Alan Boyson, RCA (1930 – 19 August 2018) was an English

muralist A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanish ...

and sculptor, who worked chiefly in glass, ceramic and concrete. Boyson studied at Manchester Regional School of Art from 1950 to 1954, and at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...

from 1954 to 1957. He was subsequently a lecturer at the School of Ceramics in Wolverhampton College of Art, during which time he established his own studio and began taking commissions. An Associate of the Royal College of Art, Boyson worked until . As well as public works, he also made smaller pieces. When his mural '' The Tree of Knowledge'', at the former Cromwell Secondary School in

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

, was given statutory protection by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

, they said: Boyson's Hull murals are the subject of an arts and film project titled ''Ships in the Sky'' by Hull filmmaker Esther Johnson, working with Untold Hull at Hull Central Libraries. The project invites the public to contribute memories and memorabilia related to the Hull Coop building and Boyson's murals. The project has been written about by House of Mirelle and in Tribune Magazine.

Works

King Edward Street - Jameson Street Junction - geograph

Boyson's works include: * decorative features and font, The Church of the Epiphany and St John,

Corby Corby is a town in North Northamptonshire, England, located north-east of Northampton. From 1974 to 2021, the town served as the administrative headquarters of the Borough of Corby. At the 2011 Census, the built-up area had a population of 5 ...

(1960–1961) * '' The Tree of Knowledge'',

(1962;

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

in 2009) **a ceramic tiled wall for the entrance hall of the same building (since lost) * Three Ships mural mosaic (1963;

locally listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

;

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

listed 2019) on the former Hull and East Riding Society Cooperative Store (and later a BHS), in

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east ...

. The 66 ft by 64 ft (20m x 19.5m) glass mosaic mural is on the exterior of the building (with two further murals inside). In 2019 there was an online petition to get this mural Grade II listed by Historic England. Grade II listing was announced in November 2019. * Fish mural (1961) inside the former Hull and East Riding Society Cooperative Store (later a BHS), in

. This mural was made for the corridor outside the Skyline Ballroom on the fourth floor of the building. The mural depicts a shoal of fish and was rediscovered in 2011 by Christopher Marsden, a leading authority on Boyson *Geometric sponge-print tile mural inside the former Hull and East Riding Society Cooperative Store (later a BHS), in

. This mural was discovered in 2018 as a result of production for ''Ships in the Sky'' * concrete screens, City Arcade,

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west of B ...

(1963; lost) * glass-tile mural, Parkfields Cedars Grammar School (now Price Charles Avenue campus of

Derby College Derby College is a further education provider with sites located within Derbyshire (Derby and South East Derbyshire – Ilkeston, Morley). It delivers training in workplace locations across England. The College is a member of the Collab Group ...

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

(1969; now hidden behind partition wall) * glass screen and decorative ceiling, Halifax Building Society headquarters, Halifax (1970s) * stainless steel sculpture,

NatWest Tower Tower 42, commonly known as the NatWest Tower, is a skyscraper in the City of London. It is the fifth-tallest tower in the City of London, having been overtaken as the tallest in 2010 by the Heron Tower. It is the fifteenth- tallest in Lond ...

, London (late 1970s) * abstract stained-glass window, St Ann's Church, central

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

(church is Grade II listed) * mural, Co-operative Insurance Society Building, Manchester (building is Grade II listed) * ceramic memorial,

Birmingham Oratory The Birmingham Oratory is an English Catholic religious community of the Congregation of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri, located in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham. The community was founded in 1849 by St. John Henry Newman, Cong.Orat., the fi ...

(restored 2010) * pyramids, Concourse Shopping centre, Skelmersdale (lost) * mural, Queen's Hotel,

Collyhurst Collyhurst is an inner city area of Manchester, England, northeast of the Manchester city centre, city centre on Rochdale Road (A664) and A62 road, Oldham Road (A62), bounded by Smedley, Manchester, Smedley, Harpurhey and Monsall tram stop, Mons ...

* sculptured aluminium banking hall ceiling, Bank House (

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...

), Leeds (since removed) * concrete frieze, Merseyway Shopping Centre,

Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...

* fourteen ceramic Stations of the Cross and three holy water stoops, St Raphael's Church, Huddersfield Road, Millbrook,

Stalybridge Stalybridge () is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 23,731 at the 2011 Census. Historic counties of England, Historically divided between Cheshire and Lancashire, it is east of Manchester city centre and no ...

, Manchester (grade II listed; closed 2011) * tiles, George Cusick's greengrocery store (now in different ownership), Ashton Road, Denton, Manchester * concrete screen at Pendleton (now Salford) College * untitled mural, register office (former), Cygnet House,

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Ro ...

, Kent * mosaic, Wombwell School for Girls, Gravesend (missing) * fibreglass sculpture, shopping centre

Swinton, Greater Manchester Swinton is a town in the City of Salford in Greater Manchester, England. southwest of the River Irwell, northwest of Manchester city centre, adjoining the town of Pendlebury and suburb of Clifton, Greater Manchester, Clifton. In 2014, it ha ...

(lost) * designs (unused) for reliefs at Spring Gardens Post Office, Manchester

Works

References

Further reading