Falcon Hildred
Falcon Hildred was born in Grimsby in 1935 when it was the World's premier fishing town. From the very beginning he was fascinated by the sounds, shapes and smells of industry. He came to know other working towns - mill towns and mining towns - and he liked the way they were so open about what they did. The cranes and viaducts, terrace-houses and lines of washing, dialects and factory sirens, gave them integrity and identity, and a vitality which has now been lost. A wartime move to Coventry extended his interest, and it was here at the age of thirteen that he began his art training, which he completed at the Royal College of Art, where he received a medal for work of distinction. Although an industrial designer by profession, he has spent most of his life recording industrial archaeology, under the Theme title of Worktown. In 1993 he was made an honorary member of The Royal Society of Architects in Wales for "his consummate contribution to the recording and appreciation of the built environment.” He now lives and works in a mill overlooking the slate mining town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, in Gwynedd, North Wales.
