The fascinating stories behind Rochdale's murals

Rochdale town centre is home to a variety of murals, many of which were created as part of last year's Rochdale Uprising mural festival, and a couple of new additions by Rochdale artist, Doodlher.

The vibrant murals have brightened up the town centre while also celebrating Rochdale's rich heritage. Here are the fascinating stories behind a few of the murals.

Let's start with Philth Blake’s giant 'Rochdale' mural (pictured above), on Water Street, which is a difficult one to miss!

The mural pays homage to Rochdale’s cotton weaving past. The seven opened cotton bolls were inspired by the iconic Seven Sisters and St Edmunds Church; when the church was built in 1870 it was possible to see seven visible planets with the naked eye over Rochdale. The unopened boll represents the future and a new start.

The colour and style of the piece is influenced by the interior of Rochdale Town Hall.

The Latin typography is inspired by the latin inscriptions in the town hall and St Edmunds Church. The Latin inscription ‘Semper Paratus’ on the top of the church translates to ‘Always Ready’, which ties in with Philth’s ‘Numquam Paratus’ meaning ‘Never Ready’. Another mural packed with Rochdale history is artist Tank Petrol's tribute to the women of the cotton weaving industry (pictured below). The huge piece can be seen at the rear of The Wheatsheaf Centre, which back in 1910 was the site of a woollen mill.⁣⁣⁣

Based on a photograph from the 1950s, it shows a woman ironing and mending the cloth, which would have likely just come off the loom.⁣

Tasha Whittle’s smiling daisies mural (pictured below) on the side of Rochdale Pioneers Museum pays homage to the daisies used as good luck charms by cotton weavers, who would carve them onto their hand looms.

The use of the daisy would have been symbolic to the early cotton weavers. Initially known as ‘days eyes’ the flowers would open in the day and close at night. It was important for those early cotton weavers who always needed as much light as possible to work. Even their cottages would be built to ensure that as much natural light could filter in through the upper windows.⁣

Image by @fiat500northerner (Instagram)

A 35 metre mural was unveiled at Rochdale’s brand new Reel Cinema Rochdale Riverside in July (pictured below).

Local artist Victoria Whitaker, known as Doodlher, spent hundreds of hours creating the incredible painting that stretches over two floors.⁣

Victoria commented: “It’s been the biggest mural project I’ve ever worked on, and I loved every minute of it. The design is a collage of all the fun stuff at Riverside, mixed in with Rochdale references of course. This is Rochdale’s cinema, so including town centre landmarks was really important to me. Be sure to lookout for all the movie references I’ve included plus another secret cameo from one of my other murals.”⁣

Another of Doodlher's pieces can be found at Bombay Brew, measuring in at two metres tall and almost five metres wide (pictured below).

Victoria commented: "I loved every moment of bringing this doodle to life, from researching the history of the IPA beer, creating the ship in a bottle concept to working the details on those giant fingernails.”

The design tells the fateful story of the Bombay-bound Crusader vessel that set sail from Liverpool in January 1839, with cargo that included ‘India Ale’, and unwittingly headed into the biggest storm to ever hit the North West coast. The Crusader came to rest on a sandbank spilling the valuable cargo into the sea. Many of the Crusader’s wares were salvaged by customs and sold by auction, including the ale. Some say that the sale of this IPA beer marked the beginning of its popularity on the British beer market.

Curtis Hylton’s giant rooster (pictured below) on the back of M&S on Baillie Street, follows the appearance of a huge duck in Blackburn in 2018. Known for his giant murals incorporating the natural world, Curtis’s work is on the rise as his animal and plant-inspired pieces become ever more popular.

Image by @curtis_hylton (Instagram)