The mural, completed
in October 2015, was created to
celebrate next year’s 175th anniversary of the Great Western Railway’s start in Swindon. There are still many
landmarks in Swindon from the time steam trains were built there.
The Visual Drop,
a local artists’ group, created the mural in collaboration with The Railway
Kids. It features celebrities and landmarks from Swindon.
Clever
transformation of a concrete post at the end of Cambria Bridge that become a
Tardis (from the Doctor Who TV series).
The link between Swindon and Doctor Who comes with the singer
and actress Billie Piper,
who played the Doctor’s assistant Rose Tyler and was born in Swindon.
Isambard Kingdom Brunel,
the engineer extraordinaire who built the railway line from Bristol to London (not
only the train engines, but also the buildings and bridges) and so many other
things. Daniel Gooch was the first
Superintendent of Locomotive Engines on the Great Western Railway from 1837 to
1864 and its chairman from 1865 to 1889.
The suffragette
Edith New was born in Swindon on March
17, 1877. Behind her, you can see a man lettering in the G.W.R. sign. This is
probably a reference to the local artist Ken White still living and practicing his art in Swindon, who started as a sign
painter for Great Western Railway (see below for more information on him).
The Octobus
mobile youth project
The community TV
station Swindon Viewpoint
The artist Ken
White features in good place in this mural, which makes sense as he painted
back in 1976 “The Golden Lion Bridge” mural in Fleming Way, the most famous mural in Swindon. After that, he
painted many more murals that you can see on his website.
This mural launched Ken’s career when the pharmaceutical company Bayer
featured it in a poster advertising campaign. Richard Branson then contacted Ken and asked
him to design some murals for Virgin. Ken even designed the flying lady logo
for Virgin Atlantic.
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