WALTER FREDERICK READ

A FAMOUS ARTIST FROM WOOLTON

Artist WALTER FREDERICK READ lived at 7 Watergate Lane in Woolton. His work is now much sought-after. He was a personal friend of my parents and produced two sketches for them in 1957. I still have them in the original "frames", if you can call them such. He placed the pictures between a sheet of glass and a piece of cardboard and applied tape round the edges.

He wrote a brief description of each picture in the frame.

LEFT: "The old house at the corner of Woolton St, Woolton was the Post Office about the year 1880 - WFR"

RIGHT: "The cottages in Woolton St, Woolton were demolished after the sketch was made, October 29th 1957 - WFR"

Many thanks to ANDREW KENRICK who has been in touch with me, and kindly sent me copies of the items below, which are in his possession, having been given to his grandfather by Walter Frederick Read.

LEFT: A fragment of paper in which the two pictures were wrapped.

CENTRE: "The Angler" - only 3 x 4 inches in size, and apparently painted in household gloss.

RIGHT: "And the Sun Creeps In" - only 2 inches high. Signed by WFR and AAC.

If anyone out there knows who "AAC" could be, please CONTACT ME.

This collection of twelve pictures are copies from the Liverpool Records Office, kindly sent to me by DAVE PIMBLETT.

Drawn mainly in the early 1950s these scenes from around Woolton Village are easily recognised even today.

To view each picture in this gallery, left-click on it and it will open up.

To close it, simply open another, or click on a blank part of this page.

WHERE ARE THEY?

1. Woolton Street

2. Woolton Street

3. High St (Village Green)

4. Bottom of Quarry St Sth

5. Quarry St, looking from

the swimming baths

6. Speke Road looking

towards Woolton St

7. Acrefield Road (Mason

St is on the left)

8. Speke Road by the

Coach & Horses

9. Allerton Road viewed

from the baths

10. Woolton Cross

11. The old Sunnybank

Hospital building

12. Woolton Street

The pictures below were sent to me in November 2009 by Jann McAndrew, whose grandfather, Mr Garnett, was a gardener at the Police Orphanage, which later became Sunnybank Hospital. The Marie Curie Centre now stands on the site, which used to stretch to the back of the houses in Watergate Lane, where Walter F Read lived. In the bottom right picture, painted in 1954, the Sunnybank building can be seen.

Thanks are also due to DAVE PARR, chief projectionist at Woolton Picture House for sending this watercolour of the cinema, painted by Walter Frederick Read.

Walter Frederick Read produced pictures for several famous people including the late Queen Mother and Sir Winston Churchill. One of his pictures is in the Royal Collection, described as a "decorative panel comprising birds and flowers in a decorative border mounted on blue leather".

His nephew Ken Read, who passed away in 2005, was also a talented artist. An exhibition of his work, "KEN READ RETROSPECTIVE", took place at the Rainford Gallery in St Helens, in October 2006.

Does anybody out there have any more of WALTER FREDERICK READ'S work? If you do, please contact me.