Beatles, boats, and JLR: Mural celebrating Halewood's history nears completion

A new mural celebrating Halewood’s history has been painted on the town’s community centre.

The artwork painted by award-winning cartoon illustrator Stuart Harrison was commissioned by Knowlsey Council to celebrate Halewood visually. 

The mural painted on the centre of Camberley Drive includes references to Triangle Park, Katarina Johnson-Thompson, St Nicholas’ Church, Jaguar Land Rover, Halewood Water Tower, steam trains, and George Harrison from The Beatles, which he hopes means the mural will be added to Beatles sightseeing itineraries. 

Stuart said that he thinks having artwork across public spaces “doesn’t half revitalise a place”. 

The images included in the mural were decided by public consultation.

He said that the public reaction to the mural has been “99% dead positive. Some people do go: ‘What’s all this stuff?’ so I’m a bit of a history guide. 

“I’m now very knowledgeable about Knowsley.

“People say it’s a brilliant idea and brightens up the area, something to draw the eye,” he said. 

The mural also references the Eagle and Child pub, with Stuart saying that people passing the mural have spoken about remembering their family drinking there in years gone by.

One of the central images shows Blackie the War Horse, who belonged to 20-year-old Lieutenant Leonard Comer Wall, a war poet from West Kirby, and who was posted to the Western Front in September 1915.

Lieutenant Wall was killed at the Battle of Ypres, but the horse continued serving until the end of the war despite severe injuries, and later lived at a horse sanctuary in Halewood, the town where he is buried.

“I like the horse,” Stuart said, “it’s so dynamic. But loads of people have been talking about the Titanic,” which is also pictured in the mural. 

“Some of them have asked: ‘Why have you done that?’” he said, adding that the ship has found a place in the design because “the owner of White Star Line lived here” at one time, and is buried in St Nicholas church graveyard. 

“People go: ‘I’ve lived here all my life and never knew that,’ so it feels like a bit of history.”

The mural also shows Paralympian judoka Daniel Powell, who won the gold medal in the Men’s 73 kg at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. 

“I particularly enjoyed painting him,” Stuart said. 

A local window cleaner Dennis Mairs said: “It’s superb,” pointing at the judoka Daniel Powell and adding: “His dad used to train my lads. 

“I knew Powell when he was young. I’ve seen them all grow up,” he said.

The mural took Stuart Harrison about a year to design and stencil. 

He then mapped the steps needed to create the mural across thousands of sheets of paper, each showing incremental changes like adding grass, a car wing mirror or highlights to add a metallic finish.

Then came the task of painting and spraying the contours of the piece onto the wall. “It was against the clock,” Stuart said, “Thank God the wind didn’t blow.”

The mural is nearing completion, and Stuart only has finishing touches to make - such as adding the registration of the very first Ford Anglia to come off the Ford Halewood production line in 1963, which he was told by a resident. 

“I could spend the next three weeks fiddling until it was perfect, but I’ve got to go,” he said.

Knowsley Council has commissioned several murals, including in Prescot and Huyton, over the past few years in a bid to tell the history of the borough through bright visuals, usually working with artists from Merseyside.

Councillor Shelley Powell, Knowsley’s cabinet member for communities and neighbourhoods, said: “The new Halewood mural is a real celebration of stories and memories from the local community. 

“It’s the latest in a series of murals across Knowsley that reflect the identity of different areas. They create focal points that people can take pride in and transform everyday spaces. 

“By reflecting local messages and shared heritage, these artworks help bring communities together and create a stronger sense of belonging.” 

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