Painting of Bebington cottage is by artist from the 1800s

Former NHS consultant paediatrician, Nisar Mir, recently moved from Woolton Village to enjoy retirement with wife Valerie in Prenton.

Having spotted a beautiful painting titled 'Bebington Village' - featuring a thatched cottage - in a West Kirby store, he was able to agree a purchase for £40.

Nisar told the Globe: "As an inquisitive researcher, I was delightfully rewarded with what I learnt, from a limited number of sources, about the artist and his inspirational input for the painting.

The beautiful thatched cottage in Bebington is still standing and lived in today

"‘Bebington Village’ by Edwin Thomas Viner is a 27.5x17.5cm watercolour painting, perhaps inspired from what was then ‘Bebbington Thatched Cottage,’ popularly known as The Thatch.

"The cottage was built in 1656 and was the focal reference point for the visitors being the oldest private dwelling in the area.

"The cottage has witnessed and weathered many changes and I have had the pleasure of talking to its current owners, Pauline, and her husband Steve, who have been living in this cottage for the past 21 years."

After initially thinking that the cottage had been demolished to make way for Mayor Park, Nisar discovered that is very much still standing, located over the road from the Wellington Pub on Village Road.

A period image of the cottage in Bebington village

According to Nisar's research, Edwin Thomas Viner was born into Edwin Thomas Viner (father) and Elizabeth Thornton/Viner (mother) in Aston Birmingham in 1867. After his schooling, he studied at Liverpool School of Art. He was married to Ruth Ellison in West Derby, Liverpool (1894).

He practised as carver, guilder, and professional frame maker with special skills in relining and restoration of oil paintings.

He taught at Hoylake Technical College and lived at 38 Birkenhead Road in Hoylake.

He is highly regarded as a Victorian landscape artist specialising in watercolour; he exhibited his work widely. His watercolour paintings depict his love of the natural beauty of the countryside, rustic scenes, cottages, and garden florals.

His paintings include Hoylake Village Scene (Wirral), Cottage on a Cliff (North Wales), Heathland Landscape (Billingshurst), A View of Ludlow Castle (Shropshire) and Broadway Village (Cotswold Worcestershire).

Nisar Mir found a postcard of the cottage on Ebay

Nisar said: "When I first saw this painting, I was mesmerized by its vibrant complementary colours with a fusion of reality and dream like quality that takes you on a voyage, through time, to the experience of the era gone by and of the families who might have lived there.

"It appears that Edwin T Viner’s painting ‘Bebington Village’ has remained unnoticed and has not been exhibited previously.

"It may also reflect the period when he earned his living as a professional frame maker as is evident from the description on the back of the picture frame.

"I would very much value further information, that readers might want to contribute, regarding this painting."

Do you know more about the work of Edwin Thomas Viner or other local artists of his time? If so, email richard.garnett@newsquest.co.uk