Exhibition of Limited Edition Prints
by Rob Minshull at
ASTBURY VILLAGE HALL
Saturday, 1st November 2025 10am - 3pm
I have been involved with the Astbury Mere Country Park from the late 1980’s and had the privilege of serving as the Chairman of the Astbury Mere Trust who are responsible In both the development, administration and the cost of running the park. I retired as a Trustee in 2023 and took on the role of President of the Trust. The Astbury Mere Country Park has played a major part in my life and is my legacy to my home town of Congleton.
I have been drawing and painting from childhood and still get a lot of pleasure from that. The limited Edition Prints follow my life from 1966 when I travelled overland to India to the present day and reflect the other places where I have lived being Honk Kong and Vancouver.The first print being a street scene of Srinagar in Kashmir.
I have been drawing and painting from childhood and still get a lot of pleasure from that. The limited Edition Prints follow my life from 1966 when I travelled overland to India to the present day and reflect the other places where I have lived being Honk Kong and Vancouver.The first print being a street scene of Srinagar in Kashmir.
I hope that you will find a picture that you can’t live without and one which you will treasure and enjoy for years to come. If so, thank you very much for your support and rest assured the money raised will be used to make a significant improvement to Astbury Mere Country Park.
Fundraising to finish a footpath
at the Astbury Mere Country Park
The company who built the eight houses near to the Sail Sports Centre at Astbury Mere Country Park agreed to tarmac the footpath along side that southern entrance road when building was completed. Unfortunately they left the site without doing that work. The purpose of this exhibition is to generate funds to finish that job.
At this exhibition there are seventeen limited edition prints of my pictures, three black and white sketches and fourteen coloured pictures. All but one are printed on paper which are signed and individually numbered. One is printed on canvas and has a certificate of authenticity on the back. Generally they are available as mounted prints that are ready to frame and also framed ready to hang.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank all the people who so kindly volunteered with the helping me with the practical work of organising and managing this exhibition and in particular Graham Cook gscook242@gmail.com who gave his valuable time and talent to produce this website.
St. Mary’s Church (Astbury Church) holds a special place in my heart because I have been visiting there off and on all of my life. Even when I was very young I wondered at the fantastic architecture which gave me such a sense of history. It is simply a beautiful work of art in stone, glass and wood. Shaped by exceptionally skilled craftsmen who completed its construction almost 600 years ago.
Picture Number 1:
Gateway to Astbury Church (1993)
A view looking through the arch to the village. Two of the stone finials on the arch have since been repaired and are as good as new.
Picture size mounted 450 x 360mm (approx. 510 x 420mm framed)
Picture mounted: £45 Number available: Five
Picture framed: £85 Number available: Four
Picture Number 1:
Gateway to Astbury Church (1993)
A view looking through the arch to the village. Two of the stone finials on the arch have since been repaired and are as good as new.
Picture size mounted 450 x 360mm (approx. 510 x 420mm framed)
Picture mounted: £45 Number available: Five
Picture framed: £85 Number available: Four
Picture Number 2:
Sun on stained glass. Astbury Church (1997)
I have endeavoured to capture the reflection of bright sunshine on one of the stained glass windows and to portray the quality of the stonemason’s work, It was a lovely summers day when I visited Astbury Church and took the photograph which I later worked from.
Picture size mounted 450 x 360mm (approx. 510 x 420mm framed)
Picture mounted: £45 Number available: Five
Picture framed: £85 Number available: Four
Sun on stained glass. Astbury Church (1997)
I have endeavoured to capture the reflection of bright sunshine on one of the stained glass windows and to portray the quality of the stonemason’s work, It was a lovely summers day when I visited Astbury Church and took the photograph which I later worked from.
Picture size mounted 450 x 360mm (approx. 510 x 420mm framed)
Picture mounted: £45 Number available: Five
Picture framed: £85 Number available: Four
Picture Number 3:
Snow in Priesty Fields (1983)
This image was photographed by my dear friend, Keith Rowley, over Christmas/New Year when he had taken his dogs out for a walk down from his house on Waggs Road. He and l, along with our other friends spent a good part of our childhood playing in Priesty Fields and have spent many countless hours placing stones across the brook to make a dam, building dens in the woods and sledging when we got snow. What a wonderful playground we had!
Picture size mounted 560 x 460mm
Price framed: £95 Number available: Five
Price mounted: £55 Number available Eight
Snow in Priesty Fields (1983)
This image was photographed by my dear friend, Keith Rowley, over Christmas/New Year when he had taken his dogs out for a walk down from his house on Waggs Road. He and l, along with our other friends spent a good part of our childhood playing in Priesty Fields and have spent many countless hours placing stones across the brook to make a dam, building dens in the woods and sledging when we got snow. What a wonderful playground we had!
Picture size mounted 560 x 460mm
Price framed: £95 Number available: Five
Price mounted: £55 Number available Eight
Picture Number 4:
Watching falling leaves in Wildboar Clough with Cynthia (2021-25)
Wildboar Clough is one of my favourite places to visit which we do several times a year. Certainly when we have been to Buxton I am sure to take a detour back to this beautiful valley.
My dear sister, Cynthia, suffered for many years with Alzheimer’s and had full time home carers for several years before she died in 2021, We took care of Cynthia on Saturdays to give her carers a break. She and I drove to Wildboar Clough in the fall and I remember vividly standing together enjoying this beautiful scene that day.
Picture size mounted: 650 x 550mm (approx 750 x 650mm framed)
Price mounted: £150 Number available: Four
Price framed: £200 Number available: Four
Watching falling leaves in Wildboar Clough with Cynthia (2021-25)
Wildboar Clough is one of my favourite places to visit which we do several times a year. Certainly when we have been to Buxton I am sure to take a detour back to this beautiful valley.
My dear sister, Cynthia, suffered for many years with Alzheimer’s and had full time home carers for several years before she died in 2021, We took care of Cynthia on Saturdays to give her carers a break. She and I drove to Wildboar Clough in the fall and I remember vividly standing together enjoying this beautiful scene that day.
Picture size mounted: 650 x 550mm (approx 750 x 650mm framed)
Price mounted: £150 Number available: Four
Price framed: £200 Number available: Four
Picture Number 5:
Reg Cottrell, Blacksmith of Timbersbrook (2020)
When my sister and I were kids, our Mum and Dad took us many times to visit Uncle Reg and Auntie Mary (Reg was my mother’s cousin) who lived on Under Rainbow Road in Timbersbrook. Uncle Reg was the village blacksmith and I enjoyed watching him at work shoeing horses and welding. Uncle Reg frequented his local pub, The Fairhouse (Coach and Horses) where he regularly played cards with his friends as in this picture. My sister and I always had great fun there and it’s no wonder that I now live in Timbersbrook.
Picture size mounted: 400 x 520mm (approx 470 x 580mm framed)
Price mounted: £55 Number available: Five
Price framed: £95 Number available: Five
Reg Cottrell, Blacksmith of Timbersbrook (2020)
When my sister and I were kids, our Mum and Dad took us many times to visit Uncle Reg and Auntie Mary (Reg was my mother’s cousin) who lived on Under Rainbow Road in Timbersbrook. Uncle Reg was the village blacksmith and I enjoyed watching him at work shoeing horses and welding. Uncle Reg frequented his local pub, The Fairhouse (Coach and Horses) where he regularly played cards with his friends as in this picture. My sister and I always had great fun there and it’s no wonder that I now live in Timbersbrook.
Picture size mounted: 400 x 520mm (approx 470 x 580mm framed)
Price mounted: £55 Number available: Five
Price framed: £95 Number available: Five
Picture Number. 6:
Street scene in Srinagar, Kashmir (1966)
In 1966 I travelled overland to India with a group of people who answered a small advertisement in the Manchester Evening News. I talked my sister, Cynthia and her husband Bob (Muncaster) to come along too and it was on that trip that I met my wife Di.
After many adventures (and misadventures) we finally arrived in New Delhi in October of 1966. A group of us decided to take a trip to Kashmir and after a two day hair raising bus journey arrived safely in Srinagar. We stayed on a houseboat on one of the canals which lead to Dal Lake. The cost full board, was seven rupees a day (seven shillings in those days) and we stayed there for a week. I made a number of pencil sketches in and around Srinagar and I think this is the best one.
Picture size mounted: 520 x 400mm (approx 620 x 500mm framed)
Picture framed: £40 Number available: Four
Street scene in Srinagar, Kashmir (1966)
In 1966 I travelled overland to India with a group of people who answered a small advertisement in the Manchester Evening News. I talked my sister, Cynthia and her husband Bob (Muncaster) to come along too and it was on that trip that I met my wife Di.
After many adventures (and misadventures) we finally arrived in New Delhi in October of 1966. A group of us decided to take a trip to Kashmir and after a two day hair raising bus journey arrived safely in Srinagar. We stayed on a houseboat on one of the canals which lead to Dal Lake. The cost full board, was seven rupees a day (seven shillings in those days) and we stayed there for a week. I made a number of pencil sketches in and around Srinagar and I think this is the best one.
Picture size mounted: 520 x 400mm (approx 620 x 500mm framed)
Picture framed: £40 Number available: Four
Picture Number 7:
Junks at Low Tide
We lived and worked in Hong Kong from 1967-71
and this black and white sketch I had printed there. We had a very enjoyable time living in HK and made many friends. It was at that time a Crown Colony and we were very impressed with their excellent governance making it a safe and happy place to be for everyone. They had also built accommodation for over one million homeless Chinese immigrants there at that time. I find it very annoying that today we are led to believe that our colonies were terrible and in the case of HK the opposite was true. Indeed it was a place of opportunity for all.
Picture size mounted: 540 x 380mm (approx 600 x 430mm framed)
Picture mounted: £30 Number available: Five
Picture framed: £50 Number available: Five
Junks at Low Tide
We lived and worked in Hong Kong from 1967-71
and this black and white sketch I had printed there. We had a very enjoyable time living in HK and made many friends. It was at that time a Crown Colony and we were very impressed with their excellent governance making it a safe and happy place to be for everyone. They had also built accommodation for over one million homeless Chinese immigrants there at that time. I find it very annoying that today we are led to believe that our colonies were terrible and in the case of HK the opposite was true. Indeed it was a place of opportunity for all.
Picture size mounted: 540 x 380mm (approx 600 x 430mm framed)
Picture mounted: £30 Number available: Five
Picture framed: £50 Number available: Five
Picture Number 8:
Vanishing Heritage in Vancouver (1971)
After living in Hong Kong for three and a half years we decided to go and live in Vancouver where Di had lived previously and wanted to go back. This resulted in us living there for five years and our son, Alex, was born there. At that time the city was expanding at a great rate and older buildings demolished to make way for high rises (older buildings were not protected in any way). `I thought it tragic that such lovely old buildings were lost and when I saw this one I sketched it and made a print, two weeks later it had been torn down!
Picture size mounted: 510 x 410mm(approx 560 x 460mm)
Price mounted: £30 Number available: Five
Price framed: £50 Number available: Five
Vanishing Heritage in Vancouver (1971)
After living in Hong Kong for three and a half years we decided to go and live in Vancouver where Di had lived previously and wanted to go back. This resulted in us living there for five years and our son, Alex, was born there. At that time the city was expanding at a great rate and older buildings demolished to make way for high rises (older buildings were not protected in any way). `I thought it tragic that such lovely old buildings were lost and when I saw this one I sketched it and made a print, two weeks later it had been torn down!
Picture size mounted: 510 x 410mm(approx 560 x 460mm)
Price mounted: £30 Number available: Five
Price framed: £50 Number available: Five
Picture Number 9:
Sunlit glade in Mauritius (2009)
When we went on holiday to Mauritius in 2009 we took the opportunity to travel around the Island. This image was taken by me on the less travelled east coast road. It was such a beautiful place, looking at the dappled sunlight through the trees to the tempting beach and sea beyond. If you buy one of these prints you should save some money on your heating bill because it seems to make the room seem warmer in whatever room you have it.
Picture size: 850 x 600mm
Price printed on paper and mounted: £150
Number available: Five
Price printed on canvas and framed: £200
Number available: Five
Sunlit glade in Mauritius (2009)
When we went on holiday to Mauritius in 2009 we took the opportunity to travel around the Island. This image was taken by me on the less travelled east coast road. It was such a beautiful place, looking at the dappled sunlight through the trees to the tempting beach and sea beyond. If you buy one of these prints you should save some money on your heating bill because it seems to make the room seem warmer in whatever room you have it.
Picture size: 850 x 600mm
Price printed on paper and mounted: £150
Number available: Five
Price printed on canvas and framed: £200
Number available: Five
Picture Number 10:
Sunset on Galiano Island (2000)
In 1975 we moved back to Congleton where we have lived ever since. We did, and still do have, a number of friends (and Di’s cousins) in Vancouver so have been back to visit regularly ever since, Our son, Alex, who was born there, decided to move back after University and is still there and where we have two grandsons. We have been close friends with Larry and Charlene McDonald since we lived there and this is a view from their holiday home on Galiano Island which is one of a number of islands between the City of Vancouver and Vancouver Island.
Picture size mounted: 550 x 450mm (approx 580 x 480 framed)
Price mounted: £50 Number available: Five
Price framed: £85 Number available: Five
Sunset on Galiano Island (2000)
In 1975 we moved back to Congleton where we have lived ever since. We did, and still do have, a number of friends (and Di’s cousins) in Vancouver so have been back to visit regularly ever since, Our son, Alex, who was born there, decided to move back after University and is still there and where we have two grandsons. We have been close friends with Larry and Charlene McDonald since we lived there and this is a view from their holiday home on Galiano Island which is one of a number of islands between the City of Vancouver and Vancouver Island.
Picture size mounted: 550 x 450mm (approx 580 x 480 framed)
Price mounted: £50 Number available: Five
Price framed: £85 Number available: Five
Picture Number 11:
Driftwood on Gibsons Beach B.C (2024)
Di’s cousin, Eve, lives in a place called Gibsons on the Sunshine Coast which is a 40 minute ferry trip across Howe Sound from Vancouver. The coastal scenery there is beautiful and this is an example. Logging is still a major industry on the west coast and many are floated down rivers to the sea where they are tied together into rafts and moved by tugs to the sawmills. However, storms do sometimes result in rafts losing some logs and so many end up on the beaches. Some have been floating around on and off beaches for many years and I guess some are more than a hundred years old.
Picture size mounted: 450mm x 550mm (approx 480 x 570mm framed)
Price mounted: £55 Number available: Five
Price framed: £95 Number available: Three
Driftwood on Gibsons Beach B.C (2024)
Di’s cousin, Eve, lives in a place called Gibsons on the Sunshine Coast which is a 40 minute ferry trip across Howe Sound from Vancouver. The coastal scenery there is beautiful and this is an example. Logging is still a major industry on the west coast and many are floated down rivers to the sea where they are tied together into rafts and moved by tugs to the sawmills. However, storms do sometimes result in rafts losing some logs and so many end up on the beaches. Some have been floating around on and off beaches for many years and I guess some are more than a hundred years old.
Picture size mounted: 450mm x 550mm (approx 480 x 570mm framed)
Price mounted: £55 Number available: Five
Price framed: £95 Number available: Three
Picture Number12:
Canadian Pacific (2023)
This is a painting I made from a paint sketch done by Maria, our son Alex’s wife, of a beach on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. The island is populated mainly in the south and around the capital, Victoria particularly. When you travel north from Victoria on the West Coast there is miles and miles of beautiful beaches, such as this, with nobody there. Coastal wilderness to lift the heart.
Picture Size mounted:430 x 380mm (approx 525 x 475 framed)
Price mounted: £45 Number available: Five
Price framed: £75 Number available: Three
Canadian Pacific (2023)
This is a painting I made from a paint sketch done by Maria, our son Alex’s wife, of a beach on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. The island is populated mainly in the south and around the capital, Victoria particularly. When you travel north from Victoria on the West Coast there is miles and miles of beautiful beaches, such as this, with nobody there. Coastal wilderness to lift the heart.
Picture Size mounted:430 x 380mm (approx 525 x 475 framed)
Price mounted: £45 Number available: Five
Price framed: £75 Number available: Three
Picture Number 13:
Little Karoo South Africa (2014)
Di and I have a number of relatives living in Cape Town and we have visited there on many occasions to visit them and to tour. Our dear friends, Men and Mike Higgins had a weekend cottage in Montagu which is about a three hour drive from Cape Town. On one of our visits we drove through a beautiful area called Little Karoo and I subsequently painted this picture,
Picture size mounted: 530 x 410mm (600 x 480mm framed)
Price mounted: £45 Number available: Three
Price framed: £75 Number available: Three
Little Karoo South Africa (2014)
Di and I have a number of relatives living in Cape Town and we have visited there on many occasions to visit them and to tour. Our dear friends, Men and Mike Higgins had a weekend cottage in Montagu which is about a three hour drive from Cape Town. On one of our visits we drove through a beautiful area called Little Karoo and I subsequently painted this picture,
Picture size mounted: 530 x 410mm (600 x 480mm framed)
Price mounted: £45 Number available: Three
Price framed: £75 Number available: Three
Picture Number 14:
Castle Coombe (1998)
This picture was painted from a photograph I found in a magazine. We had planned to visit there because it just looks like a lovey place, but unfortunately we haven’t got round to it yet!
Picture size mounted: 400 x 510mm (450 x 560mm framed)
Price mounted: £45 Number available: One
Price framed: £75 Number available: Three
Castle Coombe (1998)
This picture was painted from a photograph I found in a magazine. We had planned to visit there because it just looks like a lovey place, but unfortunately we haven’t got round to it yet!
Picture size mounted: 400 x 510mm (450 x 560mm framed)
Price mounted: £45 Number available: One
Price framed: £75 Number available: Three
Picture Number 15:
Cheyney Court, Winchester
We have spent a couple of weekends in Winchester, mainly to visit the fabulous Cathedral. Cheney Court is a much photographed Grade One listed set of adjoined half timbered buildings with flint stone below and adjacent to the Cathedral. It has been occupied historically by the Headmaster of Winchesters foremost preparatory school, Pilgrims which is in the Cathedral Close.
Picture size mounted 450 x 360mm (510 x 430mm framed)
Price mounted: £45 Number available: Four
Price framed: £75 Number available: Three
Cheyney Court, Winchester
We have spent a couple of weekends in Winchester, mainly to visit the fabulous Cathedral. Cheney Court is a much photographed Grade One listed set of adjoined half timbered buildings with flint stone below and adjacent to the Cathedral. It has been occupied historically by the Headmaster of Winchesters foremost preparatory school, Pilgrims which is in the Cathedral Close.
Picture size mounted 450 x 360mm (510 x 430mm framed)
Price mounted: £45 Number available: Four
Price framed: £75 Number available: Three
Picture Number 16:
Sandy Forest. (2005)
This is my interpretation and very much paying homage to the famous Russian landscape artist, Ivan Ivanivich Siskin. We were fortunate to spend some time in St. Petersburgh a few yeas ago and were able to visit the State Russian Museum which holds a number of his masterpieces. .
Picture size mounted 460 x 510mm (approx 540 x 590 framed)
Price mounted: £55 Number available: Three
Price framed: £85 Number available: Three
Sandy Forest. (2005)
This is my interpretation and very much paying homage to the famous Russian landscape artist, Ivan Ivanivich Siskin. We were fortunate to spend some time in St. Petersburgh a few yeas ago and were able to visit the State Russian Museum which holds a number of his masterpieces. .
Picture size mounted 460 x 510mm (approx 540 x 590 framed)
Price mounted: £55 Number available: Three
Price framed: £85 Number available: Three
Picture Number 17:
Llandbedrog Headland. (2012)
This picture is a view from Fach Farm near Abersoch and had it printed in support of RNLI. That part of the Llyn Peninsula in North Wales is very beautiful and we like many people from Congleton have spent a lot of time there over the years.
Picture size mounted 490 x 385mm (560 x 460mm framed)
Price mounted: £40 Number available: Three
Price Framed: £75 Number available: Three
Llandbedrog Headland. (2012)
This picture is a view from Fach Farm near Abersoch and had it printed in support of RNLI. That part of the Llyn Peninsula in North Wales is very beautiful and we like many people from Congleton have spent a lot of time there over the years.
Picture size mounted 490 x 385mm (560 x 460mm framed)
Price mounted: £40 Number available: Three
Price Framed: £75 Number available: Three
