Your Northumberland Guide Blog: A Visit to the Congregational in Rothbury

The Congregational Art Gallery and Cafe in Rothbury

We've known about the Congregational Art Gallery for a while and it's one of those places that we've been meaning to visit for ages - a week or so ago we finally got round to it - and we are so glad we did, what a hidden treasure!

Open from March until December in the beautiful Village of Rothbury, the Congregational Art Gallery (pictured left) bills itself as 'Contemporary British Art with a Northern Edge'. You'll find the gallery at the far West of the Village, set back off the main road that leads through to Thropton, just passed the majority of the shops on the high street. Rothbury has more than its fair share of churches and from the outside you would think that this was another place of worship.... but oh no!

The gallery is really successful as a contemporary space for art, despite its classic Grade II listed setting. We were particularly impressed with the good use of natural light giving a bright and airy feel to the art on display.

It was the Winter Exhibition that we saw, showcasing local and international artists from the finest ceramics and glassware to high quality prints and even a selection of greetings cards and gifts. The cosy seating area with a roaring fire was a really nice touch so we decided to stop for lunch while we were there. The Congregational cafe offers a limited menu in the off-season, with a choice of soups, scones and cakes with a range of coffees available when we visited.

We opted for the spiced lentil soup with a cheese and chive scone and pumpkin seed topping and the mushroom soup with home made bread. Cappuccinos were expertly made and delivered to us in no time, what a winter warmer this light lunch turned out to be! Beautifully spiced soup and a scone as light as a feather, just delicious.

We then took the opportunity to browse the wonderful gallery, there are plenty of talking points here and we had plenty of different opinions on the pieces, but that's the beauty of art. We had a fantastic hour or so at the gallery and would definitely recommend a visit if you're in the Rothbury area. Rothbury really does punch above its weight with many independent retailers, galleries and a great cafe culture and the Congregational stands amongst them perfectly. I'll leave you with a few photos of the gallery and their contact details at the bottom of the page.