Inside 'Ron's Place' - the secret gallery of weird and wonderful art in a Birkenhead flat
Video report by ITV Granada Reports' journalist Jennifer Buck
A treasure trove of weird and wonderful artwork and sculptures has been unearthed in a flat in Birkenhead.
Discovered after its occupant, Ron Gittin, passed away, each room reflects its previous tenants love for all things ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome.
Inside the ordinary ground-floor apartment, Ron painted a detailed aquarium watercolour mural and hand-moulded a roaring lion's head fireplace, where he would cook pancakes.
He moved into the flat in 1986 and, after an agreement with the landlord, decorated each room with a different masterpiece.
Ron was known locally as an eccentric character and amongst the gold mine of memorabilia a grenadier guard uniform he often wore.
Iain Jackson, a Professor at Liverpool School of Architecture, said: "This is almost a piece of theatre or cinema that you walk through and I think that is quite special because it can't be moved.
"A painting or a sculpture can be exhibited in different galleries or different spaces whereas this is very much rooted in this place it is part of Birkenhead, part of Merseyside that is part of the wider regional expression."
As a younger man he attended the Laird School of Art in Birkenhead and had always lived and breathed his craft.
Niall Hodson, Currator Williamson Art Gallery, said: "Ron lived as an artist and it was a performance his whole life.
"He dressed as an artist, he dressed as his performance and walked around the street and in his house where he lived.
"He made artwork of the fireplaces, of the walls, he filled the place with his vision."
When Ron’s family visited his flat shortly after his death in September 2019 they were taken a back by what they discovered, largely due to the fact their meetings usually took place elsewhere.
They now hope Ron's Place can be saved and preserved so other people can visit and appreciate his masterpieces.
Ron's niece is leading the fundraising effort high-profile backer in Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker. His family say he would have loved the attention.
Jan Williams, Ron's niece, said: "He did respond well to praise and I think he would be really happy to know that he is inspiring other people.
"That is one of the reasons we want to save Ron's place so other people can be inspired to make their own artwork."
It is said that art is in the eye of the beholder, but it seems Birkenhead can now boast a new flat full of masterpieces.
To support the preserving of Ron's Place, visit this website.