A HIDDEN garden at the top of Stroud has been filled with stones by a carver who is nursing an ambition to become the area's MP as an independent socialist.

Nearby to The Golden Fleece pub on Nelson Street is nestled a garden cultivated by Anne Creed.

She used to own a newsagents in town called Backhouse on Middle Street with partner James Walsh but they retried in 2014.

Aside from reflecting Anne’s hard work since retirement, the garden, which is on the site of a former electrical shop, also houses several stones engraved with poetry and quotes.

They were carved by Jim Pentney, a self-described “William Morris socialist” who thinks the politics of the father of the arts and crafts movement are more relevant today than ever.

Jim and Anne in the garden

So much so that Jim is considering standing on a Morris platform in Stroud at the next general election.

“Every one of my stones has a different story,” he recently told the SNJ.

One of them in the garden features quotes from Gloucester-born WW1 poet Ivor Gurney, carved into the slate from an old snooker table Jim rescued from a skip.

“With this one I thought: it’s cracked. That could represent Gurney’s own mental breakdown or even the break-up of Europe during the war.”

Another features a quote from the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, first drawn to Jim’s attention by a friend who works at the international organisation.

Jim put it in the garden ahead of 70th anniversary of the Declaration, signed on December 10, 1948.

“The stones come to me one way or another, and I just see what I can do with them,” said Jim.

Jim ended up in Stroud when he decided on living in a narrow boat on the Sharpness canal - he later lined the canal with a series of stones engraved with haikus.

His previous career had been in community nursing, but he took up carving after being encouraged by friend Tom Perkins, a carver of 40 years who has acted as Jim’s mentor,

“I’m semi-amateur and untrained - but I’m lucky enough to be surrounded by those who are trained,” said Jim, whose wife practices calligraphy.

The next career move for Jim, however, could be into politics.

Over in Selsley Church Jim has set up an exhibition on not only his artistic but intellectual hero: William Morris, who actually designed the church’s stained glass windows.

Known most famously today for his wallpapers, Morris, who died in 1896, was also a poet, calligrapher, and early British socialist.

“Morris was not only a man of craft but a man of politics,” explained Jim.

“And his thought is needed now more than ever.

“He has answers to the challenges of today, like what we all do with artificial intelligence taking our jobs.

“Morris would say: well now we can all get on and create things for the sake of creating things, and get that satisfaction that comes with making things with our hands.”

Jim thinks the creative community in Stroud is of the kind that Morris envisioned.

“A lot of people in Stroud, those in the their middle years or are retired, turn to arts and crafts for something to do in their free time.

“It’s daytime TV or carving - take your pick.”

Jim is still undecided on whether he will be definitely running for the Stroud seat.

In the meantime, you might find him carving in Anne's community garden - and it is open to the public, so why not pop in yourself.