Creative People and Custard Creams Hardwicke Circus Roundabout is home to 3 subways, all capturing the different legacies of Carlisle’s past and present.
Is it possible that a painting of a Custard Cream can really improve the apperance and vibe of some concrete tunnels that people walk through on the daily?
Getting Creative the Subway Local history preserved by local illustrators Carlisle’s rich history spans back to when Mary, Queen of Scots was imprisoned in Carlisle Castle in 1568. The designers of illustrator, Rosemary Cunningham clearly saw significance in this and immortalised her legacy by painting a characature style portrait of her not looking too pleased about being imprisoned. The bright colours give a new lease of live to the drab concrete of the Hardwicke Circus roundabout, built in the 1970s. The Hardwicke Circus subways have been vastly improved with internal lights to make the underpasses less intimidating to pedestrians and other local people. On the same slab of wall there are coins with information about Carlisle having a coin mint in the middle ages.
The painted coins do have the appearance of biscuits, that, or I was just really hungry when I took the picture.
“One is not amused” Mary Queen of Scots doesn’t look too happy being a picture on the wall of a subway for eternity. Suppose its better than a dungeon...
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Carlisle railway station was essential in the city’s development. Carlisle became connected to the rest of the country through its railway network, the railway station is now a Grade II listed building and has become immortalised on the Sands Centre mural. This is one of the many illustrations that are linked to Carlisle’s rich history of industry and infrastructure.
Its definitely not as grim as it could’ve been... Now its just a little bit grim, instead of really grim!
“Paint my dog on the wall” Regular dog walkers in 2013 witnessed the creation of these murals. Paul Leith, who designed the illustrations for the Bitts Park subway started taking requests to paint passers by and their dogs. So he did and now when you walk through the subway to Bitts Park you see these pictures of local people and their dogs. It kind of distracts you from the fact that subways are grim places and the ominous feelings associated with them
Dogs, Sheep in a Subway These three things, an unlikely combination, are on the subway leading to the Sands Centre. And are looking fabulous! Some old steps leading down to an underpass, made a whole lot nicer with pictures of sheep. It is Cumbria after all, sheep are everywhere!
From Drab to Fab
(or at least significanttly better!) Despite the fact that the walls of the subways look beautiful the concrete floor still isn’t looking appealing with the worn paint work, bits of gum and the occasional bit of litter. They tried but it is what it is, it’ll never be a completely clean and tidy place.
This entire project was a community effort, with local volunteers helping to paint inside the outlines of the illustrations. Dulux donated over 500 litres of paint as part of their ‘let’s colour’ project. The aim was to make a rather drab area better and more attractive for community and local use.
and a Queen...
6.5 million custard creams? Thats a lot! Carlisle’s biscuit heritage all started with the Carrs biscuit factory- now McVitties, who distribute nationwide famous biscuits like custard creams. They’re really quite famous for it.
There really is a spirit of ‘we tried to make it less ominous by painting biscuits on the wall but whether it worked is debatable’
That border collie is really cute, it reminds me of my friend’s collie, Barney. I mean, who doesn’t love dogs, they are so much better than people! This mural, on the ramp down to the underpass is just full of positive energy, something the world definitely needs. If the mission of the illustrators, Rosemary Cunningham and Paul Leith was to make people smile then their mission has definitely been achieved. It’s probably owned by one of the locals, since the regular walkers asked for their dogs to have a starring role on the illustration and Rosemary and Paul were more than happy to oblige. It’s just a shame about that Pepsi bottle wedged on the handrail. Have people never heard of bins? The handrail is not the bin!
When Dogs are than People... Dogs (and their owners) have been made stars of the Bitts Park underpass. Its obvious that this underpass has had a lot of the community involved when it comes to the design, colour and illustration. The simple shapes give an almost childlike look to the murals. They capture the personality of the person and their dog, rather than a realistic interpretation of the what that individual and their dog actually looked like.
These people and their dogs look like fun. Its a shame they’re only paintings.
It became popular for people to but in requests to ask Paul or Rosemary to paint them and their dog if they were regular passers by. This idea became quite popular and was incorporated into both the Bitts Park and Sands Centre subway. There are definitely more people featured on the Bitts Park subway, possibly because the Sands Centre murals have more historical significance, but Bitts Park is a recreational area.
more Popular Bitts Park underpass and the walls surrounding have been heavily painted with people, possibly after ‘The People’s Park’. This is Bitts Park’s previous name. This subway in particular has a very happy vibe to it, probably from the pastel colours used, they give quite a calming vibe, especially with the pastel blues for the sky. The illustrations were designed and coloured by Paul Leith
That blue sky is wishful thinking in Carlisle.
Thats a very snazzy entrance...
This illustration does capture the optimistic idea of what Carlisle is about. All in all, Carlisle is lovely but its just not as nice as these illustrations make it out to be, I don’t think I’ve seen a pink house around, but the optimism is there. It is just showing the happy spirit of the city and making the good out of a bad situation Those blue skies would be lovely but we’re on the west coast so that probably won’t happen.
The illustration showing what appears to be the town centre could demonstrate the community spirit it took to make this project possible. Without the work and help of the volunteers it’d be very difficult to finish the project within the time.
The murals at Bitts Park capture the energy of the place, it is a community park where people walk their dogs and let their children play. The essence of community is definitely there in the murals. All the people can enjoy the park, no matter who they are or what they do.
Sometimes a Subway Always be a bit Grim The grey and brown walls of the Town Centre underpass look rather ominous and sad when the other two are covered in beautiful illustrations.
This subway is very popular with the homeless, while Bitts Park and Sands Centre often have buskers in. Its just very run down and it could definitely house some characters you wouldn’t want to run into. To be honest, subways in general are quite ominous even if there are lights in them. Even with the other two Hardwicke Circus roundabout subways I do not spend more time than necessary in them because a subway is a subway and it’ll always attract them not so friendly characters with questionable intentions.
That textured wall looks like it hasn’t been touched since the 1970s, probably when it was built. Funnily enough this underpass is the one that smells of wee and has questionable stains on the ground.
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Looking ominous... even in the daylight The beige walls and the white stains on the ground don’t really leave much to the imagination. This is a typical underpass but with internal lights, because lights prevent you from getting stabbed... right? Dayight can give a different energy to the underpasses in the sense that they feel a little safer to be in. However, the tight corners and the steps still have places that intimidating people can hide.
The ‘decoration’ on the Town Centre subway depicts what looks like roman images, especially on the exterior. There is definitely a more sinister vibe, especially after dark.
On Location...
At Hardwicke Circus Roundabout. That was my interpretation of the place.