The not-so-ordinary man behind the extraordinary home.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 From intricate murals depicting historical scenes to handcrafted
00:04 concrete fireplaces, this home in Birkenhead has an incredible interior
00:09 and it was all created by one man. Ron died just before the lockdown and his
00:16 niece discovered after he died when she came in she discovered this amazing
00:22 emporium dedicated to Greek, Egyptian and Roman art that her uncle Ron had created.
00:28 This ground floor flat was rented by Ron Gittins in 1986 and he spent the next
00:33 three decades creating a visionary environment. With limited formal artistic
00:38 training he developed his own particular world articulated both through his flat
00:43 and through the creation of historic costumes. Last time I saw Ron was at his
00:49 sister Pat's 80th birthday party. I'm very friendly with Pat and her daughter
00:53 Jan was there and all the family and Ron arrived with two wigs on and a hat and a
00:58 Mr. Potato Head t-shirt and a nice tweed jacket and a pair of wellies and that
01:03 was quite common really for Ron. Concealed for over 30 years within an
01:07 unassuming Victoria semi-detached villa, Ron meticulously crafted this striking
01:12 artwork which remained a secret until his death in 2019. A postcard has been
01:18 found from Ron saying I'm really looking forward to showing you the space but he
01:23 sent it to the wrong address so she never got it. So it actually sort of
01:28 validates what's happened now that Jan has kind of brought her uncle into the
01:33 public eye. Art permeates every corner here the result is a compelling immersive
01:38 space that reflects Ron intense character combining his imaginative
01:42 creative abilities and abiding passion for history following a visit to Pompeii
01:46 as a young man. When I worked at the Williamson he would quite often come in
01:50 and he would have a wig on and he would chat to the guys at the front desk Graham
01:55 and Stuart and he would talk with great knowledge about art so Egyptian art
02:01 Roman art. After Ron's death concerns were raised that the unique work could be
02:05 lost when the house was put up for auction. A campaign to save it was a
02:09 success and it's now owned by World Arts and Culture Community Land Trust. We have
02:14 two patrons Martin Wallace who's a filmmaker and Jarvis Coker. Jarvis has
02:19 and Martin have gone all around the world looking at outsider art spaces and
02:24 they've never found anything like this in the UK. It's now been granted grade 2
02:28 listing on the advice of Historic England. The listing recognizes Ron's
02:32 creation as an exemplar of large-scale outsider art. To be able to use a space
02:37 like this to talk about these things that are maybe not talked about very
02:42 often in our communities I think that's quite important. Since Ron's died two
02:48 other artists have died in the area who were also on their own and I feeling a
02:53 bit isolated and I think actually we can come together a little bit more to be
02:58 creative together.