The works of Anthony Hill, the local artist who
devoted his retirement and talent to raising funds for local causes, are about
to be celebrated in the first major exhibition at Leatherhead Museum since its refurbishment
earlier this year.
Anthony, who
died in 1997, and his wife Helena held regular exhibitions of his paintings
which were very popular in the local community. Many people have lent their
paintings to the Museum for the exhibition. Based at the 17th century Hampton
Cottage in Church Street, the exhibition opens on Saturday, 20 July and runs
until the
end of Heritage Week on 22 September.
As an
architect, Anthony had an eye for the beauty of buildings. Many of his paintings
feature them in all sizes from his garden shed upwards! He preferred the small
and vernacular to grand buildings and also painted many landscapes. His line
drawings feature familiar local landmarks including Leatherhead Parish Church,
Sweech House on Gravel Hill, the White House in Church Road, and of course
Hampton Cottage itself.
As well as
his architectural career, Anthony’s life included war service in the Royal Navy
and 17 years as an Anglican priest. The exhibition includes examples of his maritime
work as well as both urban and rural settings from different parts of the
country. He was churchwarden in Leatherhead in 1989, at the time of the fire
which nearly destroyed the parish church. He was among the first people on the
scene and one of the paintings in this exhibition shows the fire as he first
saw it in the north transept. It has pride of place in the church vestry. His
architectural expertise was invaluable in the subsequent repair and
restoration.
Leatherhead Museum is run entirely by
L&DLHS volunteers and is open free of charge to the public on Thursdays and
Fridays from 1pm to 4pm and Saturdays from 10am to 4pm. For Heritage Week it is
also open on Sunday 22 September from 10am to 4pm. For more information email
museum@leatherheadhistory.org
or go to www.leatherheadhistory.org.
Captions:
1.
Anthony Hill with his depiction of the church fire.
2.
Watercolour of Leatherhead
Bridge
3.
Line drawing of Hampton Cottage.
4.
HMS Malaya in 1943.