Tag Archives: eccleshall

Post Me a Letter

Post Office, Front Street, Acomb

I’ve been making my way through a long list of unfinished jobs – gradually bringing things I’ve started to completion. A theme in my drawings caught my attention as I noticed several post offices and letter boxes feature in the streetscapes. I like to include some of the street furniture – bus stops, telephone boxes etc to bring some context.

My most recent street drawings of Acomb, York are now up on my website. I started a set of four drawings back in February 2020 and it has taken 18 months to get them scanned. I return to my former workplace to do this – it gives me the chance to see my old workmates at HHA in Stafford (see later on in this post) . I will write more about the Acomb drawings in another post but wanted to take a moment to look at post offices on my streetscapes.

Lets scroll back through my work …. here we are in Lanark, 2019 on West Port. The Post Office is now on Bannantyne Street but this letter box remains outside the location of the old PO on West Port.

Mucky Paws now settled in Lanark’s former Post Office
Post Box on the corner of Greenside Lane and Hope Street, Lanark

There’s a rare Victorian (VR) letter box built into the wall outside Christ Church on Hope St, Lanark, well maintained in painted pillar box red.

Post Box – VR Victoria Regina – outside Christ Church, Lanark.

Moving down to Eccleshall in Staffordshire, I picked up the Post Office on Stafford Street, where there is a substantial ‘ER’ post box outside.

Post Office, Stafford Street, Eccleshall

You can see the rest of this street here on my street archive blog.

Next up is a sketch I made of the letter box on the platform at Stoke-on-Trent station.

Post Box on the platform at Stoke-on-Trent station

This is a bit of a personal favourite as it has a connections to old friends in Staffordshire. This one is a ‘GR’ – George Rex.

Stepping back on the Drawing the Street time line, we reach Audlem, Cheshire. Back in 2014 there was a Post Office here on Stafford Street.

Post Office (long since gone) Stafford Street, Audlem, Cheshire

Last of all, is Market Place in Burslem. This too was drawn in 2014.

Post Office, Market Place, Burslem

A regular double sized ‘ER’ post box sits outside the PO Burslem. Here, I included one of my work colleagues, with a bag inscribed ‘HHA’ (Horsley Huber Architects), which marked that the office had been involved in some repair work on this building back then.

I love these little details. They bring the drawings alive!

Thanks as always for reading,

Ronnie

Happy Birth Year Mr Renshaw!

pen ink and natural pigment wash on cartridge paper
Cottages on Stone Road Eccleshall, Staffordshire

Not long ago I received an email from Mr Tom Renshaw who used to live at no 9 Stone Road Eccleshall. Tom had received a birthday card from his daughter which showed the cottages closer to the town centre which I drew a couple of years ago.

2crop Stone Rd Eccleshall Ronnie Cruwys

Tom gave some insights into the earlier life of some of the buildings – the wooden fronted building used to be a corn merchant, ‘F.Gardner’ and the building next to it a bakery, ‘where we would buy bread fresh from the oven and eat it without butter or anything else’.

Stone Rd Eccleshall Ronnie Cruwys.jpg

When you reach 82, why not celebrate the whole year? It allows me time to wish you a very happy belated birthday Tom and to sign off with a close up of your former home.

Stone Rd 7 to 13.jpg

 

 

&Buttons and Flowers

So here we have the finished drawing of 32 to 56 High Street, Eccleshall, complete with guest appearances by local residents. This has been great fun to include you all and I hope you can still recognise yourselves…

buildings on high Street Eccleshall
Next along Eccleshall High Street

Drawing of Sean Hirst Flowers Eccleshall Staffordshire
“Sean Hirst Flowers” and  “&Buttons”, Eccleshall High St.

man walking dog in drawing of Eccleshall
Walking the dog

Caroline on the High Street
Calling the shots

pen and ink drawing with gallery at 12 member
Staffordshire Artist picking up texts after a Gallery meeting

Eccleshall high Street artwork
Valentines, Eccleshall

Greetings cards are now in stock  at Gallery at 12 in Eccleshall of this latest drawing. Prints also available to order and you can see the drawing in full over on my website:Drawing the Street.

 

Dave Hall
Father and son

Thanks for joining me!

Ronnie

 

Eccleshall people bringing life to the street

1People of Eccleshall
A few quick pencil sketches of Eccleshall people before inking on to paper

Whenever I draw a street scene, I like to include the people who are around at the time. This has become just as important as recording the buildings as it’s the people who bring the street to life.

1a Eccleshall from Buttons to Valentinos.jpg
Work in progress on the next stage of Eccleshall High Street

Although I already had a few photos of people, I put a call out on social media to invite volunteers from Eccleshall to step on to my latest drawing of the High Street by sending me a photo of themselves or friends along this part of the street.

I was delighted when the photographer Caroline Burley sent me a selection of photos of figures striding out between ‘Valentins’ and ‘& Buttons’. Thanks Caroline! I will leave you to figure out who’s who, but here are the line drawings – almost ready for the colour wash.

2 56 High St Eccleshall Valentino sq

3 Angela Pearly Smith Eccleshall
 Angela ‘Pearly’ Smith…from Gallery at 12 

4 Caroline Burley
Photographer Caroline – classically framed!

5 Man and dog eccleshall
Walking the spaniel

6 Sean Hirst Flowers
Armed with Sean Hirst Flowers

7 Leaning man and man on bike eccleshall

Josh crop march 2016 a
My new assistant Josh, fresh from the North Staffs RSPCA shelter on Monday.

Thanks for reading.

Ronnie

Gallery at 12, Eccleshall

It has been quite a month. Apart from finishing off a few more drawings in between a few fun family events, quite a lot has been happening.

drawings of eccleshall, Micklegate, Keele walled gardens
A few drawings more

First of all, a big thank you to Paul at the Stone and Eccleshall Gazette who found my work on the web and then gave me a fab introduction to Eccleshall with his generous write up. This has been so timely and I really appreciate this vote of confidence. It was published just as I had placed the first framed print of Eccleshall High Street on the wall of Gallery at 12.

stone and eccleshall gazette
Paul’s generous write up in the Stone and Eccleshall Gazette.

Just before this happened, my Instagram site (@ronniecruwys) took off.  I have been posting work-in-progress photos  for the last 9 months and have been using hashtags to connect with other artists interested in the same subjects, for instance #Eccleshall or #Drawing #Architecture. It has been great to connect with people all over the world and share stages of my work in progress. One drawing (of Audlem) got reposted on to another site and within 2 days had over 30,000 likes. Crikey. Meanwhile, Stone Road Eccleshall is getting a respectable response too.

Screen grab of stone Road Eccleshall drawing work in progress
Instagram approves of the Stone Road

I would also like to give a big vote of thanks to my new Instagram buddies @carolineiam @daveh500 @eddequincey for pointing me in the direction of Gallery at 12, where I have since become a member, and for giving me such enthusiastic support!

What’s more, I actually met @carolineiam last night in Eccleshall, in one of those wonderful moments of serendipity!

So, back to the Eccleshall drawing.

This is now scanned and on the website www.drawingthestreet.co.uk if you want to see it full length.

 

Starting with the grade 2 listed building home to Wyn’s and the old Sweet Shoppe:

Eccleshall  high Street
Katherine House, Eccleshall Pharmacy, Wine Etc, Spencers, the old Sweet Shoppe and Wyns

Eccleshall the old sweet shoppe and Wynns
Close up of the old Sweet Shoppe and Wyns

No 2, on the corner is early C19.

Next along is the Arcade, home of Eccleshall’s artists’ co-operative, Gallery at 12 and the lovley coffee shop The Artisan.

pen and ink drawing of gallery at 12 Eccleshall
The Artisan, The Arcade with Gallery at 12, Eclipse and Little Monsters

gallery at 12
A glimpse into Gallery at 12, High Street, Eccleshall, with my first few small sized prints up.

clock at james du pavey
Quick sketch over coffee at the Artisan last Saturday – Clock outside James du Pavey

 

the Bell Eccleshall
No 24, a grade 2 listed building, Eccleshall Library, Francesco Hair group and The Bell listed grade 2, Eccleshall

drawing of Star Pizza and London House
Star Pizza,  London House and Nisa

British Listed Buildings Online is a great resource for the history of our streets. The building to the right of London House is listed grade 2, early C19. London House is also listed grade 2, and probably late C17 or early C18.

I do plan to continue with drawings of Eccleshall so please follow this blog if you would like to be kept up to date – or over on Instagram.  Thanks for reading.

Ronnie (@ronniecruwys)

 

 

Adding colour to the High Street, Eccleshall

No 2 to 30a High Street, Eccleshall Staffordshire
Inking up the length of High Street Eccleshall

I am gradually picking up from where I left off before my recent accident. I am much more mobile now and keen to get back to normal activities so settling down to draw the second stage of Eccleshall has been a tonic.

Drawing of Star Pizza High and London House,  Street, Eccleshall
Star Pizza and London House, High Street, Eccleshall.

This is a wonderful street to draw as it is full of life, colour and history.

colour on drawing of Star Pizza and London House
Star Pizza and London House with colour washes

As an example, London House was once the shop and home of a ‘mercer’ – a dealer in textiles, built for £50, and is now home to a restaurant.

Pen and ink and pencil drawing of Eccleshall High Street
Inking up Eccleshall Pharmacy, Wine Etc and Spencer the Jewellers, all listed buildings.

Eccleshall High Street lies in the heart of the conservation area where there are 61 listed buildings. Further descriptions of these buildings can be found on British Listed Buildings Online. The timber framed building now occupied by Wines Etc was originally built as a market hall in 1884, and is now listed grade 2 along with the others in this cluster.

colour drawing of Katherine House, Eccleshall Pharmacy, Wines Etc
Colour washes applied to the sepia drawing.

colour wash in egg tempera over Eccleshall Library
Eccleshall library and clock

The 1.6m long drawing is almost complete with some finishing touches to add along with the lettering. Once finished,  I will scan and load the finished image on to the website Drawing the Street.

long view of whole drawing of Eccleshall High Street
Almost complete, just the lettering to add.

Limited edition, (set of 60) signed, fine art quality giclee prints will soon be available to buy at three different sizes: 30 small prints (60 cm) at £65 each, 20 medium (1.2 mm) at £125 and 10 large (1.5m) at £195, including postage and packing.  Please contact me at RonnieCruwys@drawingthestreet.co.uk if you would like to reserve a print. If you are a trader who would like to stock these prints, or licence parts of the image for merchandise, I would be delighted to hear from you. Last of all, something for Cherry of Mercian Scribes:

Monty Grey Cat
The now All-Seeing-All-Knowing Monty-Grey Cat

Drawing Eccleshall, Staffordshire

Stone Road Eccleshall, pen and ink stage
Stone Road Eccleshall, pen and ink stage

Some months ago, I began drawing out the bones of Stone Road, in Eccleshall, Staffordshire. This is an architectural gem of a market town, packed full of Georgian and Victorian buildings.

All the streets I choose to draw have some personal meaning for me. This part of the Stone Road sits opposite Eccleshall Police Station, a tiny spot which is engraved in my memory…Some years ago, my husband got knocked off his bike whilst out cycling nearby. He was whisked off to A&E and lived to tell the tale but his bike ended up in Eccleshall police station where I later went to collect it. Of course I was really upset about the bumped bike but what really cheered me up was the sight of this elegant row of cottages.

Stone road Eccleshall
Row of Georgian cottages in Eccleshall, Staffordshire, part of the conservation area.

I will write more about this on another day but thought I would let you know that work is in progress on this delightful Staffordshire market town.

egg tempera wash on Stone Road
First wash of colour using egg tempera – English Red Light and English Ochre

This is a work in progress picture taken this evening. Just an idea of what is on the drawing board as well as my drawings along the Holloway Road.

Plenty more drawings of Eccleshall in the pipeline….thanks for reading!

  • Ronnie

Pencil drawing of Eccleshall High Street
Pencil sketch of Eccleshall High Street