Gloucester - Sainsburys

Gloucester provides two-for-the-price-of-one in terms of Henry and Joyce Collins concrete murals. We have already looked at the BHS in Eastgate Street, and now it is the turn of Sainsbury's in Hare Lane.

The Sainsbury's mural is formed as one continuous piece, unlike the separate panels approach that we have seen at BHS in both Gloucester and Stockport.

However, this does make viewing the artwork in its totality as rather difficult, as the view from further away is obscured by parked cars (and a green wheelie bin).

We are, however, back to the historical theme, which means that I have more work in trying to decode it. Although actually in this case no, as the wonderful Gloucester Civic Trust (https://www.gloucestercivictrust.org/) have a guide to the mural which can be downloaded.

So, from the Gloucester Civic Trust source, we have from the left:

Dobunni - the name of tribe in Gloucestershire at the time of the Roman invasion.

And around this name we have a Dobunnic coin, a coin of Allectus (Emperor of Britain AD 293 - 296), and a Roman head found locally.

The characters to the right are described as figures of a Roman legionary soldier and an early British chieftain.

Below these two figures are more coins, that of Eisu, who was a Dobunnic chieftain c AD 30 - 43, and Nerva, who founded the colonia of Glevum.

Next we have the wheel-like pattern, which is a feature common to many of the Sainsbury's murals. And below that is the tombstone of Rufus Sita, a Roman cavalryman, and the eagle standard of the Roman legion.

The name Bodvoc belongs to a Dobunnic chieftain. The squiggly odd-shaped things below are the Birdlip Mirror (AD 25) and shaft of an Anglo-Saxon cross (c. AD 900). Both items are in the City Museum (or at least were at the time the guide was written (1976) - and may still be as I haven't checked).

Two further coins are those of Henry III and William the Conqueror.

The next two figures set against their orange backgrounds are Osric, a chieftain of the Hwicce tribe and founder of St Peter's Abbey, and Ethelflaeda, daughter of Alfred the Great and Lady of the Mercians.

An Old Gloucester heifer and a Cotswold ram lamb lurk below them.

Glevum is the Roman name for Gloucester. More coins again, and also the terminal of a ceremonial sceptre which was found on the Sainsbury's site.

The two figures below COLONIA are a Roman votive tablet to Mercury (god of shopkeepers and merchants, travelers and transporters of goods, and thieves and tricksters) and Rosmerta (goddess of fertility and abundance)

The coats of arms are those presented to the city by Henry VIII (1538) and Cromwell (1652), the latter also included on the BHS mural.

The Abbot of Gloucester and a Norman soldier now put in an appearance.

Gleaweceastre is the Saxon name for Gloucester (thank goodness it was changed). The features below that are a Severn coracle and paddle, and a token commemorating the start of work on the Gloucester and Berkeley canal.

The last section includes a cup from a Roman mosaic and the City Guild Merchant seal from 1200. Finally,  hidden by the wheelie bin , we have the Gloucestershire Old Spot pig "Chedworth Pansy the 22nd".

We have certainly learnt a lot about Gloucester's history today.

The Civic Trust guide also notes that the mural measures 14.20 m x 2.25 m, and was cast in 1970 (by Hutton (Builders) Limited, Birch - as were all of Henry and Joyce Collins' concrete murals).

Photographs taken on 27 March 2019.