Frances Lennon MBE

Frances Lennon MBE was an artist from Stretford, Manchester, best known for her paintings of Trafford in the early 20^th century. Born on 12 September 1912, Frances lived on Haddon Street, Stretford with her parents, Edward and Margaret Mooney and her siblings, Margaret and Wilfrid. Between 1915 and 1923, she attended St Ann’s School, Stretford, continuing her education at the Adelphi House Convent School, Salford.

Haddon Street, Stretford Street Plan, 1908. Trafford Local Studies collection, cat. ref. PLA/1/772/14

Photograph of workers at Metropolitan-Vickers heading home. A note on the back reads 'Mostly on foot or heading for the nearest bus stop. No cars those days for the working class'. Trafford Local Studies collection, cat. ref. LHC/1966.

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In 1928, at the age of sixteen, Frances began working as a draughtsman’s assistant at the Metropolitan-Vickers factory in Trafford Park. It was here where her artistic talents were acknowledged, leading to her working on commissions as the company’s social artist. Despite this opportunity, she also experienced some setbacks; one such time being when she had sent some of her illustrations to Punch magazine for publication and they were returned to her without explanation. A friend commented that it may have been because she was a woman and so with a slight adjustment to her name; dropping the ‘e’ in Frances and replacing it with and ‘i’ to become Francis, she found her illustrations were then accepted and published in the magazine.

In February 1938, she married local fireman William (Bill) Lennon at St. Ann’s Church, Stretford, moving to the Bradford Fire Station, Manchester, soon after. Bill served during the Manchester Blitz, aiding in the attempts to save Shambles Square in Manchester city centre from the Luftwaffe. However, he unfortunately sustained injuries which led to the couple moving back to Stretford in 1943. Frances found employment with the Ministry of Defence as a draughtsman, drawing up plans for new war planes. Residing in Stretford until the late 1970’s, the couple then moved to Flixton, where in 1982, Bill passed away. He was a big encouragement to Frances and her work, suggesting she put her memories to paper, and it was after this great loss that she began to dedicate more time to her work in her seventies.

A Trafford Childhood by Francess Lennon.jpg

A Trafford Childhood (book) by Frances Lennon. Trafford Local Studies collection, cat. ref. 96688378

Using her gift of a photographic memory, Frances’ paintings bring back to life the sights and atmosphere of a Trafford long lost, depicting scenes from her youth that give detailed accounts of daily life against the backdrop of the early 20^th century. Reminiscing on local characters such as the ‘Good Lady Spinster’, ‘Mrs. Never Sleeps’ and of course ‘Fireman Bill’, she records visual descriptions of her local shop in Gorse Hill, street scenes of children playing, workers in Trafford Park and local places and events such as Stretford’s Edge Lane, Urmston’s Lovers Lane and the once-annual Stretford Pageant. These vivid and colourful insights gift us the ability to see these sights with our own eyes, transporting us back to a time many of us may have never lived yet somehow still feels familiar. The celebration of family and community embodied within her paintings led to her affectionately called ‘The People's Artist’; a name that could also refer to her tireless support of the local charities. Through sales of her paintings and published books, she raised thousands of pounds, with one of her first paintings purchased by Winston Churchill; great grandson of the late Prime Minister. The only condition Frances kindly insisted upon was that he donate the money from the sale to Trafford General Hospital.

In 2002, at age 90, Frances’ work was recognised on a wider scale when she was named as the Official Artist of the XVII Commonwealth Games, embarking on a series of paintings to commemorate both the Games and the Queen’s Golden Jubilee. In 2004, Frances was included in the New Year’s Honours List, later awarded an MBE by Prince Charles for her contribution to the arts and her charity work. In the same year, she was also honoured by the Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Salford for her services to the arts and bringing enthusiasm for art to all age groups through her visits to local schools. She was also the first recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award given by Trafford Council.

Following on from these achievements, she was commissioned by many businesses and campaigns to produce paintings for various events; for example; the Trafford Centre's fifth birthday, the opening of the Eastlands Asda store, and Sport England for the 2006 Commonwealth Games held in Melbourne, Australia. These were to be her final commissions as at age 92, she decided to take a step back from painting, to fully enjoy her much-deserved retirement. In 2015, at age 102, Frances passed away, leaving behind an incredible legacy as one of the North West’s most important artists.

Researched and written by Trafford Local Studies volunteer Lauren Kenna

Sources

'Frances Lennon exhibited by Royle Lennon Galleries' Facebook page

Woman's Hour, 'Frances Lennon' (this is an archived BBC page), <https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/2005_05_thu_04.shtml>, 3 February 2005

'Honorary degree for Games artist', (this is an old BBC article), <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/3891499.stm>, 14 July 2004

'Two degree for veteran artist, 92', Manchester Evening News website, <https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/two-degrees-for-veteran-artist-92-1113707>, 15 February 2007 (updated 12 January 2013)

Katie Story, 'Frances Lennon MBE: Painter chosen as official artist for the Manchester Commonwealth Games dies aged 102', Manchester Evening News website, <https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/peoples-artist-who-captured-mancheser-8593866>, 6 February 2015

Frances Lennon, A Trafford Childhood, Willow Publishing, Altrincham, 1986.