The parish church of St Mary’s, Stalbridge, was packed on Thursday 28th May for the funeral of Isabel de Pelet (née Cazenove), who died peacefully on 9th May 2026, aged 84 and just a few days short of the diamond anniversary of her marriage to Richard de Pelet. Family and friends filled the church and many more watched the service on screens in a marquee close by in Stalbridge Park.
Probably one of the best-loved people in North Dorset, Isabel was renowned for her deep Christian faith, for her concern for children and young people, for her compassion and kindness, and for her active support of the visual arts and emerging artists in the area, particularly through Guggleton Farm, later Guggleton Arts Centre and most recently The Gugg, the gallery and workshops in converted stone farm buildings in Stalbridge.
Her daughter, Caroline de Pelet Abraham, gave a moving tribute to her mother in which she spoke of Isabel’s ‘unwavering faith’ and the importance she placed on duty. ‘She carried herself with grace,’ she said. ‘She was steadfast and wise.’ But while her faith was lifelong and deep, it was not without humour. Caroline recalls her mother’s ability to find a car parking space. ‘She was fearless in asking God to help her.’ And it usually worked.
Isabel’s contribution to the visual arts scene was huge and came from her recognition of ‘the difficulties young artists faced after finishing college,’ said Caroline. Guggleton provided support, embodying the idea of art in a social context. ‘She was a mentor to many artists.
Born in Cornwall, into a family of French Huguenot descent, the Countess Isabel de Pelet was one of four siblings, including the actor Christopher Cazenove (known for roles in many television dramas including The Duchess of Duke Street and Dynasty). She went to Sunny Hill School at Bruton, and came out as a debutante. She met her future husband at a dance at Castle Cary, and they were married in London in May 1966 by the Abbot of Downside.
Although acting was not her chosen art form, during the 1980s she had small parts in two Merchant-Ivory films, Heat and Dust, and The Remains of the Day.
Count Richard de Pelet had been in the French army and later studied as a solicitor, before changing direction to study at the Royal Agricultural College (now university) at Cirencester. He joined Christie’s, the international art and antique auction house, and after a period in New York, the couple settled in North Dorset, from 1999 their home was Inwood, near Henstridge.
Here Isabel rapidly became a central figure in the visual arts scene. After studying art at Yeovil College she did a degree in environmental arts at the University of the West of England in Bristol. Buying the semi-derelict Guggleton Farm, off Station Road in Stalbridge, gave her first a venue for an exhibition of her own work and also, once the site was tidied up and old stone buildings restored, for an arts centre where she could help young and emerging artists and explore ideas of art in a social context.
Guggleton opened in 1995, with the particular aim of benefitting recent graduate artists by providing studio space and a gallery, in which to show their work on a regular basis. From the start, the programme included the Young Artists exhibition, held annually before Christmas, featuring a wide range of work – paintings, prints, pottery, sculpture and more – by artists aged 35 and under. Many of the artists whose work was first given a public showing by Isabel have gone on to successful careers.
Over the years, the programme broadened to encompass drawing, painting and sculpture courses from a purpose-designed studio, with lectures as well as the exhibitions where Isabel showed the work of new artists and those she knew and admired, in a wide range of media and in styles that ranged from traditional and naturalistic to contemporary and abstract.
Isabel, who was also a stalwart of Bruton Art Society, and for many years chaired the Royal Bath and West Show art pavilion, became and remained a great supporter of the CIC (Community Interest Company), The Guggleton, which grew out of the foundations that she built.
Memories of Isabel de Pelet
Two of Isabel’s ‘young artists’ from the early years at Guggleton were Katie Scorgie and Michelle McCullagh. Katie is best known as an equestrian artist and a painter of hounds, military scenes and landscapes. She has a studio at Hinton St Mary. Katie remembers: ‘After I graduated in the summer of 2000 and moved to Hinton St Mary, I saw that Isabel was having a young person’s exhibition at the Guggleton and, not yet feeling confident about calling myself an artist nor wanting to part with my degree show work, I tentatively turned up at the end of the show on “collection day” to show Isabel my work, rather than on “handing in” day! I remember that Isabel didn’t make me feel silly, she just politely suggested that I put some entries in for the following year.
‘I exhibited in the show for the next two years, by which time, at 36, I had passed the threshold requirement to be classed as a ‘young artist’. I exhibited at Guggleton from time to time, including in 2013, in a three-woman show with Liz Tyler and Debbie Burt. It was a great space in which to show your work, and Isabel was kind enough to let the artists use her mailing list.
‘Isabel really got the struggles facing young artists when they start out – how daunting and overwhelming it can be, where even to start, and how artists can have imposter syndrome. Who do I even think I am, exhibiting my work?
‘She was always encouraging and kind, giving sound advice.
‘Isabel herself was a talented artist and she generously bought pieces of work from her artists, giving us validation and encouragement. Exhibiting at the Guggleton was a rung on the ladder of the careers for many of us. Her contribution to the arts and artists will live on in the careers of many of us and she will be greatly missed.’
Michelle McCullagh, who is also renowned as an equestrian artist, says that Isabel was ‘a huge influence for good for so many people, encouraging, enabling and giving of her time selflessly and generously.
‘I was extremely lucky to meet her at the very beginning of my career at The Royal Bath and West show. I was one of many who benefitted from her kindness and patronage at Guggleton Gallery, which is where I had my first solo exhibition and first proper studio space for many years.
‘Guggleton was a peaceful, beautiful art space that Isabel created for many lucky artists. Isabel, we owe you so much. I even met my husband thanks to you!’
A talent for exhibitions
Fanny Charles is not an artist, but for many years as editor of the original Blackmore Vale Magazine, which was based in Stalbridge, she wrote about the visual arts, interviewed artists working in many media and came to know Isabel well. She recalls the early 1990s when Isabel took her degree in environmental arts. ‘I remember going to Guggleton with her, before it was done up. She was showing some of her environmental and landscape-inspired work – it was something quite different for Stalbridge!’
Isabel soon began the process of saving as many of the old stone buildings as possible, to create both a gallery for exhibitions and spaces for studios for local artists and makers.
‘I went with her many times to view the work restoring the stone buildings and clearing the site. She would describe her ideas for the studios and for a programme of exhibitions which would bring leading artists from the region, as well as supporting emerging artists straight out of college or still very much at the start of their careers.
“I always got a sneak preview of the Young Artists exhibition so that I could photograph work ready for a preview in the BVM, and before some of the paintings had little red spots [to show they had been sold]. It was exciting to see the range of talents and the different media that young artists were working in.’
For many years, Isabel organised and hung the local artists exhibition in the art pavilion at the Royal Bath & West Show at Shepton Mallet. A couple of times Fanny helped her. ‘If anyone thinks that hanging an exhibition is easy, they should try it,’ she says. ‘You have hundreds of paintings – and every single artist wants their painting or print to look its best.
‘But you only have a limited number of screens and boards and it’s a marquee and the lighting is not perfect. Trying to select the best or most striking works to show to best advantage is incredibly difficult – and Isabel was brilliant at it. She was also very firm and clear in what work deserved to be seen. She had very wide-ranging interests, and wasn’t at all afraid of abstract or “difficult” art. And if people didn’t like it, she was always (politely) clear that she thought it was a good painting or print or pot and it deserved to be shown.’
by Fanny Charles
