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.

Examples of his works are in the following collections :

• National Museums of Wales
• Victoria and Albert Museum
• Cadw Welsh Historic Monuments
• Royal Commission Historic Buildings, England
• National Library of Wales
• Ironbridge Museum
• The National Trust
• Newport Museum and Art Gallery
• Cardiff City Council
• Gwynedd Record Office
• Clwyd Record Office
• and many private collections

He has published two books :
Word in Your Eye or What Is Design ?

In the forward to this, Professor Robert Brown of Design Wales wrote "I have known and admired Falcon's work many years.  I hope that you will agree that this book is a triumph of personal achievement." The book is available from Amazon.

Newport Transporter Bridge

Winner of two awards.  In reviewing this, David de Haan of Ironbridge Museum wrote "It is a beautiful book...  Undoubtedly the most gifted illustrator of industrial archaeology since John Cooke Bourne, Falcon combines aesthetic results with a clear grasp of technical details."  The book is available from Newport Museum and Art Gallery.

The following book has also been published recently :

Worktown : The Drawings of Falcon D Hildred

By Peter Wakelin ISBN 978-1-971184-47-1  £16.95
Published 2012 by The Royal Commission on Historic Buildings Wales.
Available on order from bookshops or from Amazon.

200 Colour illustrations select a range of work produced over a lifetime, including designs, drawings for conservation campaigns, and a couple of student examples.  But of course it is the historical record that forms the bulk of the work - work which includes examples from Grimsby, Coventry, London, Newcastle, Cardiff, Newport, Scotland, and of course, Blaenau Ffestiniog.
The drawings are accurate, without being tedious, atmospheric where appropriate, and artistic yet without artistic license.  It is therefore a book designed to serve as a reliable work of reference, yet also to be thoroughly enjoyed.