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Ron's Place

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Coordinates: 53°23′2″N 3°3′5″W / 53.38389°N 3.05139°W / 53.38389; -3.05139
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Ron's Place
Minotaur's head fireplace
Map
General information
Address8 Silverdale Road, Oxton, Birkenhead, Merseyside, England
Designations
Listed Building – Grade II
Official name8 Silverdale Road, Oxton
Designated19 March 2024
Reference no.1486042
Website
ronsplace.co.uk

Ron's Place is a former rented flat at 8 Silverdale Road in Oxton, Birkenhead, Merseyside, England, which is Grade II listed in recognition of the visionary environment of outsider art[1] created by its tenant Ron Gittins between 1986 and 2019.

Ron Gittins

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Ronald Geoffrey Gittins (1939–2019) was an outsider artist. He was born in Birkenhead in 1939, one of three children of James and Alice Gittins. He attended the Laird School of Art briefly and also had some theological training, but worked as a skilled cutter in the printing industry, in retail in Liverpool, and as a factory control officer for a white goods manufacturer in Bromborough. He was a talented musician, singing in church when a boy and later "a brilliant Buddy Holly impersonator", and also performed with local amateur dramatic groups. At one stage, as a self-employed artist, he established Minstrel Enterprises, a business featuring himself as "The Minstrel".[2]

While living at his parents' rented home he transformed his own bedroom in the style of a Roman villa. When Gittins was 35, the Liverpool Echo featured his decoration of his then home at Beta Close, Bebington, in a story headlined "Pictures of Pompeii Help Put Ron to Sleep" with a photograph of the walls and ceiling of his bedroom, painted with Roman scenes and emperors.[2]

Gittins lived alone at 8 Silverdale Road, Oxton, from 1986 until his death in September 2019.[1][2] The terms of his lease allowed him to decorate the house as he liked, without the need to seek his landlord's prior consent. Over the 33 years he lived there he extensively decorated the entire flat, including external columns beside the front door which were removed by the landlord before they could be rescued. Gittins was interested in history, and was inspired by ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome in his decorations.[1] It has been said that:

He was a familiar sight in Oxton Village, where he would walk along the streets dressed in a series of homemade military costumes, pushing an old-fashioned pram filled with the bags of cement he used to build his gigantic fireplaces.[3]

Discovery and preservation

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In January 2020, the formerly rented ground-floor flat was found to contain a collection of outsider art produced by Gittins, and never previously seen.[4][3][5] It includes sculptures of a lion and the head of the Minotaur, underwater scenes and rooms based on ancient Egyptian and Greek themes.[6] A crowdfunding appeal was launched to save the work.[7][8] Fundraising was also supported by Pulp singer Jarvis Cocker.[9]

Descriptions of visits to the flat in 2021 were written by Denise Courcoux in The Double Negative,[10] Matthew Hogarth in Bido Lito![11] and Cathy Ward in Brut Journal.[12] The Wirral Arts and Culture Community Land Trust (WACCLT) was established in December 2021 as the first arts-based community land trust in the United Kingdom, with the aim to "save Ron's Place and create a stimulating, positive legacy for the Wirral and the wider community."[13][14]

The semi-detached house containing the flat was auctioned on 1 March 2023 and was bought by WACCLT, with the help of a donation from the Muller Wimhurst Trust, to preserve the artworks.[15][16][14]

Writing in the journal Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, Lisa Slominski says that "Oscillating between an idiosyncratic subjectivity and universal offering, the power held in Ron's Place is undeniable."[17]

In March 2024, the ground-floor flat was given Grade II listed building status by Historic England.[1][18] The director of The Twentieth Century Society, Catherine Croft, described the building as "the first example of outsider art to be nationally listed."[19]

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  • Lion's Head fireplace
    Lion's Head fireplace
  • Painting of three women on a wall
    Painting of three women on a wall
  • Ornate fireplace
    Ornate fireplace
  • Painting of woman in Egyptian style dress
    Painting of woman in Egyptian style dress
  • Bathroom ceiling
    Bathroom ceiling

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Historic England. "8 Silverdale Road, Oxton (Grade II) (1486042)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 5 April 2024. NB: Includes a detailed description of the decoration of the flat
  2. ^ a b c "Ron Gittins: the man who built a Roman altar in his kitchen". Ron's Place. Archived from the original on 5 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  3. ^ a b Davis, Laura (25 January 2020). "No one knew what eccentric relative did to his home until he died". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  4. ^ Davies, Laura (24 January 2020). "The extraordinary home of late Oxton artist Ron Gittins". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  5. ^ Davis, Laura (26 January 2020). "The incredible hidden artwork that sits behind the doors of this ordinary house". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  6. ^ "Ron's Place: Anonymous donor puts up £335k to save artist's home". BBC News. 1 March 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  7. ^ The Caravan Gallery. "Saving Ron's Place". Crowdfunder. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  8. ^ "Ron's Place – #savingronsplace". Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  9. ^ "Bid to save secret world hidden inside rented flat". BBC News. 29 September 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  10. ^ Courcoux, Denise (17 March 2021). ""It's Worth Fighting For" – Denise Courcoux Takes A Trip To Ron's Place". The Double Negative. Archived from the original on 21 February 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  11. ^ Hogarth, Matthew (16 June 2021). "Ron's Place". Bido Lito!. Archived from the original on 16 June 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  12. ^ Ward, Cathy (October 2021). "Ron's Place: a visitor surveys the scene". Brutjournal. Archived from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  13. ^ "Harnessing the power of Ron's Place". Wirral Arts & Culture CLT. 11 November 2021. Archived from the original on 5 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  14. ^ a b "Working together #savingronsplace". Ron's Place. Archived from the original on 5 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  15. ^ "'Ron's Place' saved by mystery benefactor", Birkenhead News, Wirral, 1 March 2023, retrieved 1 March 2023
  16. ^ Brown, Mark (1 March 2023). "Ron's Place: cash loan saves palace of outsider art at last minute". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  17. ^ Slominski, Lisa (2022). "Ron's Place: the theatre of (personal) power". Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences. 31: e31. doi:10.1017/S2045796022000105. PMC 9069576.
  18. ^ Coleman, Jenny; Nanji, Noor (4 April 2024). "Ron's Place: Artistic fantasy world gets listed status". BBC News. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  19. ^ Brown, Mark (5 April 2024). "Ron's Place: Birkenhead flat of outsider art granted grade-II listing". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 April 2024.

Further reading

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53°23′2″N 3°3′5″W / 53.38389°N 3.05139°W / 53.38389; -3.05139

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