As you can probably guess, the Stockport mural was commissioned by British Home Stores. I love the fact that the mural includes a depiction of the shop's façade.
The 1978 date refers to when the mural was installed. I am not sure about the 1934 date - I assume that this was when British Homes Stores opened their first shop in Stockport. The company as a whole dates from 1928, but unfortunately went into administration in 2016, with its last store closing in June of that year.
The mural is located in a somewhat uninviting alleyway between buildings. The photograph below shows the view from the central aisle of the shopping centre, with the mural running along the right hand side wall. As you can see, the British Home Stores building is now occupied by Poundland.
Closer inspection shows two things - firstly that there are five panels making up the mural, and secondly it is not the tidiest of locations.
A quick word about the Merseyway Shopping Centre before we look at the mural in more detail. It was opened in 1965 and is build on stilts above the River Mersey. It replaced a main road with a pedestrianised shopping area, and was ahead of the curve in this respect. The centre was bought by Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council in April 2016 to ensure its long-term survival in this period of major retail upheaval. Hopefully this also means a long-term future for the H&J Collins mural.
And so the mural itself. Panel 1 has the British Home Stores shop front depiction, and then lots of things you can buy inside...
...like lampshapes, and clocks, and clothes, and teddy bears, and satchels and so many other things. This might be a pictorial representation of the basket of goods that made up the Retail Price Index in the 1970s.
Panel 2 is dominated by three characters, each set against their own colourful background. As we will come to see, Henry and Joyce Collins undertook considerable research to ensure that their artwork was relevant to the areas in which they are displayed.
The three gentlemen in question are Richard Cobden, Samuel Bamford and The Cheshire Farmer.
Richard Cobden (1804 - 1865) became the co-owner of a calico printing factory. He was heavily involved in politics, jointly founding the Anti Corn Law League in 1838, and becoming MP for Stockport in 1841.
Samuel Bamford (1788 - 1872) was also involved in local politics (including the Corn Laws), and was also a poet.
The Cheshire Farmer refers to Jonathan Thatcher who was, yes, a farmer in Cheshire. In 1784, in a protest against a tax on horse saddles, he rode to market in Stockport on an ox.
There is so much other stuff going on. There is coin -shaped object with the words "Heaton Norris Bowling Green" - thanks to the Modern Mooch blog (www.modernmooch.com), I believe this refers to the nearby Heaton Morris park, where entry originally required a token.
And Royal Hatters and Christy's Pigeon Post? Well Stockport was a major centre for the hat industry, exporting over six million hats a year by 1884. Christy's was, and still is but not in Stockport, a hat manufacturer. As for the pigeon post, I have no idea what they used that for.
Best to move on to Panel 3.
Two gentlemen above the dates 1642 and 1732. The first date refers to the start of the English Civil War between the Parliamentarians and the Royalists (the Roundheads versus the Cavaliers). Nowadays of course there would be a referendum that both main sides would seek to honour but by different means and not really believing in it anyway, and so just go round and round in circles for years achieving nothing at all except the alienation of the entire population and then get a good kicking at the local elections.
Anyway, the panel also includes the badge of The Cheshire Regiment and the seal of the Commonwealth of England, representing the two sides.
The figure on the right is believed to be Robert Duckenfield (1619 - 1689), who was a Parliamentarian commander.
1732 refers to the date when Stockport's first silk mill was opened. I have seen reference to the figure on the left being that of John Lombe, who held a patent for silk machinery until there was a parliamentary petition by local silk millers which then opened the way for new mills.
Panel 4 - we continue to go back in time, so you could argue I am looking at them in the wrong order.
Two more people, two more dates.
The year 1334 saw the death of Richard de Vernon, who was the long-time rector of St Mary's church in Stockport. And 1487 marked the death of Sir Edmond Shaa who, amongst many other things, was Lord Mayor of London in 1482. In his will he left money for the founding of Stockport Grammar School.
Panel 5, and two more people and two more dates again. It is getting a bit messy as to who is represented and what the dates refer two as there are different versions available. The two people may be the second and third Robert de Stokeport who were born in 1239 and 1260 respectively. However, 1260 is also the date in which Stockport was granted a charter to hold a weekly market. The coats of arms on the shields could probably tell us more.
So the concrete murals of Henry and Joyce Collins are not just works of art, they are also a detailed history lesson.
I leave you with just a few other random shots of the Stockport mural.
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