Whitchurch Memories: History under the hammer

By Whitchurch Herald on Jun 4, 09 01:27 PM in 2000 onwards

Watercolours of old Whitchurch going up for auction at Beeston Castle

AN ARTISTIC glimpse of Whitchurch's past is going under the hammer this month.
Auctioneer Wright Manley is selling 16 watercolours of the town in days gone by, painted by a well-known former teacher, the late Kathleen Ann Parbutt.

Miss Parbutt was born in 1911 at Worthington Street, Whitchurch.

She taught at Burleydam School and from 1943 taught music, art and other subjects at the new secondary modern school at Broughall, Whitchurch, as senior mistress.

Among the 16 watercolours are pictures of old timbered cottages in Station Road, now demolished, Sir Edward German's birthplace, St Alkmund's Church, The Horse and Jockey and Absolons Confectioners, now Walker's Bakery, in High Street.

Before the sale the watercolours will be on view in Wright Manley's office, which is at 16 Watergate, Whitchurch, from next Thursday to Saturday, June 11-13.

It was Miss Parbutt's bequest that proceeds of sale go to St Dunstan's War Blinded.
The actual sale of the paintings takes place on Thursday, June 25, at Beeston Castle Salerooms, near Tarporley.

Clock made by J B Joyce of Whitchurch auctioned in Wem

A LONGCASE clock made by Whitchurch's famous clockmaker, J B Joyce, has been sold at auction.

Valued at about £500, the eight-day clock, the dial of which is signed J Joyce, Wem, was consigned to the Halls sale yesterday as the Herald went to press.

The sale, in Shrewsbury, was of antique furniture, ceramics and works of art.

Established in 1690, J B Joyce in Whitchurch is the oldest tower clockmaking firm in the country, having provided clocks for destinations around the world, including The Customs House in Shanghai.

Other items of local interest at the sale were a restored Shrewsbury Railway Station bench, which dates to about1890 and was valued at up to £300, and a mid-19th century mahogany barometer by C Jacopie, Salop, which was expected to fetch about £400.

Landscape painting by Sidney Richard Percy to go under hammer at auction in Shrewsbury

A PAINTING by British artist Sidney Richard Percy is going under the hammer in Shrewsbury on Wednesday, July 1.

The painting, which depicts figures on a heathland lane with a flock of sheep and dog, belongs to a Shropshire art collector and is expected to fetch about £5,000.
English landscape artist Percy found inspiration in the Welsh countryside, particularly in and around Llanbedr and Arthog.

Another early entry for the sale is an oil on canvas by Yorkshire artist Herbert Royle titled Harvest Time, valued at up to £1,500. Royle painted many scenes of Ilkley.

Other entries include a watercolour of a hunting scene by sporting and military artist Charles Johnson Payne, alias Snaffles, expected to fetch about £800, and an oil by Raymond Coxon, Good Friday, which depicts Christ on the Cross, valued at up to £800.

The sale is at Halls's Welsh Bridge saleroom. Its paintings expert William Lacey said many people are still investing in antiques and works of art despite the current financial situation.

Comments (0)