Ditchling Museum of Art & Craft

Ditchling Museum of Art & Craft specialises in showcasing the artists and craftspeople who made Ditchling a creative hub in the twentieth century - people like Eric Gill, the sculptor, printmaker and typeface designer; Edward Johnston, designer of the London Underground font; and printer Hilary Pepler. Edward Johnston and Eric Gill established Ditchling as the heart of a revolution in lettering at the beginning of the twentieth century. One of the stars of the museum’s permanent collection is the Stanhope printing press, which was the first press acquired by Hilary Pepler and represents the very beginning of the St Dominic’s Press (the publishing arm of the Guild of St. Joseph and St. Dominic). We wanted to use the press in the museum to demonstrate how letterpress printing worked, bringing the process alive for visitors.