Bridging the Gap

Bridging the Gap was the first major piece of artwork produced by I C Art in Sept 2015, and shows a visual timeline of the development of the area, based on the people who lived and worked locally and how there is a common link throughout the ages.

The piece portrays 3 phases of the area:

Phase 1 – The early history of the area shows:

• A Norbertine monk, from Warburton Priory, crossing the bridge. These monks founded a travelers rest in Hollins Green.
• Worsley man, in the boat, was believed to have been killed as a scarifies. His preserved severed head was discovered in 1958 in the eastern part of Chat Moss.
• The River Glaze, which supplied the reed beds to the cottage industries of basket makers.
• The fustian cutters, again one of the first industries within the area.

Phase 2 –  The early industrial revolution shows:

• The Cadishead Viaduct railway and the Manchester Ship canal.
• The navvies who build them.
• The Steelworks.

Phase 3 – What came:

• The Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS) Soap Works.
• The Tar Works.
• George Thomas and Princes Park, which he bestowed to the area.
• The skate park, the latest addition to Princes Park

 

For further information see the HDT storyboard.

The original of the piece of art is on the Liverpool bound platform at Irlam Station:

with a copy on the corner of Liverpool Rd and Dudley Rd: