IT is all change at Mossley Station as artwork panels that have brightened the building up are replaced.
Paintings by local artist Chris Cyprus are being changed at the Manchester Road facility after the boards became worse for wear.
In their place is going new installations by Woodend Mill-based Robert Walker, inspired by the history of the town’s high streets.
The artist drew inspiration from the vintage signage and advertising typography of Mossley’s local retailers through the ages, including long-gone butchers’ shops, photography studios and drapers.
Eleven panels featuring his work are being fitted along the Manchester-bound platform and in the station waiting room.
And the signwriter, a member of the Guild of Master Craftsmen, hopes the exhibition will bring the feel of a bustling olden days high street to the station.
Of particular help to his research was a book he found at Mossley Heritage Centre by local historians Alison Wild and Shirley Howard.
Mossley Shops gives a detailed account of the town’s high streets from the 1950s onwards and includes many black and white images of local retailers.
Another influence has been the words of Lancashire dialect poet Samuel Laycock, who used to run a photographer’s studio on Stamford Road.
His phrase ‘owt that likes’ from the poem Welcome Bonny Brid can be seen on one of the panels.
Robert said: “I take inspiration from craftsmanship that spans generations, lettering that is rooted within our heritage and carved into our architectural and industrial past.
“I find it deeply fascinating that as we research projects via black and white photography, that in actual fact the high street wasn’t black and white but bursting with colour.
“Each sign would depict an air of social class, advertising the goods on sale and denoting social progression through the form of lettering and the colour used to illuminate the sign.”
The new panels replace the Northern Lights exhibition, which has been at Mossley Station since November 2016.
Their launch forms a day of celebrations called Up Our Street on Saturday, March 26, as The Correspondent hit the streets.
And among the events was the unveiling of an unofficial blue plaque to high street giant JD Sports.
For the inauspicious location of 10, Stamford Street, next to the laundrette, was previously home to Mossley Sports, the first retail outlet owned by John Wardle and David Makin, who went on to found the chain.
Sarah Hardacre, project manager for Global Grooves, said of the new exhibition and Up Our Street: “The history of Mossley’s high streets is the history of its people.
“Though times change and the high streets have had their ups and downs, they continue to serve the community well, with their many friendly shops, pubs, cafes and community centres.
“Mossley was home to the first Co-operative Society shop in Tameside in 1856, has been a Fairtrade town since 2011 and our research revealed that JD Sports actually began on one of Mossley’s high streets. For a small town, it has always had a lot going on!
“It has been fascinating uncovering little known tales of the town’s past and I am looking forward to sharing them during this day of special events and after that, via a new website.”
Leon Patel, CEO, Global Grooves, said: “It was always our ambition to have a rolling programme of exhibitions at Mossley Station.
“As sad as we are to say goodbye to Chris Cyprus’s work, which is now looking worse for wear after all that Mossley’s weather can throw at it, we are delighted to be able to share the vision of another local artist with station users.”