Tag Archives: The Square Audlem

Warm Glow in Audlem

There’s always been a warm glow from this much loved shop on Shropshire Street in Audlem, a village which can trace its ancestry back to the Domesday book when it was known as Aldelime. It’s located next to the Shropshire Union Canal where you can find a run of 15 locks designed by Thomas Telford to lift the canal by 28m from the Cheshire Plain to the Shropshire Plain.

Arched doorway into Manchester House

Williams of Audlem was established 159 years ago – a record to be proud of! Whilst I was living in nearby Newcastle-under-Lyme, I drew most of the street frontages of this fascinating place and recorded them on my website Drawing the Street.

Williams of Audlem stock some of my signed limited edition giclee prints and there are currently two unframed prints of ‘The Square’ in stock, featuring the family run pub and restaurant ‘The Lord Combomere’.

The Lord Combomere, The Square, Audlem
1 and 2 The Square, Audlem, formerly ‘The Crown’

You can see the rest of this drawing here.

Head north west from The Square and you reach Cheshire Street where you’ll see this lovely red brick Georgian town house set against the backdrop of the 13thC church of St James, listed grade one.

Boots the Chemist, Cheshire Street, Audlem

There is one framed giclee print available in Williams as I write (8th Dec 2021). Here’s a close up of the some of the buildings that make up this side of the street.

The Fold, Cheshire Street, Audlem

A few more cropped images from the street drawing below:

Smithy House, Cheshire Street, Audlem
Primrose Grange, Audlem

You can see this side of the street in full on my website here.

I’d like to close with a wee thank you to Judy Evans of Williams of Audlem who has been a loyal supporter of my work for many years and to pay a tribute to her beloved Dad Derek, seen here putting out the morning papers for the good readers of Audlem.

Thanks for reading,

Ronnie 🙂

Audlem Aglow

October was a bit premature to share what was on my drawing board at the time – snowy scenes of some of Audlem’s delightful shops.

Now that we are into Advent and the temperature has fallen, it feels much more timely to share the images which are now on sale as Christmas cards at Williams of Audlem.

Newsagent Audlem
Derek at the Doorway of Williams of Audlem

Pop in to Williams and say hello to Derek!

Audlem Cycle Sport pen and ink drawing
Audlem Cycle Sport and Dry Cleaners

 

Old Priest House, Audlem, pen and ink drawing
The Old Priest House Cafe, Audlem

Pen and ink Old Post Office Audlem
The Old Post Office, Audlem

Following on fromm my last blog post, here’s the finished tea towel – a great Christmas gift and easy to post! On sale at Williams of Audlem, Cheshire.

Tea Towel of Audlem from pen and ink drawing
Audlem Tea Towel on display at Williams of Audlem

Thanks for reading!

 

 

 

Audlem Street Drawing Limited Edition Prints

Audlem drawing at the printers
Simon at Smith York Printers in Ironbridge and me, Ronnie, with the Audlem street drawing

Whenever I finish a drawing, I scan it as soon as possible as the original often represents over a hundred hours work. Given the size of the drawings  (the Audlem drawing is 2 metres long), the scanned file sizes are huge as I scan with a high resolution for the best quality prints and so that enlargements on to canvas can be made for festival banners.

The street drawings are non-standard sizes so there are not many printing firms that can handle this combination. That said, Smith York in Ironbridge is a place where Simon not only can scan, but he also makes adjustments to the scanned image in order to reproduce the best quality giclee prints on heavy watercolour paper.

Andy and Jane at the Old Priest House, Audlem
Jane and Andy with the large size framed print of the Audlem street scene – soon to go up on the wall of the cafe.

The first few limited edition prints are now ready and for sale. I took the first framed large colour print along to Jane and Andy who have been running the Old Priest House in Audlem for almost twenty years. As Jane herself has been included on the drawing, it’s a great keepsake for friends and family of the part they have played in Audlem life. Thanks to you both for providing us with a top destination for many a sturdy breakfast!

When I set out to draw a street, I make thumbnail sketches and take photos. Inevitably, I  photograph a few passers-by and I like to draw them too as they are an important part of the streetscape. It crossed my mind that people may wonder if they have been included on a drawing so here are a few photographed faces and the corresponding sketches.

Williams of Audlem
Williams of Audlem

Set within the lovely group of buildings known as ‘The Square’, there is a shop which has been in the same family since 1862 – it’s Williams of Audlem. I particularly like the sign-writing on the awnings and doorway – and the attractive flower baskets and flags all add up to it looking very elegant indeed.

Williams of Audlem
Williams of Audlem

Audlem is a cycling hub! Cyclists are hard to catch on the move but I managed to snatch a few taking off. The slow start can only be the result of a big breakfast…

Bikes audlem
Audlem Cyclists

Audlem Cyclist 2013
Audlem Cyclist 2013

phone man Audlem
Walk and talk – Audlem

Stafford Street
Stafford Street Audlem

Williams of Audlem and the Old Priest House are stocking limited edition (100 total) prints. If you would like to buy an unframed colour print, prices are as follows: small (800mm long) £95, medium (1200mm) £135  and large (1500mm) £175.

The prices reflect the quality of the print, the work involved in the drawing and include a commission to the trader. So, if you buy a print, you also support your local high street! There are also a selection of postcards from the drawing avaiable for sale. Please dont hesitate to contact me if you would like to reserve a print.

Stafford Street Audlem
Summer people in Stafford Street

Audlem people
Summer People in Audlem

summer people in Audlem
Mum and youngsters Audlem Summer 2013

Thanks for reading!