RR Amphitheatre Public Art Proposals – Bespoke Letter ‘B’ in Honed Granite or Porphyry + Laser Etch – 400mm High x 30mm thick. Image: Christopher TippingRR Amphitheatre Public Art Proposals- Bespoke Letters 200221 Christopher Tipping
The proposals for the PCC Amphitheatre Steps and Seats are currently being considered by the client. In the meantime I am working up some drafts for the use bespoke highly detailed letters in a variety of materials ranging from granite and natural stones, to cast iron, enamelled steel, glazed architectural faience and Terrazzo. These letters will be fixed into the rebated text detail within the cast concrete seat riser, which will be 450mm high. Each bespoke letter can be 400mm high. The depth of the rebate will vary from 5mm to 30mm, however, the bespoke letters will all be best at 30mm deep, keeping them as robust as possible.
RR Amphitheatre Public Art Proposals- Bespoke Letter ‘O’ in Glazed Ceramic with Laser Etched Polished Granite inset detail – 400mm High x 30mm thick. Image: Christopher TippingDetail: PCC Amphitheatre at Rochester Riverside by LUC – Public art proposal for bespoke letter ‘O’ in architectural glazed ceramic with laser etched polished granite inset detail – 400mm high x 30mm deep. Image: Christopher Tipping
RR Amphitheatre Public Art Proposals- Bespoke Letter ‘B’ in Scratched Polished Stone with Laser Etched detail – 400mm High x 30mm thick. Image: Christopher TippingRR Amphitheatre Public Art Proposals- Bespoke Letter ‘B’ in Honed Granite or Porphyry – 400mm High x 30mm thick. Image: Christopher TippingRR Amphitheatre Public Art Proposals- Bespoke Letter ‘B’ repeated in a variety of materials and finishes – 400mm High x 30mm thick. Image: Christopher TippingRR Amphitheatre Public Art Proposals- Bespoke Letter ‘B’s’ repeated in a variety of materials and finishes – 400mm High x 30mm thick. Image: Christopher Tipping
‘Under the Shadow of the Crane’ was initially an idea for a large scale granite ‘drawing’ to make up the pavement and public realm of the Crane Point site. Water jet cut granite slabs in two colours would form this extensive mosaic pavement, making permanent the ephemeral passing shadow of the crane, creating a physical memorial to the industrial heritage of the Riverside site.
Draft Plan drawing of granite paving ‘shadow’ mosaic to Crane Point. Image: Christopher TippingDetail: granite ‘shadow’ mosaic paving to the public realm at Crane Point. Image: Christopher TippingDetail: granite ‘shadow’ mosaic paving to the public realm at Crane Point. Image: Christopher Tipping
Part 2. ‘Under the Shadow of the Crane’ is actually a reference to the whole of Rochester Riverside, as for much of its post 20th Century history, it was dominated and defined by tall cranes, loading and offloading from the various wharfs. However, a single 200tonne crane was retained & moved to this new position at Blue Boar Hard as a landmark and heritage beacon. Our journey for Phase 3 starts here.
Crane Point is the name for the public realm and viewing point under the shadow of the crane. The landscape has been designed by LUC as an Amphitheatre with precast concrete stepped seating and concrete paving extending around and beneath the crane. A large Apartment block is being built adjacent to the public space, which will look out over the crane and the River Medway.
This plan of the concept development masterplanning stage for the Phase 3 development at Blue Boar Wharf, Rochester Riverside shows opportunities for possible Public Art intervention within the site. Image: Christopher Tipping
Children swam from here…Blue Boar Wharf was our playground…
A forlorn Blue Boar Pier as it was in 1970, from a viewpoint looking out over the River towards the Chatham Dockyard. Image: By permission of MALSC Artwork for the precast concrete Amphitheatre at Crane Point, Rochester Riverside Phase 3 Public Art Proposals. Image: Christopher Tipping
Crane Point – or Blue Boar Hard as it was called in its former life, is the end point of Blue Boar Lane, terminating with a Pier. It starts at its junction with Rochester High Street and the Blue Boar Public House (now demolished), leading under the railway tracks towards the river. At one time, the road split in two, with one track leading to the other side of Blue Boar Creek to James Hall & Son, Iron Foundry. Examples of their work can still be seen embedded into the pavements around Furrell’s Road. To the South of Blue Boar Creek, Blue Boar Wharf provided the river frontage for Barge Building. Up to 100 Medway Spritsail Barges were built here by William Higham. William lived on Victoria Street in Rochester and his wife had 9 children.
Plan of Crane Point draft artwork. Image: Christopher Tipping
William Higham was also notable as a signatory to a fascinating document signed by 251 individuals connected to the Coal Trade Port of Rochester trading from Rochester Riverside on February 10th 1876 petitioning the Mayor and Corporation of the City of Rochester to review the state of the roadway of Blue Boar Lane, which was in such a poor condition it was compelling commerce to land at Chatham and not Blue Boar Hard.
“ We the undersigned Ship Owners, Merchants, Captains and others connected with the coal trade of the Port of Rochester hereby beg to call your attention to the bad state of the roadway of Blue Boar Lane leading to the River Medway and considering the large amount of traffic now going to and from the River…the present state of the road being such as to compel many to land at Chatham who would otherwise do so at Blue Boar Hard…” MALSC
A document signed by 251 important people associated with Rochester Riverside petitioning for improvements to the condition of Blue Boar Lane to save their trade. By permission MALSC Draft artwork for paving with Cast Iron detailing at Crane Point. Image: Christopher TippingPlan of draft artwork for paving to Crane Point with inset cast iron interpretation units. Image: Christopher TippingPlan of draft artwork for cast iron paving unit at Crane Point. Image: Christopher TippingDraft artwork for cast iron paving units with text and pattern as interpretation. Image: Christopher TippingCrane Point PCC Amphitheatre – draft artwork for rebated text into the concrete step riser. Artwork: Christopher TippingCrane Point PCC Amphitheatre – draft artwork for rebated text into the concrete step riser. Artwork: Christopher TippingCrane Point PCC Amphitheatre – draft concept artwork showing rebated text cast into the concrete step riser. Artwork: Christopher Tipping
Rather a lot of variations on a theme are drawn up – this is a process of discovery after all. I am often looking for something elusive. I don’t always know what I am chasing after or trying to uncover. Much of this work proves unsuitable to produce, or doesn’t fit the client brief (or budget) but nothing really ever goes to waste. Ideas unused are tucked away for another time.
The rebated letters within the cast concrete stepped units very from 5mm to 30mm deep. This allows for some expression and emphasis to be placed on certain anchor words, important for the interpretation on site. The large coloured letters are proposals for bespoke, highly detailed individual letters made of granite, enamelled steel or architectural glazed faience. These will be inset and bonded into several of the 30mm rebated capital letters, inspired by historiated initials of Illuminated Manuscripts in the Library of Rochester Cathedral.
Crane Point – PCC Amphitheatre – draft concept artwork exploring ideas for rebated text cast into the concrete step riser. Artwork: Christopher TippingCrane Point – PCC Amphitheatre – draft concept artworks showing bespoke letters inset into the concrete step riser. Artwork: Christopher TippingCrane Point – PCC Amphitheatre – draft concept artwork showing rebated text cast into the concrete step riser. Artwork: Christopher Tipping
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Crane Point – PCC Amphitheatre – draft concept artwork showing rebated text cast into the concrete step riser. Artwork: Christopher TippingCrane Point – Plan of PCC Amphitheatre – draft concept artwork showing the areas of rebated text cast into the concrete step risers. Artwork: Christopher Tipping. Plan Drawing: LUC
This plan of the concept development masterplanning stage for the Phase 3 development at Blue Boar Wharf, Rochester Riverside shows opportunities for possible Public Art intervention within the site. Image: Christopher Tipping The 1898 OS Map overlaid with the new concept development proposals for Phase 3 on the Blue Boar Wharf Site. Image of 1898 Map by permission MALSC
I have had access to some amazing aerial images from Britain From Above. The following black and white images are so evocative and detailed, they tell a fascinating story of our site’s industrial and social history, nothing much of which survives today, except the large crane.
Rochester Riverside 1965 Aerial Image: By Permission – Britain From Above.Limehouse Reach, River Medway, looking towards Chatham. Rochester Riverside 1965 Aerial Image: With Permission – Britain From Above.
The above image from 1965 shows the Gasworks, Limehouse Wharf, Acorn Wharf (Shipbuildng) Acorn House, RMC Aggregates and Ready Made Concrete, Cory’s Wharf (Coal), Chatham Goods Yard (Railways), Blue Boar Wharf, Furrell’s Wharf – almost all the way to Chatham Intra. So much to be inspired by…
I am collaborating with LUC and BPTW who are leading on the architecture, masterplanning and landscape design.
I am continuing to develop the work I created for Phases 1 & 2 as the site has endless riches to be inspired by. My problem is knowing where to stop the research. Each stone unturned has golden threads to follow. Contextually, we are now on the site of Blue Boar Wharf, in its heyday a major Barge Building site, with two Yards, Upper and Lower occupied by two businesses – William Higham, ran the Upper Yard, where he built 100 Barges between 1876 and 1901 & George Weedon the proprietor of the Lower Yard.
Cory’s Coal Wharf and Gyproc Products as seen looking towards Rochester Cathedral. Rochester Riverside 1936. Aerial Image: With Permission – Britain From Above.
Above: Gyproc Products (Plasterboard), started production on the Rochester Riverside site in 1933, just 3 years prior to this images from 1936 (the large white shed in the centre of the picture). Cory’s Wharf, with its ‘5 Cranes Dancing’, is in the foreground.
Cory’s Coal Wharf, Gyproc Products and the Cattle Market. Rochester Riverside 1936. Aerial Image: With Permission – Britain From Above.
Above: The coming of the railways in the 1840’s effectively separated the town from its salt marsh grazing pastures and community centred around The Common. The Cattle & Livestock Market – seen bottom left in this image from 1936 has rooftop graphics – advertising its products – probably for the benefit of train passengers, as the track was raised on an earthen bank and brick viaduct. ‘Thorley’s Food for Cattle’, & ‘Thorley’s Food for all Stock’.
Cory’s Coal Wharf and Gyproc Products as seen looking towards Rochester Cathedral. Rochester Riverside 1936. Aerial Image: With Permission – Britain From Above.
Above: This Postcard must be a very early image of the site, as there appears to be no industrial development of the Riverside site.
There is a great short film on You Tube called the Medway Dock Crane, which show the Blue Boar Wharf site and the whole of Rochester Riverside, prior to development by Countryside as seen from a drone. Click on the above link to view.
My recent trip up to Hardscape at Logistics North near Bolton was a ‘more than hoped for’ brilliant success. This work was conceived with care, skill and emotion. I feel I can honestly say it has been manufactured with care, with enormous skill and equal amounts of emotion. This is what I want to be doing with my time! Achieving beautiful things, creating good work, working with great people. Focussing on craft and natural materials, on age-old skills of hand and eye, fused with technological innovation. I want to work alongside and collaborate with people who are proud of what they do and shout it from the rooftops. –
OK – so with that out of the way, let’s take a look at some of the day’s outstanding work.
Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping
Above: My good friend, the ampersand. ‘WALRUS & NELLIE’. Unit size – 900mm x 300mm x 75mm. More ‘Tales from Rochester Riverside’…
Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping
Above: Details of ‘ADA & EDITH‘ , 900mm x 300mm x 75mm with an inverted ‘WALRUS & NELLIE’. at top. Unit size – 900mm x 300mm x 75mm.
Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping
Above: Details of ‘ADA & EDITH‘ , 900mm x 300mm x 75mm with a rectangular block of Carlow Limestone crisply laser etched with the name ‘ADA’ & inset into a slab of Porphyry. An inverted ‘WALRUS & NELLIE’ at top, was also sandblasted and inset with text – unit size – 900mm x 300mm x 75mm.
Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping
Above: Eleven of the fifteen units being created up at Hardscape are visible in this image.
Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping
Above: At bottom, ‘DUNLIN A SALTMARSH BIRD’, with water jet cut, inset, laser etched and sandblasted granite – unit size – 1200mm x 400mm x 75mm . At top, an inverted ‘GOOZERS & WATERMEN’ – unit size – 900mm x 300mm x 75mm.
Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping
The beautifully detailed DUNLIN in black Carlow Limestone is laser etched, then water jet cut from its slab and inset into the red Shiraz base slab. The letter ‘D’ is also water jet cut from green Kobra Granite and inset into both the red Shiraz and the Black Carlow, bonded in place with a golden yellow resin specially selected for colour. The letter ‘U’ and other visible text is sandblasted. This is highly skilled and complex work. Looks bloody amazing too…
Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping
Above: ‘GOOZERS & WATERMEN’ is no less complex, with water jet cut and inset text in Maple Red Granite, inlaid into a Black Carlow Limestone base slab, which is in turn sandblasted with text and laser etched to two depths to create the rippling water effect. See images below.
Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher TippingDetail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher TippingDetail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping
Above: The laser etched text ‘Watermen’ on the ‘GOOZERS & Watermen’, panel is wonderfully delivered with a deeper etch to the centre and a delicate lighter etch to the outline. This attention to detail and finish it what makes these bespoke units so outstanding.
Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping
Above: Detail of ‘SHELDUCK’, Laser etched bird motif on black Carlow Limestone, water jet cut-out and inset into a Kobra Green base slab. Letter ‘D’ is also water jet cut and inset. The other letters are sandblasted into the Kobra Green. Unit size – 960mm x 400mm x 75mm
Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping
Above: Details of ‘SHELDUCK’ & ‘PERENNIAL GLASSWORT’, just two of our 15 tales from Rochester Riverside. ‘SHELDUCK’, is a laser etched bird motif on black Carlow Limestone, water jet cut-out and inset into a Kobra Green base slab with large letter ‘D’ also water jet cut and inset. The other letters are sandblasted into the Kobra Green. Unit size – 960mm x 400mm x 75mm.‘PERENNIAL GLASSWORT’ is a red Shiraz slab base sandblasted to two depths for text and plant motifs. Royal White & Carlow Limestone letters have also been inset into the surface.
Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping
Above: Detail of some of the letters of ‘PERENNIAL GLASSWORT’ sandblasted into red Shiraz granite.
Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping
Above: ‘MARSH COWS GRAZING’..& other tales from Rochester Riverside’ is Unit No. 8 in a sequence of 15 bespoke granite units along with 9 bespoke cast iron units together create a story about the history and use of this site from Medieval times to the present day. The slabs are robust and heavyweight, adding a physical presence to the narratives they embody. The lives and livelihoods of Rochester people are represented here. These histories live on in stone and cast iron.
Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher TippingDetail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping
Above: Detail of letters ‘C’ & ‘O’, bot water jet cut and inset from Maple Red Granite and Porphyry respectively and inset into sandblasted Kobra green Granite.
Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher TippingDetail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping
Above & Below: ‘BLUE BOAR CREEK’ & ‘GOLDEN SAMPHIRE’, 2 more Tales from Rochester Riverside. Large letter ‘B’ water jet cut from Maple Red Granite, inset into Black Carlow Limestone with laser etched detail.
Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping
Above: ‘GOLDEN SAMPHIRE’ still has the resin bond material smeared over the surface…the cleaned up version can be seen below.
Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher TippingDetail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping
Above: The large letter ‘S’ is water jet cut from black Carlow Limestone, which has beautiful white shell deposits within its matrix., which are wonderfully contrasting when wet.
Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher TippingDetail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping
Above & Below: ’15 BARGES STARTED THE RACE’ & ‘RUSSET BROWN & OCHRE SAILS’. Both bespoke units exhibit great colour contrast and use of stone. Deliberate use of coloured resin bond to fix water jet cut motifs in place adds another dimension.
Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher TippingDetail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher TippingDetail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping
Above: Detail of the red Shiraz base slab with sandblasted text into which is inset a 2 colour motif with Maple Red granite and Kobra Green, fixed with a coloured resin bond.
Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping
Above and Below: ‘THE FIVE BROTHERS’ & ‘SPRITSAIL BARGE’, share a base slab of Porphyry, with sandblasted text and motifs. FIVE BROTHERS has the word ‘FIVE’ inset in water jet cut Maple Red, whilst SPRITSAIL has three letters ‘S’ ‘g’ & ‘L’ inset in Royal White for contrast.
Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher TippingDetail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping
Above and images below: ‘COAL – METER HEAVER WHIPPER’ & ‘WILLIAM CORY & SON LTD COAL FACTORS’.2 Tales from Rochester Riverside…
Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher Tipping
Above: Top slab – 1200mm x 400mm x 75mm – Crystal Black base slab with sandblasted text & water jet cut and inset Maple Red rectangle with additional inset text in Crystal Black. Bottom slab – 960mm x 400mm x 75mm – Black Carlow Limestone base slab with sandblasted text and motifs with water jet cut and inset Maple Red granite letters and motifs.
Detail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher TippingDetail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Christopher TippingDetail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: HardscapeDetail: Bespoke public art units for Countryside Homes at Rochester Riverside in production at Hardscape England. Image: Hardscape
I’m travelling up north to Bolton this week to see the final units completed and hopefully sign off the work so it can be delivered to Rochester Riverside for installation. Can’t wait to see them all.
Hardscape’s stone specialists continuing their great work on my bespoke granite public art granite features for Rochester Riverside. Image: Hardscape Mathew Haslam
Above: “BLUE BOAR CREEK”…& other tales from Rochester Riverside. Detail of a water-jet cut & laser-etched paving panel in black Carlow Limestone with inset text of Amarelo Real (yellow granite) & Porphyry.
These new images are just in this afternoon thanks to Mathew Haslam of Hardscape – as their skilled stone specialists focus on the applied detail. Water jet cutting, inlaying, sandblasting and laser etching their way through 15 bespoke units destined to be embedded into the landscape of the new housing development at Rochester Riverside for client Countryside.This highly bespoke work needs to be handled with care and demands high levels of craft skills.
Hardscape have been excellent at providing this form creative collaboration. Public Art Strategy & Artists Commissions by FrancisKnight .
Below: This unit is 9 of 15 – ‘SHELDUCK’, a Kobra Green Granite base slab with water jet cut inset motif & text in black Carlow Limestone, which has been laser etched with surface detail. Further sandblasting of text into the green granite, will complete the work.
Hardscape’s stone specialists continuing their great work on my bespoke granite public art granite features for Rochester Riverside. Image: Hardscape Mathew HaslamHardscape’s stone specialists continuing their great work on my bespoke granite public art granite features for Rochester Riverside. Image: Hardscape Mathew HaslamHardscape’s stone specialists continuing their great work on my bespoke granite public art granite features for Rochester Riverside. Image: Hardscape Mathew Haslam
Above: The almost completed ‘WILLIAM CORY & SON LTD’.
Hardscape’s stone specialists continuing their great work on my bespoke granite public art granite features for Rochester Riverside. Image: Hardscape Mathew Haslam
Above: This is the base slab of black Carlow Limestone, which has been laser etched first & then water jet cut – but the large letter ‘W’, the ‘&’ and the diamond motif have yet to be chiselled out. See Below –
Hardscape’s stone specialists continuing their great work on my bespoke granite public art granite features for Rochester Riverside. Image: Hardscape Mathew Haslam
Above: The water jet cutting removes a series of lines from the granite, which are determined by the CAD programme, which creates the cutting paths. These pathways are interesting in themselves as patterns, but in this instance they have to be chiselled out carefully by hand, to create the void space for the granite inlay to be fixed.
Hardscape’s stone specialists continuing their great work on my bespoke granite public art granite features for Rochester Riverside. Image: Hardscape Mathew Haslam
Above: This images shows the void spaces chiselled out from the Carlow Limestone. The letter ‘W’ in Maple Red granite has already been inset and is awaiting bonding in place – the diamond motif is just about to be inset. These images are wonderful for showing process, craft and the mix of skills from CAD technology to work by hand & eye.
Hardscape’s stone specialists continuing their great work on my bespoke granite public art granite features for Rochester Riverside. Image: Hardscape Mathew HaslamHardscape’s stone specialists continuing their great work on my bespoke granite public art granite features for Rochester Riverside. Image: Hardscape Mathew HaslamHardscape’s stone specialists continuing their great work on my bespoke granite public art granite features for Rochester Riverside. Image: Hardscape Mathew HaslamHardscape’s stone specialists continuing their great work on my bespoke granite public art granite features for Rochester Riverside. Image: Hardscape Mathew Haslam
Station Hill leads up to Winchester Train Station from the busy junction of Stockbridge Road, City Road, Andover Road and Sussex Street. Swan Lane also joins here. The site has been historically known as Carfax, meaning the meeting of roads. The Carfax Hotel, formerly on the site now occupied by the Hampshire Records Office took its name from this historic site. The Masterplan proposals for this whole site, developed by Winchester City Council’s Consultants Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands Architects, is referred to as the Carfax Site. and incorporates the Station Approaches & public realm.
Station Hill today doesn’t give much away about it’s local community or life as a lively neighbourhood, but this wasn’t always the case.
I will try to add to this post throughout the project as new research throws up characters and stories.
A page referencing the history and standing of Station Hill, the Train Station and environs taken from the Cultural Heritage Assessment for Station Approach, Winchester, by Elaine Milton, Heritage and Planning. Winchester City Council 2015 Station Hill, Winchester. Warren’s Street Directory 1890 – Ref: H 042.27. Hampshire Archives and Local Studies, Sussex Street, Winchester.
Above: Warren’s Street Directories, held in the Hampshire Records Office on our doorstep, lists street by street, almost everyone who lived at each residential property. If this was a business, then it lists the nature of the business, as well as the people who owned it. A wonderful archive. The books also contain the most interesting advertising for local products and services, mostly & brilliantly illustrated.
Carfax Hotel, Station Hill & Sussex Street, Winchester.Date unknown. Winchester Station Approaches Project. Image: Winchester City Trust. Description of the Carfax Hotel by Barry Taylor from The Lost Pubs Project. http://www.closedpubs.co.uk/hampshire/winchester_carfaxhotel.htmlHampshire Archives and Local Studies. Sussex Street, Winchester. This building replaced the old Carfax Hotel. Image: Winchester City CouncilAUTOWORK , (Winchester)Ltd. Station Hill, Winchester. Date Unknown. Winchester Station Approaches Project. Image: Winchester City Council Station Hill looking down towards Sussex Street and Swan Lane. Date unknown. Winchester Station Approaches Project. Image: Winchester City Council.Station Hill, Winchester. 1902 Warren’s Street Directory. Image: Hampshire Archives and Local Studies. Roger Brown’s Model of Winchester circa 1873. This brilliant model was made in the 1980’s and took 9 years to complete. Image: Christopher Tipping. Copyright: City of Winchester Museum.
The Train Station is seen above in the bottom left quadrant. Roger Brown’s model was based on the OS Map of 1873. Roger had been a Planning Officer for Winchester City Council.
Some key building are still extant , such as the Station and the South Western Inn, formerly the Railway Refreshment Inn – & up until 2015, Winchester Register Office. The Carfax Hotel is visible on the junction of Station Hill & Sussex Street. The terraced houses of Gladstone Street are there too, but the Reservoirs of the Sussex Brewery, seen on the OS Map of 1870 now appear to be allotment gardens. Needs a bit more investigating to discover what the reservoirs were for. I can’t find any reference to the Sussex Brewery.
The original Railway Refreshment Inn opposite the Station, was up until 2015 the Winchester Register Office at No.6 Station Hill. Image: Christopher TippingRoger Brown’s Model of Winchester circa 1873. Copyright: City of Winchester Museum.
Above: A bit blurry…but nonetheless the Station and Public House are clearly shown. A narrow footpath leads to Sussex House just beyond the Station in this image. A lovely circular garden feature can also be seen just left of the Station forecourt behind a fence. I wonder if this was a public or private space?
Roger Brown’s Model of Winchester circa 1873. Copyright: City of Winchester Museum.
Above; At centre is the Carfax Hotel building on Station Hill and Sussex Street. This important crossroads, (or Carfax), shows a complex junction of City Road, Swan Lane, Station Hill, Andover Road and Sussex Street. Looking rather genteel – and not the complicated crossing for pedestrians we experience today.
Station Hill, Winchester. 1914 Warren’s Street Directory. Image: Hampshire Archives and Local Studies. Station Hill, Winchester. 1930 Warren’s Street Directory. Image: Hampshire Archives and Local Studies. Station Hill, Winchester. 1939 Warren’s Street Directory. Image: Hampshire Archives and Local Studies.
By 1970, the Carfax Hotel, first named in 1918, had fallen into disrepair during the 1960’s. It had been taken over by the King Alfred Teacher Training College as student accommodation. However, it was demolished in 1972 as part of a road improvement scheme.
Station Hill, Winchester. 1970/71 Warren’s Street Directory. Image: Hampshire Archives and Local Studies.
The image above is a detail of the beautifully carved ebony black polished stone 12th Century font, with its depiction of the miracles of St Nicholas. It is without doubt one of the Cathedral’s greatest treasures. It was brought from Tournai, in modern day Belgium. It has been in use ever since. It is astonishingly fresh and wonderful.
The building materials of Winchester. Image: Christopher Tipping
It isn’t too hard to find odd and quirky combinations of both mundane & exotic materials and examples of spectacular & naive decorative arts and crafts side by side in Winchester, especially in the Cathedral. Almost one thousand years of continual occupation of this religious site bears witness to an unbroken architectural legacy, one that is brimful of odd juxtapositions, exotic materials, renewed or replaced fabric, scratched graffiti, vandalism and destruction. Like walking through a time-warp. Robust Norman Romanesque Architecture to Perpendicular Gothic in one step. Swedish Marble to Purbeck Stone in another. Extant 13th Century inlaid ceramic floor tiles to 1960’s replicas. Striking thresholds crossed mixing time and material, yet the experience is not jarring or disjointed. Time itself has softened these transitions and blurred the edges.
I am continually cherry picking from the world around me, plucking at things, tucking things away for later – like a squirrel, gathering nuts for winter or in the manner of a herbivore, continually grazing, & chewing the cud. I am gathering visual information – an extraordinary cabinet of curiosity in my mind. Certain things catch my attention, whilst others pass me by. This eclectic meander is not a considered or deliberate creative manoeuvre. It is innate. It is my pattern of speech, it is my handwriting. It simply is.
A mash-up of the decorative building materials of Winchester & my own patterns. Image: Christopher Tipping
SANDSTONE – FLINT – LIMESTONE – EBONY BLACK TOURNAI MARBLE – HAND MADE BRICK – OAK TIMBERS – INLAID CERAMIC TILES – MONOLITHIC GRANITE – CAST IRON – GUN METAL – CARVED OAK – STAINED GLASS – WINDOW TRACERY – LEAD
The building materials & memorials of Winchester Cathedral. Image: Christopher TippingAn abstract mash-up of the decorative building materials & styles of Winchester mixed with my own ‘Winchester inspired’ patterns. Image: Christopher TippingThe building materials & memorials of Winchester Cathedral. Image: Christopher TippingThe building materials of Winchester. Image: Christopher TippingThe building materials of Winchester. Image: Christopher TippingAbstract drawings based on knapped flints, one of the building materials of Winchester. Image: Christopher TippingAbstract drawings based on knapped flints, one of the building materials of Winchester. Image: Christopher TippingA mash-up of the decorative building materials of Winchester & my own patterns. Image: Christopher TippingThe building materials of Winchester. Image: Christopher TippingThe building materials of Winchester. Image: Christopher TippingAn abstract mash-up of the decorative building materials & styles of Winchester mixed with my own ‘Winchester inspired’ patterns. Image: Christopher TippingA mash-up of the decorative building materials of Winchester & my own patterns. Image: Christopher Tipping
Oh my word…we’re on a roll in production up at Hardscape in Bolton.
These images are hot off the press, as skilled stone specialists at Hardscape focus on the applied detail. Water jet cutting, inlaying, sandblasting and laser etching their way through 15 bespoke units destined to be embedded into the landscape of the new housing development at Rochester Riverside for client Countryside Properties. This work needs to be handled with care and demands high levels of craft skills. Hardscape have been excellent at providing creative collaboration .
Bespoke detailed granite Public Art Units in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Hardscape Artwork for bespoke detailed granite Public Art Unit ‘WALRUS & NELLIE’ in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Christopher Tipping
Above: This is the ‘&’ from ‘WALRUS & NELLIE’. Water jet cut into a slab of Red Shiraz Granite 900mm x 300mm x75mm. It is awaiting the inlaying of the circle of yellow Amarelo Real Granite. It looks amazing. WALRUS & NELLIE were the names of two portable aggregate conveyors loading stone and cobbles on and off barges at Cory’s Wharf, Blue Boar Hard.
Bespoke detailed granite Public Art Units in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Hardscape
Above: This is the laser etched ‘DUNLIN A SALTMARSH BIRD’, , waiting to be water jet cut from its slab of beautiful Carlow Limestone & inset into a slab of red granite. See image below, where the DUNLIN has been partially cut out from the block in concentric linear patterns. This is a complex unit, with other letters inlaid. Precision is key. These beautifully crafted objects embedded in the landscape, will be a gentle reminder of the natural, social and industrial history of the site.
Bespoke detailed granite Public Art Units in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Hardscape Detail: ‘DUNLIN A MARSHLAND BIRD’. Bespoke granite water jet cut motifs. Public Art Units in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Hardscape Artwork for ‘DUNLIN’. This motif is to be Laser Etched onto a Carlow Limestone slab, then cut out and inlaid into a red Shiraz slab. Bespoke detailed granite Public Art Units in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Christopher TippingArtwork for bespoke detailed granite Public Art Unit ‘DUNLIN A MARSHLAND BIRD” in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Christopher Tipping’15 BARGES STARTED THE RACE 1930′. Sandblasting underway with delicate handling of the vinyl stencils required. Bespoke detailed granite Public Art Units in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Hardscape ’15 BARGES STARTED THE RACE 1930′. Sandblasting underway with delicate handling of the vinyl stencils required. Bespoke detailed granite Public Art Units in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Hardscape Artwork for ’15 BARGES STARTED THE RACE 1930′.Bespoke detailed granite in Kobra Green & Shiraz. Public Art Units in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Christopher Tipping‘RUSSET BROWN & OCHRE SAILS’. Sandblasting underway with delicate handling of the vinyl stencils required. Bespoke detailed granite Public Art Units in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Hardscape Artwork for ‘RUSSET BROWN & OCHRE SAILS’.Bespoke detailed granite in Kobra Green, Amarelo Real & Shiraz. Public Art Units in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Christopher Tipping‘SPRITSAIL BARGES’ & ‘FIVE BROTHERS’. . Sandblasting underway with delicate handling of the vinyl stencils required. Bespoke detailed granite Public Art Units in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Hardscape ‘SPRITSAIL BARGE’ . Detailed sandblasting underway with delicate handling of the vinyl stencils required throughout. Bespoke detailed granite Public Art Units in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Hardscape Drawing of a Spritsail Barge, used on the River Medway and of a type originally built on our site at Rochester Riverside in the 19th Century. Image: Christopher TippingArtwork for ‘SPRITSAIL BARGES’. Bespoke detailed granite in Kobra Green, Amarelo Real & Shiraz. Public Art Units in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Christopher TippingArtwork for ‘THE FIVE BROTHERS”. Bespoke detailed granite in Kobra Green, Amarelo Real & Shiraz. Public Art Units in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Christopher Tipping‘SHELDUCK’. Laser Etching of a Shelduck on a Carlow Limestone slab underway with delicate handling of the detail required. Bespoke detailed granite Public Art Units in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Hardscape
The laser etched image of the Shelduck will now be water jet cut out of the Carlow slab and the motif inlaid into a slab of Kobra Green Granite, which has the shape of the bird already cut into the surface.
Interesting to note also that the Carlow Limestone has beautiful fossil shells embedded. Also note that these are not my feet, they probably belong to Pedro, who is overseeing and also working on my project. Without skilled people like this, I would be lost !
Artwork for ‘SHELDUCK’. This motif is to be Laser Etched onto a Carlow Limestone slab. Bespoke detailed granite Public Art Units in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Christopher TippingArtwork for ‘SHELDUCK’. Bespoke detailed granite in Kobra Green & Carlow Limestone. Public Art Units in production at Hardscape England, Logistics North, Bolton for Rochester Riverside and client Countryside Properties. Image: Christopher Tipping
These sketches and studies below are part of a series of early drafts and drawings, which were completed in June this year. They were derived from contextual research and concept design development for the generation of the interpretive public art elements at Winchester Station. Several versions of this initial research have been submitted for discussion and comment.
Draft concept visuals for Winchester Station Approaches. Images: Christopher TippingPlan view of the Station approaches. Image: Christopher Tipping
These early drafts considered an ‘all-over’ repeating pattern for natural sandstone paving, influenced by the Cathedral’s extant 13th Century medieval inlaid ceramic floor tiles – and used here as a super-graphic motif. At this time I was not responding to any masterplan proposals from the client’s Architects and Urban Planners LDS – as these had not yet been circulated for discussion. The ideas were formulated in response to my own research in the city and now form the foundations of my project approach.
Concept drafts for repeat pattern paving influenced by the Cathedral Medieval Tiled floors. Image: Christopher TippingConcept drafts for repeat pattern paving influenced by the Cathedral Medieval Tiled floors & built environment. Image: Christopher TippingA page from my research document June 12th 2019. Image: Christopher Tipping
The building stones of Winchester are hugely influential when looking at the interpretation of place and the significance of the Station as a gateway to the City. Although granite has been used here, local sandstones and limestones with flint and brick dominate.
The low lying architectural scale and presentation of the Station buildings, warrant a softer frame with regard to paving. Sandstone fits this bill. Granite being perhaps too corporate and ubiquitous for this site.
A page from my research document June 12th 2019. Image: Christopher Tipping
A page from my research document June 12th 2019. Image: Christopher Tipping
A page from my research document June 12th 2019. Image: Christopher TippingA page from my research document June 12th 2019. Image: Christopher TippingA page from my research document June 12th 2019. Image: Christopher TippingA page from my research document June 12th 2019. Image: Christopher Tipping
The City has a strong tradition of procession and pilgrimage, which reinforces notions of way finding and direction, arrival and departure, as well as the physical experience of walking and the materials you are walking upon.
The Dell, Southampton 2004. Central Courtyard works on site. Matt Le Tissier stud-printed relief cast concrete retaining wall. Design & Image: Christopher Tipping
In 2001, was commissioned by Elizabeth Smith, the Public Arts Officer for Southampton City Council to collaborate with the project client Barratt Homes, to create an interpretive landscape artwork for the central courtyard of the former Dell Football ground. The Dell was demolished in 2001 by Hughes and Salvidge. I was able to visit the ground to document the site just before this process began and just after the last game had been played.
“a lovely dell with a gurgling stream and lofty aspens” Philip Brannon 1850
“On 19 May 2001, midfielder Matt Le Tissier, (who retired from playing a year later) said goodbye to the stadium that had been host to his entire professional career by scoring a volley in the final minutes of the final league game securing a 3–2 win against. Le Tissier has the distinction of scoring the last competitive goal at The Dell. On 26 May, the club’s fans said goodbye to the Dell by stripping all of its seats, the pitch and even an advertising board after Southampton’s last game at the stadium, a 1-0 victory in a friendly against Brighton & Hove Albion, the first and last opponents at the stadium. The last goal ever scored at the Dell was by Uwe Rosler”. Wikipedia
“The final league goal witnessed by the Dell was Le Tissier’s 89th-minute winner against Arsenal, a fitting tribute from the forward to his home for 16 years and to the fans who could not imagine life without him. Club fortunes fluctuate, players come and go but Le Tissier has infected those who have witnessed his feats on the south coast and their worshipping will go on long after his boots are finally hung up”. The Guardian 21st May 2001
The Dell, Southampton 2004. Central Courtyard works on site. Design: Christopher Tipping. Images: Joe Low
The Dell, Southampton 2004. Central Courtyard works on site. Design: Christopher Tipping. Images: Joe Low
The Dell, Southampton 2004. External view of the site with Marketing Suite. Central Courtyard artworks on site. Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton 2004. Bespoke cast red & white terrazzo benches by Pallam Precast arrive on site. Design & Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton 2001. Maps & Concept Drawings. Designs & Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton 2001. Maps & Concept Drawings. Designs & Image: Christopher Tipping
‘The site on which the ground was built was described in Philip Brannon’s Picture of Southampton, published in 1850, as “a lovely dell with a gurgling stream and lofty aspens”. The stream is the Rollsbrook which flows out of Southampton Common, running parallel to Hill Lane before disappearing under Commercial Road and Southampton Central Station, from where it is conduited under Southampton Docks into Southampton Water.
The land had been purchased in the 1880s by the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway to enable them to continue their line from Winchester via Twyford, Chandlers Ford, a tunnel at Chilworth and Shirley where it was to pass to the North East of what is nowSt James’ Park, Southampton and St James’ Church. From here the line would have travelled south across Hill Lane to run through the dell and onto an embankment leading to a viaduct over Commercial Road and the London and South Western Railway line before terminating on the Western Esplanade North of the Royal Pier.
The dell was stripped of vegetation and the stream channelled into a conduit with work started on the embankment, which survives behind property to the North of Commercial Road but was never used, and the viaduct which was part built but later demolished.’ Wikipedia
I wanted to recreate this idea of ‘a lovely dell with a gurgling stream and trees’, as well as represent something important about the history of football and of Southampton FC on this site. It appeared that the centre circle of the pitch was exactly where the stream had originally passed through and was now culverted underground. The radius of the centre circle on a football pitch is 9.15m. My design reflects this. The centre spot is in exactly the same space it would have been on any match day. 11 trees are planted around the circumference to reflect the squad of 11 who would have played each game. The raw cast concrete retaining walls, steps and planting beds retain something of the look and feel of the original football terraces. Several bespoke cast terrazzo benches with white aggregate in a red cement matrix face into the centre. These reflect the club colours.
The most notable detail is the textured low-relief elevation exposed around the centre circle. This is the stud print of Matt Le Tissier’s right football boot – or so I was led to believe. We contacted the club during this project and this was the boot I was sent. I so want to believe it. I wore the boot to make the original mould, by running over a bed of clay. I still have it. The idea was to recreate and remember the raw play and boots on muddy ground which embodies the spirit of play.
I approached Patterns & Moulds Ltd, a fantastic company, I have since worked with on several projects. Established in 1967, Patterns & Moulds remains the largest independent and privately owned mould maker in the UK.
Matt Le Tissier’s right football boot. The Dell, Southampton 2004. Development of cast concrete relief moulds. Design & Image: Christopher Tipping
Matt Le Tissier’s right football boot. The Dell, Southampton 2004. Development of cast concrete relief moulds. Design & Image: Christopher Tipping
Matt Le Tissier’s right football boot. The Dell, Southampton 2004. Development of cast concrete relief moulds. Design & Image: Christopher Tipping
Matt Le Tissier’s right football boot. The Dell, Southampton 2004. Development of cast concrete relief moulds. Design & Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton 2001. Maps & Concept Drawings. Designs & Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton 2001. Concept Drawings. Designs & Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton 2001. Concept Drawings. Designs & Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton 2001. Concept Drawings. Designs & Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton 2001. Plan Drawings for setting out. Designs & Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton 2003. Final Draft Artwork. Designs & Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton 2003. Final Draft Artwork & Planting Scheme. Designs & Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton 2001. Just prior to demolition works starting. Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton 2001. Dusty footprints & concrete terraces. Just prior to demolition works starting. Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton 2001. Concrete terrace number 5. Who would have stood here on match day?Just prior to demolition works starting. Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton 2001. Just prior to demolition works starting. Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton 2001. Just prior to demolition works starting. Image: Christopher Tipping
Turf had been stripped off the pitch by fans eager to take a piece of footballing history home with them.
The Dell, Southampton 2001. Just prior to demolition works starting. Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton 2004. Central Courtyard works on site. Design & Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton 2004. Central Courtyard works on site. Design & Image: Christopher Tipping
Sunburn
The Dell, Southampton 2004. Central Courtyard works on site. Design & Image: Christopher Tipping
Above: All the concrete works were delivered in-situ, with timber formwork constructed on site. The concrete retaining structures and curving walls created a series of interlinked paths and terraces, which were then backfilled with soil or compacted gravels to create the finished terrace levels. The Matt Le Tissier stud-print concrete feature relief-wall was also cast in-situ on site with bespoke rubber moulds and timber formwork. The raw, unfinished concrete surfaces emulated the original hard terrace construction at the Dell Football ground.
Matt Le Tissier’s right football boot. The Dell, Southampton 2004. Bespoke in-situ cast concrete. Design & Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton 2004. Bespoke in-situ cast concrete. Design & Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton 2004. Bespoke in-situ cast concrete. Design & Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton 2004. Central Courtyard works on site. Design & Image: Christopher Tipping
Above: Elizabeth Smith, Public Arts Officer, Southampton City Council 1998 – 2011, talking with the Project Site Manager.
The Dell, Southampton 2004. Central Courtyard works on site. Design & Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton 2004. Central Courtyard works on site. Design & Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton 2004. Bespoke in-situ cast concrete. Design & Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton 2001. Concept Drawings. Section through terraces and stream. Designs & Image: Christopher Tipping
Above & Below: The Rollsbrook Stream was re-imagined as a shallow rill flowing through the courtyard.
The Dell, Southampton 2004. Bespoke in-situ cast concrete. Design & Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton 2004. Bespoke in-situ cast concrete. Design & Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton 2004. Bespoke in-situ cast concrete. First of 11 trees in place. Design & Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton 2004. Bespoke in-situ cast concrete. Ground lighting being installed. Design & Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton. Groundsman preparation of the pitch was a thing of beauty & skill. Image: SFC Date Unknown.
The Dell, Southampton 2004. Bespoke in-situ cast concrete. Bright green turf being laid. Design & Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton 2004. Bespoke in-situ cast concrete. Design & Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton 2004. Bespoke in-situ cast concrete. Design & Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton 2004. Central Courtyard works on site. Design & Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton 2004. Bespoke cast terrazzo benches by Pallam Precast arrive on site. Design & Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton 2004. Bespoke cast terrazzo benches by Pallam Precast arrive on site. Design & Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton 2004. Bespoke cast red & white terrazzo benches by Pallam Precast arrive on site. Design & Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton 2004. Bespoke cast red & white terrazzo benches by Pallam Precast are installed on site. Design & Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton 2004. Central Courtyard works on site. Design & Image: Christopher Tipping
The Dell, Southampton 2004. Central Courtyard works on site. Design & Image: Christopher Tipping
