Speke Hall, Near Liverpool

Carriage print, British Railways (London Midland Region), Speke Hall, near Liverpool, A National Trust property by Ronald Lampitt, 1957. Coloured lithograph depicting the north front of the Tudor manor house. Framed.

Railway carriage print of Speke Hall near Liverpool, by Ronald Lampitt, about 1957. It depicts the north front of the Tudor manor house.

Speke Hall was built by the Norris family between 1531 and 1598. It was donated to the National Trust in 1943.

This published print was based on an original watercolour by Lampitt. Carriage prints were mounted above the seats in railway carriage compartments and were typically scenic views of places that could be visited by rail. This print was published by British Railways London Midland Region, one of a series of ten, for which Lampitt produced four artworks. The three others featured scenes in Worcestershire and Cheshire.

Ronald Lampitt was born in Worcester in 1906. He was a self-taught commercial artist and illustrator, who produced artworks for John Bull magazine, The Sunday Times, Reader's Digest and other publications. He worked on children's books in collaboration with his brother-in-law, Henry Deverson and illustrated nine Ladybird books and the magazine Look and Learn.

Lampitt produced posters and carriage prints for the Great Western, Southern and London, Midland & Scottish Railways and later for British Railways. He died in 1988.