| The
Charles
Tunnicliffe Society Established 2005 "To promote greater awareness of the life and wor of Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe OBE, RA 1901-1979" |
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| Sutton Lane Ends & Langley Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe was born in the small village of Langley in East Cheshire, in a small two-up and two-down terrraced cottage.  CFT's first home, the black-doored terraced house At Langley the house was too small for the family of four children, and Charles also developed pneumonia. His father was a shoe maker and repairer at this time, but his health was not good, so the family took on the tenancy of Sutton Lane Ends Farm when Charles was eighteen months old. His mother came from a farming background and the move was made for a better way of life for the family. As he grew up at Sutton Lane Ends his interest in art developed and his drawings 'appeared' on the freshly creosoted wooden cartshed and the whitewashed walls inside the cowshed and stable.  A Tunnicliffe Sketch of Sutton Lane Ends Farm Charles attended the local village school, next to St. James' Church, and was in the church choir. St. James' Church can be seen in the sketch shown above, and in a number of his etchings and paintings.  The Village School by St James' Church The Church used to overlook Bullocks Meadow and open countryside, but over the years the land at Sutton Lane Ends has been developed and Bullocks Meadow is now a residential area with a junior school.  Etching - Mowing Bullocks Meadow  View of St Jame's Church and Sutton Lane Ends - 2006 Sutton Lane Ends Farm has since been divided into two cottages and a stone plaque has been built into the gable end of one of the cottages - 'Tunnicliffe Cottage'.  Sutton Lane Ends Farm - 2006 At the village school Charles' headmaster, Buckley Moffat, recognised and encouraged the development of CFT's artistic talent and in 1916 Charles went to Macclesfield School of Art, also attending Manchester School of Art one day a week. Under the guidance of Thomas Cartwright, the principal at Macclesfield School of Art, Charles worked hard to develop his artistic skills, but at home Charles was still expected to help out on the farm. At the age of nineteen Charles was rewarded with a scholarship to study at the Royal College of Art in London. .... |