Concrete Murals: July 2019

The Henry and Joyce Collins' mural in Worcester is another Sainsbury's commission. It is quite a considerable trek from the city centre to Windermere Drive in the Blackpole area, but well worth it when you get there.

The mural is in two sections, one of which was at the time of visit partially obscured by long row of waiting trolleys.

The mural follows the familiar pattern, covering numerous references to local history. There is an awful lot of detail, but luckily there is a plaque on each section which outlines what is shown.

Let's start with the left-hand panel. All the quotations in italics are the words from the plaque.

"VERTIS - Roman name for this settlement at Worcester"

"Figure of HWICCE chieftain"

"Food vessel and beaker period pot from City Museum"

"HWICCE Saxon name for local tribe"

"MERCIA, name of Kingdom, Coins gold stater REGNENSES tribe from City Museum"

"HAROLD II silver penny minted Worcester (1066 coin)"

"Symbols of sheep farming, wool basket, medieval plough, fishing."

"Sun motif. Weapons, flints and ornaments"

The sun motif is the symbol used on all the commissions for Sainsburys.

"Coin from the City Museum AETHELRED II, minted Worcester"

"Head of Green Man from cloister, arms from Beauchamp tomb King John tomb"

King John's tomb is the oldest surviving English royal effigy.

"Arms of county and city"
The city coat of arms has two shields - one with the castle, and a later addition of the pears (see reference to Elizabeth I below).
The black pears are also a feature of the county coat of arms, this time incorporating a whole tree. The county coat of arms is much more recent, being granted in 1947.

"WEOGERNACEASTER Anglo Saxon name of city"

"Cathedral history St Dunstan, St Oswald, St Wulstan"

Dunstan (909 - 988) was Bishop of Worcester, before becoming Archbishop of Canterbury.He was canonised in 1049.

Oswald (died 992) was also a Bishop of Worcester, and for a period was simultaneously Archbishop of York.

The triplet of Bishops of Worcester is completed by Wulstan (1008 - 1095)

"Cathedral and shield with names of ecclesiastical worthies"

Construction of Worcester cathedral was begun by Bishop Wulfstan in 1084, but as with most ancient cathedrals it has a complicated architectural history.

"WIRECESTER City name from Domesday book"
"RICHARD I (granted charter 1189) and ELIZABETH I who after visiting the city ordered Black Pears on City Arms"
"Bridge foundations by John GWYNNE 1771 - 1780"

The five arch stone bridge was started in 1771 and opened to traffic in 1780. It was subsequently widened and re-opened in 1932. The representation on the mural is below the two monarchs.

"Local fruit growing hops wine and vinegar"

The second panel is partially obscured by an impressively long time of idle trolleys (my visit occurring just after closing on a Sunday afternoon).

The second panel also continues with the historical theme.

"CHARLES II copper farthing 1672 from City Museum"
"Tree symbol of local fruit growing"

We have a repeat of the symbol used for Sainsburys by Henry and Joyce Collins.

"Oliver CROMWELL, CHARLES I. "The Faithful City". Battleground relics."

The dates 1642 and 1651 refer to the English Civil War in which Oliver Cromwell's forces defeated the Royalists. The first skirmish of the war was at nearby Powick in 1642, and the final battle was for the city of Worcester itself, where the Royalist army was defeated on 3 September 1651.

The image under the dates appears to be the decoration over the entrance to the current Guildhall.

"The Faithful City" is a reference to the city remaining supportive of the Royalist cause throughout the duration of the war.

"Battle of Worcester 1651. Badges , Worcestershire Yeomanry and Regiment"

The next set of figures are George Fox, Sarah Siddons and Dr Wall.

"Geo. FOX, Quaker founder, imprisoned 1673 - 1675 in Worcester gaol"

George Fox (1624 -1691) did indeed found the Quaker movement. In the process of doing so he often went up against civil authority, and in consequence fell foul of laws on blasphemy, causing a public disturbance and similar. He can be seen as a career criminal, being first imprisoned in Nottingham in 1649, and then in Derby, Carlisle, London, Launceston, Leicester, Scarborough, and finally in Worcester in 1673.

"Sarah SIDDONS, 1755 - 1831, educated and acted in Worcester"

Sarah Siddons was an actress, born in Brecon, Wales. I most associate the name with the Metropolitan Railway electric locomotive named after her in 1923 - the loco is preserved by London Transport.

"Dr WALL, founder Royal Porcelain 1751"

Dr John Wall was born at Powick, which is just to the south or Worcester, on 12 October 1708. As well as being the "founder Royal Porcelain" he has a remarkably rich life. For further information see https://www.museumofroyalworcester.org/learning/research/workers-and-factory-owners/dr-john-wall/

"LEA & PERRINS sauce, 1823 WORCESTER and BIRMINGHAM canal opened 1815"

Lea and Perrins Worcestershire source is still made at a factory in Midland Road, Worcester, although it is now part of the international Kraft Heinz group.

"Royal Worcester Porcelain"

Apart from the sauce, Worcester is perhaps best known for its porcelain.

"trade tokens from City Museum Horse racing, cricket, rowing"

Horse racing has taken place in Worcester since 1718, and the racecourse is very much still operational. An unsettling fact is that 55 horses have been killed at the course between 2007 and 2019.

Worcestershire County Cricket Club was founded in 1865, and has played at the New Road ground in Worcester since 1896. The club is currently only one of bottom of the County Championship Division Two.

And rowing? Well the Worcester Rowing club was founded in 1874, emerging from older clubs in the area.

"BERKELEY Hospital, 1692, on Foregate"

Berkeley's Hospital is a set of almshouses built in 1710, founded by Robert Berkeley of Spetchley. The buildings still exist on Foregate.

"Charles HASTINGS, founder BMA"

Charles Hastings (1794 - 1866) was born in Ludlow in Shropshire, but later lived and worked in Worcester.

"The Commandery, founded 1086 by WULSTAN"

""The Glovers Needle" on Deansway Glovers Trade Card"

The Glovers' Needle is the spire of St Andrews church, the main body of which was demolished in 1949. The spire and tower stand 75 metres tall, making it still the tallest building in Worcester. the name arises from glove making, which was a major industry in the city.

"Edward ELGAR, composer, 1857 - 1934 born at Broadheath"

Edward Elgar was a composer, best known for works such as the Enigma Variations, Pomp and Circumstance and The Dream Of Gerontius. His birthplace of Lower Broadheath is just to the north-west of the city. one useless fact is that there are 65 roads in the UK named after him.

The Three Choirs Festival is an annual music event rotated around the cathedrals (hence three choirs) of Hereford, Gloucester and Worcester.

"BERROW'S JOURNAL 1690, Britain's oldest newspaper"

Berrow's Worcester Journal was first published in 1690 and continues today as a free weekly paper, and thus claims to be Britain's oldest newspaper still in print.

I have barely scratched the surface in explaining the meaning behind all the image son this wonderful mural by Henry and Joyce Collins, but I hope have given you a flavour. Next stop - Droitwich.

Photographs taken on 14 July 2019.

Southampton - big port on the south coast, and home to a Henry and Joyce Collins concrete mural. Which looks glorious in the bright sunshine.

This was another commission by Sainsbury's and, as the plaque says, originally graced a store in the Lordshill area to the north of the city, but has now found a new home in the Old Town. Its location in Hamtun Street is the only one of the Collins' murals which I have seen marked as a feature on Google maps.

The plaque also notes that the mural is 19 metres long and 3 meters high, and consists of 37 panels.

The mural dates from 1978, and, as so often in the case of the work of Henry and Joyce Collins, narrates the history of the city "from the Romans and Saxons to the modern docks and liners". I feel a need to look at that history in a little more detail, starting from the beginning.

The first images are of two ancient sailing ships, the second of which would appear to relate to the Norman invasion of 1066.

As this is a mural originally commissioned by Sainsburys, it has the usual circular emblem.

Which is not to be confused with this next element - judging by other Henry and Joyce Collins' murals and what I believe is the inscription "Pax Pultrum", I assume that this is a coin which was found in the local area.

Some of the old names for Southampton (Hamtun and Hamwih) are inscribed above the names of the two principal rivers in the city.

Above these names are several images, including the Bargate, the Norman gateway into the city, and some deer, which could be a reference to the nearby New Forest National Park.

We also have images of wine and wool, two of the principal goods on which the port of Southampton was founded (French wine coming into the country and British wool exported)

Now here's a test for you - can anyone identify either this ship or the badge next to it?

The Art Deco Ocean Terminal, which provided rail connection to the ocean liners, was built in 1950 (its throw-back architectural design was a result of construction being delayed for the war). Sadly it was demolished in 1983.

The centre of the mural is dominated by the city's coat of arms, which includes the two sailing ships.

The ship below the coat of arms must surely be RMS Titanic, which sailed from Southampton on 10 April 1912.

The section is completed by an image of sailing yachts and landmarks from the city. The yachts may just represent the prevalence of sailing in this area, or may be a specific reference to the America's Cup, which was first held in 1851 around the Isle of Wight immediately to the south of Southampton.

The next section of Henry and Joyce Collins' mural focuses on the Second World War.

The military references are to:

the Spitfire (cue music and the sound of the Rolls Royce Merlin engine in your head), which was originally built in Southampton;

the Blitz, with the city suffering from 57 attacks, with 2,300 bombs and 30,000 incendiary devices dropped, resulting in 45,000 buildings damaged or destroyed, and 631 people killed;

the D-Day landings, with Southampton being a major launchpad for troops and equipment.

To battles of a different kind, the mural celebrates Southampton City's victory in the FA Cup in 1976, where they beat Manchester United 1-0.

The Schneider Trophy (competed by seaplanes from 1913 tom 1931) is also depicted, and references the wins made by Southampton-built Supermarine aircraft in 1922, 1927, 1929 and 1931 (with Sea Lion II, S.5, S.6 and S.6B planes respectively).

BTDB is the initials of the British Transport Dock Board, which was the nationalised docks authority established by the Transport Act 1962, and subsequently privatised. The logo I assume is a play on water and a docking bollard.

The final sections of the mural cover the docks and the ships that use them. The port is still very much active, and is the biggest cruise terminal and second largest container port in Britain.