Alan Boyson

Alan Boyson, RCA (1930[1][2] – 19 August 2018)[3] was an English muralist and sculptor, who worked chiefly in glass,[4] ceramic and concrete.

Alan Boyson

RCA
Born1930
Marple, Stockport
Died19 August 2018 (aged 87–88)
NationalityBritish
Alma mater
Occupations
EmployerWolverhampton College of Art (c. 1959–60)

Boyson studied at Manchester Regional School of Art from 1950 to 1954,[5] and at the Royal College of Art from 1954 to 1957.[5] He was subsequently a lecturer at the School of Ceramics in Wolverhampton College of Art,[4] during which time he established his own studio and began taking commissions.[5]

An Associate of the Royal College of Art, Boyson worked until c. 2004.[5] As well as public works, he also made smaller pieces.[6]

When his mural The Tree of Knowledge, at the former Cromwell Secondary School in Salford, was given statutory protection by English Heritage, they said:[5]

It has a high level of aesthetic and artistic quality represented in a bold and striking composition

Boyson's Hull murals are the subject of an arts and film project[7] titled Ships in the Sky[8] by Hull filmmaker Esther Johnson,[9] working with Untold Hull[10] 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[11] and in Tribune Magazine.[12]

Works
The Tree of Knowledge
Three Ships mural mosaic

Boyson's works include:

  • decorative features and font, The Church of the Epiphany and St John, Corby (1960–1961)[13][14]
  • The Tree of Knowledge, Salford (1962; Grade II listed in 2009)[15]
    • a ceramic tiled wall for the entrance hall of the same building (since lost)[1]
  • Three Ships mural mosaic (1963; locally listed; Grade II listed 2019[4]) on the former Hull and East Riding Society Cooperative Store (and later a BHS), in Kingston upon Hull.[16] 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[17] to get this mural Grade II listed by Historic England. Grade II listing was announced in November 2019.[18]
  • Fish mural[19] (1961) inside the former Hull and East Riding Society Cooperative Store (later a BHS), in Kingston upon Hull. 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,[20] a leading authority on Boyson
  • Geometric sponge-print tile mural[21] inside the former Hull and East Riding Society Cooperative Store (later a BHS), in Kingston upon Hull. This mural was discovered in 2018 as a result of production for Ships in the Sky[8]
  • concrete screens, City Arcade, Lichfield (1963; lost)[22]
  • glass-tile mural, Parkfields Cedars Grammar School (now Price Charles Avenue campus of Derby College), Derby (1969; now hidden behind partition wall)[23]
  • glass screen and decorative ceiling, Halifax Building Society headquarters, Halifax (1970s)[5]
  • stainless steel sculpture, NatWest Tower, London (late 1970s)[5]
  • abstract stained-glass window, St Ann's Church, central Manchester[15] (church is Grade II listed[5])
  • mural, Co-operative Insurance Society Building, Manchester[15] (building is Grade II listed[5])
  • ceramic memorial, Birmingham Oratory[5] (restored 2010[24])
  • pyramids, Concourse Shopping centre, Skelmersdale (lost)[25]
  • mural, Queen's Hotel, Collyhurst[26]
  • sculptured aluminium banking hall ceiling, Bank House (Bank of England), Leeds (since removed)[27]
  • concrete frieze, Merseyway Shopping Centre, Stockport[26]
  • fourteen ceramic Stations of the Cross and three holy water stoops, St Raphael's Church, Huddersfield Road, Millbrook, Stalybridge, Manchester (grade II listed; closed 2011)[26][28][29]
  • tiles, George Cusick's greengrocery store (now in different ownership), Ashton Road, Denton, Manchester[2]
  • concrete screen at Pendleton (now Salford) College[30]
  • untitled mural, register office (former), Cygnet House, Gravesend, Kent[31]
  • mosaic, Wombwell School for Girls, Gravesend (missing)[32]
  • fibreglass sculpture, shopping centre Swinton, Greater Manchester (lost)[33]
  • designs (unused) for reliefs at Spring Gardens Post Office, Manchester[34]

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alan Boyson.
  1. "Salford Tree of Knowledge Saved". Salford Star. 20 August 2009. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  2. Carr, Sue (23 June 2011). "Hidden treasure: Artwork is discovered in Denton furniture store". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  3. Alan Boyson, Creator of Salford Tree of Knowledge, Passes Away
  4. "Alan Boyson, Three Ships, Italian glass mosaic, 1963". C20 Society Murals Campaign. 20th Century Society. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  5. Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1393433)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  6. "Alan Boyson RCA, British mid-late 20th/early 21st century- Tree No 2; ceramic sculpture, signed, titled and dated 1977 on the underside". Roseberys. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  7. "Hull Coop News". 11 August 2018.
  8. "SHIPS in the SKY Arts Project Homepage". shipsinthesky.weebly.com. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  9. "Blanche Pictures — work by Esther Johnson". Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  10. "Ships in the Sky". Untold Hull. 14 December 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  11. "S.O.S. Give Your Memories Of Hull's Co-Op BHS and 3 Ships Mural to SAVE OUR SHIPS!". The House Of Mirelle Hull 1938-1978. 16 February 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  12. "Hull's Ships in the Sky". tribunemag.co.uk. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  13. Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1414359)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  14. "Epiphany, Corby". Locus Iste. Archived from the original on 9 November 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  15. "Salford's Tree of Knowledge saved". BBC Online. 20 August 2009. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  16. "Local buildings list" (PDF). Hull City Council. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  17. "HULL HERITAGE ACTION GROUP". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  18. "Hull Three Ships mural: BHS mosaic granted Grade II listed status". BBC News. 22 November 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  19. Mudd, Neil (4 September 2018). "ARCHITECTURE | I Saw Three Ships... new exhibition and film about Hull's threatened Boyson murals |". Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  20. Marsden, Christopher. "Christopher R Marsden; Anything with Anything: An introduction to the art and craft of Alan Boyson, Journal of the Tiles & Architectural Ceramics Society, 2010 vol 16, pp 31-44". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  21. Young, Angus (18 September 2018). "A third 'forgotten' mural could still be inside Hull's old Co-op". Hull Daily Mail. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  22. "City Arcade Becomes 50 Years Old". Lichfield Gazette. August 2013. p. 40. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  23. "Readers help solve mural site puzzle – but can it be saved?". Derby Telegraph. 22 February 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  24. "A Selection of Past and Recent Projects". The Jackfield Conservation Studio. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  25. "Alan Boyson – Sculptor of Skelmersdale New Town's Pyramid". Modernism North West. 9 February 2012. Archived from the original on 8 November 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  26. "Alan Boyson's work in Manchester". Modernism North West. 8 February 2012. Archived from the original on 8 November 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  27. Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1419336)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  28. Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1406451)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  29. Carr, Sue (13 July 2011). "Church closes doors as repair bill rockets". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  30. "Salford Tourists Kick in the Teeth". Salford Star. 12 June 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  31. "Alan Boyson, Untitled, Ceramin Tile". Twentieth Century Society. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  32. "Lost valuable ceramic prompts schools' hunt". Gravesend Reporter. 3 March 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  33. Wyke, Terry; Cocks, Harry (2004). Public Sculpture of Greater Manchester. Liverpool University Press. p. 169. ISBN 978-0-85323-567-5.
  34. Gallagher, Paul (12 January 2014). "Can you help Hayley solve riddle of the Spring Gardens Post Office murals?". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 8 November 2016.

Further reading
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