The artistic community is mourning the death of a well-known art gallery owner from north Lancashire.

Edward James Dowbiggin, who founded the Wolf House Gallery in Silverdale, has died at the age of 68, following a long fight with cancer.

Mr Dowbiggin was born at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary and was educated at Christchurch Junior School and the Friends School in Lancaster.

On leaving school, Mr Dowbiggin followed a family tradition by taking a job in the work study department at Storeys of Lancaster, where both his father and grandfather had previously been directors.

He met his future wife, Denise, at a Valentine's Day party in Lancaster in 1962 and they married four years later in Bolton-le-Sands and went on to raise two girls, Rachel and Nicky.

Following a stint working at K Shoes in Kendal, Mr Dowbiggin decided to swap industry for art and he successfully won an auction for the Silverdale house, which he and his wife transformed into the Wolf House Gallery.

The couple's dream began in the humble surroundings of the front room of the home, which in the early days served as both a gallery and a tearoom, while Mr Dowbiggin continued to work at Hornsea Pottery, in Lancaster.

The venture really took off a year later, however, when Mr Dowbiggin was made redundant from the firm and he ploughed both his pay-off and his enthusiasm into the gallery and invested in a barn conversion which created the extra space they needed.

Over the next 30 years, the gallery became both a success and a way of life for the family and it has welcomed visitors from all over the world and established itself as an important outlet for local artists.

Following his retirement, Mr Dowbiggin developed an interest in rural issues, and a passion for photography and cycling, and he enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren and menagerie of pet animals.