Elizabeth Way Murals Gallery – Coleridge and Beyond

Originally photographed on 20th and 22nd July 2021. Some of the murals were re-photographed on 4th August 2021 following graffiti removal.

Introduction

The murals in the underpasses of the Elizabeth Way Roundabout were painted in 2000 by an artist called John Wilcox. I imagine Coleridge Community College may have been involved in their design since it appears in one of them. At the time I lived nearby and used to walk through here every week, and I recall outline drawings appearing first, then being painted in. If you can tell me any more please contact me.

People said they’d quickly be ruined, but they have largely deterred vandals from defacing the walls, and the clear coating over them has enabled the council to clean off what graffiti has appeared reasonably well. Now they’re shabby, with numerous chips, scratches and discoloured smudges from quick graffiti removal using too little solvent. Refurbishment would require repainting, not just cleaning, and then they’ll probably use new designs.

I’ve wanted to photograph them since they first appeared, but digital cameras then weren’t up to the task, whereas my current DSLR and wide-angle lens, and probably most recent mobile phones, can easily manage it. Whilst the uneven daylight entering the ends of the passageways and reflections of the fluorescent tubes can be seen, that is how the murals look in real life.

Anyway I decided if I didn’t capture them soon I’d walk down here someday and find them all gone, so here they are.

Update 08/01/2022 – The future of the murals is threatened by the Greater Cambridge Partnership‘s Cambridge Eastern Access scheme.

Map

The yellow beacons show the locations of the murals.

Murals

Those in the underpasses below each corner of the roundabout are themed according to the area beyond it in that direction:

Northeast corner, towards Riverside and Stourbridge Common – the medieval Stourbridge Fair that was held there.
Southeast corner, towards Petersfield and Romsey – Victorian terraced houses representing the local streets.
Southwest corner, towards the city centre and University – the history of Cambridge as a centre of learning, science and technology.
Northwest corner, towards Midsummer Common – cows grazing on the common, and punting on the River Cam.

Slides

Swipe sideways or click on the arrows or the dots below the images to cycle through them. Note these images overlap to varying degrees.

Northeast Corner – North Side

This illustrates Stourbridge Fair, which was held on the eponymous common for hundreds of years starting in medieval times. Items traded at the fair gave their name to some nearby roads – Garlic Row, Mercer’s Row and Oyster Row.

Northeast Corner – East Side

This mural isn’t labelled but is a continuation of the Stourbridge Fair theme.

Southeast Corner – East Side

This consists entirely of Victorian terraced houses, all with smoking chimneys. No TV aerials, and roads free of cars and wheelie bins.

Southeast Corner – South Side

The mural on the other side of this passageway is similar.

Southwest Corner – South Side

The two murals in this passage have a history theme. The one this side starts with the Romans and Vikings, and includes the written word – stone engraving, handwriting and printing – and mathematics – from abacus to handheld computers. The farmer’s sheaf of corn protrudes out of the bottom border.

Southwest Corner – West Side

This covers more recent history than the one above, and illustrates science and technology from before the steam age to printed circuit boards and DNA. It features Coleridge Community College’s central tower. The car protrudes below the bottom border like the corn in the opposite one.

Northwest Corner – West Side

This one is a scene of punting on the River Cam.

Northwest Corner – North Side

This shows black cows grazing and lying on Midsummer Common.

Panoramas

These panoramas have been produced from the above photos (before cropping) using Canon Photostitch. Where they’re angled it’s because the keystone correction I applied to the camera images wasn’t 100% accurate. A tripod-mounted camera halfway down the murals and identical manual exposures in all frames may have yielded better results, but these suffice for illustrative purposes.

Clicking on the panoramas will display the high-resolution images in a new browser tab. You should then be able to zoom in and scroll around them.