A very ordinary structure, a bridge support, once in concrete grey, has recently been painted in gold-and-blue, the colour of the loggerheads and - by extension - the town of Shrewsbury.
It’s not clear if the work is in celebration of the loggerheads’ 600th birthday, but – let’s assume it is!
Unlike the similar Meole Brace paintwork, this activity has not been carried out by the town council. This is the work of a maverick local character, John Edwards, aka ‘The Sign Guy’.
John started off as a kind of community champion, setting himself to clean the town’s street-signs, making them look new again. Quickly, he’s moved on from there; and he now does paint-jobs covering up ugly graffiti on public walls. It’s all voluntary, and even the materials are donated (usually). The council love him for it, naturally.
This particular painting effort can be seen on the supports of the Frankwell pedestrian bridge in Shrewsbury which crosses the River Severn to the town’s new Guildhall.
Incidentally, both sides of the bridge-support are painted in exactly the same way, with the other side facing the river. So… if by nothing else, any boats passing by, seeing the colours on the bridge, will know they are in Shrewsbury….!
For more about the history of the gold-and-blue colouring of the arms of Shrewsbury (aka the ‘loggerheads’), click here
A new book has been published to celebrate 600 years of the loggerheads - click here to find out more.
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