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223:, from 1986 until his death in September 2019. 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
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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
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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".
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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.
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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
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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."
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13m30s audio interview with
Gittins' niece Jan Williams and Chris Teasdale, including clips of Gittins busking in a shop, with transcript
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Arts and
Culture Community Land Trust (WACCLT) was established in December 2021 as the first arts-based
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183:. He was born in Birkenhead in 1939, one of three children of James and Alice Gittins. He attended the
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produced by
Gittins, and never previously seen. It includes sculptures of a lion and the head of the
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In
January 2020, the formerly rented ground-floor flat was found to contain a collection of
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While living at his parents' rented home he transformed his own bedroom in the style of a
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195:. He was a talented musician, singing in church when a boy and later "a brilliant
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Descriptions of visits to the flat in 2021 were written by Denise
Courcoux in
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681:""It's Worth Fighting For" – Denise Courcoux Takes A Trip To Ron's Place"
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appeal was launched to save the work. Fundraising was also supported by
957:"Ron's Place: Birkenhead flat of outsider art granted grade-II listing"
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864:"Ron's Place: cash loan saves palace of outsider art at last minute"
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488:"No one knew what eccentric relative did to his home until he died"
565:"Ron's Place: Anonymous donor puts up £335k to save artist's home"
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NB: Includes a detailed description of the decoration of the flat
454:"Ron Gittins: the man who built a Roman altar in his kitchen"
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514:"The extraordinary home of late Oxton artist Ron Gittins"
931:"Ron's Place: Artistic fantasy world gets listed status"
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featured his decoration of his then home at Beta Close,
654:"Bid to save secret world hidden inside rented flat"
419:"8 Silverdale Road, Oxton (Grade II) (1486042)"
785:. Wirral Arts & Culture CLT. 11 November 2021.
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1056:"Ron Gittins, Roman Villa, decorated interior"
890:"Ron's Place: the theatre of (personal) power"
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1027:Wirral Arts and Culture Community Land Trust
929:Coleman, Jenny; Nanji, Noor (4 April 2024).
718:. Archived from the original on 16 June 2021
620:. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023
155:, Birkenhead, Merseyside, England, which is
838:"'Ron's Place' saved by mystery benefactor"
179:Ronald Geoffrey Gittins (1939–2019) was an
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753:"Ron's Place: a visitor surveys the scene"
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235:in his decorations. It has been said that:
219:Gittins lived alone at 8 Silverdale Road,
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16:Outsider art site in Merseyside, England
1121:Grade II listed buildings in Merseyside
1066:from the original on 25 September 2020.
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1116:Buildings and structures in Birkenhead
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894:Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences
783:"Harnessing the power of Ron's Place"
691:from the original on 21 February 2022
301:Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences
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1033:"Roman Villa, Birkenhead, Liverpool"
763:from the original on 18 October 2021
812:"Working together #savingronsplace"
679:Courcoux, Denise (17 March 2021).
424:National Heritage List for England
14:
818:from the original on 5 April 2024
789:from the original on 5 April 2024
710:Hogarth, Matthew (16 June 2021).
598:from the original on 2 March 2023
512:Davies, Laura (24 January 2020).
464:from the original on 5 April 2024
348:Painting of three women on a wall
61:, Birkenhead, Merseyside, England
1054:Es, Henk Van (29 January 2020).
618:"Ron's Place – #savingronsplace"
538:Davis, Laura (26 January 2020).
486:Davis, Laura (25 January 2020).
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309:Grade II listed building status
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317:The Twentieth Century Society
1060:Outsider Environments Europe
955:Brown, Mark (5 April 2024).
862:Brown, Mark (1 March 2023).
751:Ward, Cathy (October 2021).
206:. When Gittins was 35, the
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245:Discovery and preservation
906:10.1017/S2045796022000105
736:: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
638:: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
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39:Minotaur's head fireplace
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888:Slominski, Lisa (2022).
86:8 Silverdale Road, Oxton
544:Manchester Evening News
298:Writing in the journal
171:between 1986 and 2019.
1146:Visionary environments
1141:Grade II listed houses
844:, Wirral, 1 March 2023
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167:created by its tenant
159:in recognition of the
1126:Culture in Merseyside
590:The Caravan Gallery.
372:Painting of woman in
336:Lion's Head fireplace
276:, Matthew Hogarth in
161:visionary environment
1131:Houses in Merseyside
1092:53.38389°N 3.05139°W
592:"Saving Ron's Place"
290:community land trust
1088: /
1037:The Keepers Project
685:The Double Negative
660:. 29 September 2022
274:The Double Negative
185:Laird School of Art
143:is a former rented
57:8 Silverdale Road,
49:General information
1151:20th-century works
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315:. The director of
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99:Reference no.
149:8 Silverdale Road
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1136:Outsider art
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1040:. Retrieved
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988:Olesker, Max
966:. Retrieved
962:The Guardian
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868:The Guardian
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458:Ron's Place
376:style dress
240:fireplaces.
204:Roman villa
197:Buddy Holly
193:Bromborough
189:white goods
175:Ron Gittins
169:Ron Gittins
1110:Categories
716:Bido Lito!
394:References
278:Bido Lito!
91:Designated
77:– Grade II
1080:53°23′2″N
1069:Blog post
996:Longreads
732:cite news
214:Bebington
124:ronsplace
1064:Archived
935:BBC News
816:Archived
787:Archived
761:Archived
689:Archived
658:BBC News
634:cite web
596:Archived
569:BBC News
462:Archived
374:Egyptian
255:Minotaur
1083:3°3′5″W
1042:5 April
968:5 April
940:6 April
915:9069576
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873:2 March
848:1 March
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468:5 April
430:5 April
323:Gallery
265:singer
117:Website
103:1486042
54:Address
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286:Wirral
284:. The
231:, and
229:Greece
139:'s
26:'s
1001:Essay
225:Egypt
221:Oxton
153:Oxton
141:Place
59:Oxton
28:Place
1044:2024
970:2024
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738:link
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666:2024
640:link
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263:Pulp
233:Rome
145:flat
910:PMC
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137:Ron
128:.uk
126:.co
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