Shelford Lives – In Ely

Do you remember the Coneys of Woollards Lane? Well, we lived at number 20 for over 30 years before moving to Ely just two years ago. Although we loved it in Great Shelford and our children Yve, Leo and Max grew up there, once they had all gone we decided we needed a change. I had just retired from Hills Road Sixth Form College and still had lots of energy to tackle new projects. I was keen to open our house as a small gallery at weekends to display my paintings but knew that Woollards Lane would not be suitable, as not on the footfall of tourists.

It has to be said that Hazel was not as keen to move as me, so we had to choose carefully where we would go. Initially, I was hell bent on Sheringham, as we had had lots of lovely summer holidays there. However, Hazel did not think it a good idea to go somewhere which was so isolated, only had summer trade and could be consumed by the oceans at any moment! We both decided what we wanted was a market town with a wow factor. We chose to look at Bury St Edmunds, Stamford and Ely. The problem was to find somewhere that was in the right spot in the town, where tourists would visit. Also, somewhere we actually liked living and with a garage for my 1931 Morris Minor (now do you remember me?) The latter was very important because I saw the car as one of the exhibits, especially as it appears in three of the paintings.

After a lot of looking we found our new house in Ely, by the river. We have just had the launch party for sixty people and are now open to the public on Sunday afternoons, (Saturdays as well in July and August).
For a modest £3 admission charge I will give you a half hour tour of the house and some of the paintings and you can even buy a postcard at the end. If you have enjoyed it you can come back because I have devised eight different tours! Not that the house is that big, it is just that I have a lot of paintings! All the paintings, which have been produced over the last forty years, are about family life and family relationships, hence the title TED CONEY’S FAMILY PORTRAITS. See you there!