Beachcombing's Bizarre History Blog

Ann Atkin and the Gnomes December 16, 2016

Aged 7 or 8 Beach had a life changing experience in the garden of a Mrs Ann Atkin’s in south-western England. He stumbled on this article today and wanted to publish it for the historical record, but also out of, well, gratitude. Briefly he was a member of the Gnome Club of Great Britain. Somewhere he may even have his membership card.

Mrs Ann Atkin has 1,500 gnomes at the bottom of her garden and elsewhere at home in North Devon. That goes a long way towards explaining why in the course of a year 8,000 or more people find their way to the old rectory at West Putford, tramp through the gates and self consciously put on pixie hats before having a good look around. Mrs Atkin likes her guests to dress the part when they visit her Gnome Reserve. And she likes them to meet plenty of gnomes. Those in the 4 acre reserve range in size from concrete giants weighing well over 1 cwt to little ceramic specimens that would sit in an egg cup (and probably do). Half of them lurk in the small copse that occupies part of the garden. There are reclining gnomes, fishing gnomes, reading gnomes, gardening gnomes, mining gnomes, musical gnomes, gnomes on sticks, gnomes with lizards, even a gnome in a mini-kilt. They are distributed among the beech roots and amid the moss and (real) toadstools. Many of them are made by Mrs Atkin, an artist who trained at the Royal Academy schools, who sends about 200 to the kiln every fortnight. She is founder of the Gnome Club of Great Britain and Gnome International. As well, she edits Gnome News, published three times a year. She is, in short, a sort of spokesman for gnomes in a doubting world. She has been playing that role for three years and she for one, has no doubt about the source of the inspiration that impelled her to take on the job in the first place. Mrs Atkin not only believes in gnomes, she also believes in their ability to do good. In a statement explaining her happy commitment she says: ‘Gnomes represent a very real force in nature. Little children naturally imagine and can become a part of the world of gnomes and fairies, but as they get older the pressures of the outer technological world crowd in so that it can become difficult for them to retain their vision into adult life. It makes me happy if I can bring little glimpses of the land of gnomes, presented in a tangible form, to share with children and adults.’ Mrs Atkin makes no charge for visitors who want to glimpse that land. And she certainly gains pleasure from their company. ‘You can be as serious as you like about gnomes but gnomes themselves are always funny,’ she says. ‘I hear people laughing all day long. How many jobs do you get where you can hear people laughing?’ Mrs Atkin, who was wearing a white blouse with red spots, a black corduroy waistcoat, a flowered skirt and black stockings and shoes, does not, understandably, invite guests to laugh at her. ‘I am really quite practical.’ she insists, anxiously, as though somebody might suggest that the whole enterprise seems eccentric.

Note that this marvelous individual is still going strong: the only difference is that now she has 2000. It is the persistence that Beach finds so impressive. Anything else on Ann Atkin? drbeachcombing At yahoo dot com

This is Trip Advisor’s take.

Source: Illustrated London News, 1 Jul 1981.

‘A very realy force in nature’, makes Ann sound theosophical.