Ansdell, Granny's Bay c.1955

Photo ref: A89016

More about this scene

The scene has changed much since the days of Richard Ansdell RA, when he ordered his house Starr Hills to be built, and this was a wild and lonely area of marram grass covered sandhills. However, he was joined later in the 1860s by fellow artists from London. Thomas Webster commissioned The Elms, and Edenfield and Fairlawn followed after, mansions with wonderful views over the Ribble estuary. The name Granny's Bay came later, and Commonside fishermen used Granny's Dock. Inspired by the great expanse of sea and sky, Ansdell painted local scenes, including 'Herd Lassie', 'The Ploughing Match', and 'Lytham Common' (the last is of special interest, as it became the site of St Anne's. The common then had only a tiny hamlet—Heyhouses). The press announced that 'the Council Chamber has a share of oil paintings by the Victorian artist Richard Ansdell, who has given his name to a district and a railway station!' The famous painter died in 1885, having brought acclaim to the Fylde. Starr Hills became Major Hincksmann's home, and later a hospital.