for art in Great Bardfield with the Artists’ Open House Exhibitions attracting thousands of visitors to the village eager to see the artists in their own homes. Edward Bawden commenting on the increasing crowds stated: ‘If this goes on, our ceilings will soon come down!’ Ariel threw herself into the event and with the help of American friend Hal Palmer, a former restaurant owner, provided teas, countless scones and sandwiches for the visitors.

Great Bardfield Open Houses Art Exhibition, July 1955. From l to r. Stanley Clifford Smith, John Aldridge, Ariel Crittall, Edward Bawden, Marianne Straub, Michael Rothenstein, Walter Hoyle and George Chapman.

Great Bardfield Open House Art Exhibitions

Ariel and John experienced a journey around the world in 1961 visiting Australia, India, Fiji, New Zealand and home via the USA. The Crittall Company was taken over by Slater Walker in 1968, a constant source of distress to John.

In 1975 John was diagnosed with cancer, he battled on with his many interests and appointments, sadly dying on the 1st July 1980.

Ariel Crittall: Venetian Bottles. Conservatory in the Winter. Still Life Flowers. Summer Flowers. Magnolia. A Bowl of Flowers Beside a Window. There are no dates to these paintings, I’m guessing most are post 1980.

Ariel’s painting and drawing had been confined to her spare time until John’s death but now she concentrated on it seriously. Writer friend Patrick Anderson (died 1979) introduced Ariel to his partner Orlando Gearing. Encouraged by her new friend Orlando (another former Slade student) Ariel began to spend more time drawing and painting. The two friends discovered a mutual love of visiting galleries and concerts. In February 1985 they set off for an adventurous trip to Russia, the precursor to many years of trips sharing their love of the arts.

Orlando with his Fox. 1960’s Painted by his friend Rosie Peto.

Orlando’s health slowly declined and a time came when he had to be moved from Park Hall to a nursing home. Ariel cared for him up to his death, greatly missing her dear companion.

Three landscapes by Ariel: Riberac. Landscape near Riberac. Moulin de Besse near Riviere

She continued to paint long into later life. Her successful solo show at the Thaxted Guildhall in 1999 was to be one of her last but her pictures were submitted to the annual Great Bardfield Art Show for several more years. Having kept diaries all her life and re-reading several of John’s diaries Ariel decided to write an account of her full and varied life. In 2009 she published her memoir, “My Life – Smilingly Unravelled”. A further shorter account of her travels with John in India followed.

Her many friends will recall the frequent ‘salons’ held at Park Hall. Ariel would phone or write (on charmingly recycled postcards) to invite one to drinks at 6.00pm. She would think carefully about who would enjoy meeting whom and the conversation would flow freely, encompassing all aspects of international relations, politics, economics and the arts – it could be a little daunting at times. Sometimes she invited musical friends to perform and occasionally Ariel herself could be persuaded to play duets on the fine Blüthner grand piano.

Ariel knew how fortunate she was to remain at Park Hall as old age and infirmity crept up. Her family continued to delight her and she followed the progress of her grandchildren and great grandchildren with joy. Eschewing television she read voraciously believing that one should never stop learning and her afternoons were often spent reading French or German. Sadly, Ariel was diagnosed with motor neurone disease but she had constant and loving support from family, friends and neighbours and her final days spent looking out across the lawn and lake of Park Hall were tranquil and calm. She died on September 25th, 2012 with her family around her.

Ariel Crittall: Distant View Approaching Dunmow.

Mixed shows included Bury St Edmunds Art Gallery, 1983; work accepted for RA Summer Exhibition, 1985; and in 1994 both Braintree Town Hall and Fry Art Gallery, Saffron Walden. Had a solo show at Quay Gallery, Sudbury, 1986, later ones including University of Essex, 1992; Braintree Town Hall, 1994; and Guild Hall, Thaxted, 1996.

I am indebted to Great Bardfield friends Janet Dyson and Jenny Rooney for their invaluable help with this blog, writing the final four paragraphs to fill in the latter years of Ariel’s life, they were good friends of Ariel. The majority of this blog was written with the help of Ariel’s autobiography ‘My Life, Smilingly Unravelled.’ This book is a fascinating account of a life lived to the full and I would highly recommend this book to anyone wishing to know more about Ariel’s life set against the bigger picture of world events.

‘My Life, Smilingly Unravelled.’ by Ariel Crittall. Published by Braintree District Museum Trust Ltd. ISBN: 978-0-9537936-3-1. The Between the Lines Bookshop, Vine Street, Great Bardfield, Braintree, 01371 810087, booksbetweenthelines@gmail.com……. would be more than willing to help. The book originally priced £12. First published 2009.

AND a ps here of photos of Park Hall, today in September 2023, still a beautiful place !