Thursday 5th December

Apperley Bridge to Keighley (photo 40 of 105)

Part of a large mural underneath Shipley bridge

2 Comments

5,170 Views

I was one of the 5 people that did this mural in the early 90s. I'm delighted to find that it's become a part of the publicised sights of the canal. The picture shown represents about a sixth of the total mural which was about 100 feet long and 12 feet high. For some *unknown* reason, we decided to do this mural in a very cold february instead of waiting for spring to break. At times, the wind was biting and absolutely howled down the tunnel - I'm shuddering at the memory of how cold we were!

The mural was done with full permission from the local waterways. We'd originally applied for a grant to do this but a local councilor saw our plans and declared the mural to be blasphemous so a local paint shop gave us the materials and we did it anyway.

While we were still painting, the local newspaper did a story about the mural. Initially they thought it was a brilliant idea (adding much-needed colour to a rather grim canal bridge under Fox Corner in Shipley) and, after talking to the outraged councilor, they moved the story to the front page and branded us as brush-toting yobs with nothing better to do than upset the good townsfolk of Shipley. We were initially quite upset by this reaction but then loads of people started coming down to see what the fuss was all about and expressed how glad they were that we had done this lively, colourful mural. So, in the end, it couldn't have worked out better. Marvelous!

Comment by Dave Cogan - 4th March 2012

I only just noticed this today and my partner and I think it's gorgeous. Beyond the dragon and the Last Supper, is there any symbolism with the other figures?

Comment by thelostkelpie - 17th September 2020

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