Alan Boyson, RCA (1930 – 19 August 2018) was an English muralist 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 university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...

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 status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

, 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, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

, 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

Boyson's works include: * decorative features and font, The Church of the Epiphany and St John, Corby (1960–1961) * '' The Tree of Knowledge'',

(1962; Grade II listed in 2009) **a ceramic tiled wall for the entrance hall of the same building (since lost) * Three Ships mural mosaic (1963; locally listed; Grade II listed 2019) on the former Hull and East Riding Society Cooperative Store (and later a BHS), in

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually shortened to Hull, is a historic maritime city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Est ...

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

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

(1969; now hidden behind partition wall) * glass screen and decorative ceiling, Halifax Building Society headquarters, Halifax (1970s) * stainless steel sculpture, NatWest Tower, London (late 1970s) * abstract stained-glass window, St Ann's Church, central

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

(church is Grade II listed) * mural, Co-operative Insurance Society Building, Manchester (building is Grade II listed) * ceramic memorial, Birmingham Oratory (restored 2010) * pyramids, Concourse Shopping centre, Skelmersdale (lost) * mural, Queen's Hotel, Collyhurst * 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 Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...

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

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

* 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. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, it had a population of 26,830. Historic counties of England, Historically divided between Cheshire and Lancashire, it is east o ...

, 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, Kent * mosaic, Wombwell School for Girls, Gravesend (missing) * fibreglass sculpture, shopping centre Swinton, Greater Manchester (lost) * designs (unused) for reliefs at Spring Gardens Post Office, Manchester

Works

References

Further reading