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Hand-painted, abstract 'map' mural of AAK in Runcorn. Flowing shapes represent: sauces, local waterways and the sedimentary rock formation of Runcorn's world famous sandstone, with landmarks and ingredients used on site
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12.5 metres long.
The Main Building
AAK and Lion Brand logos, plus the droplet icon. Lion was established in 1831, and became part of AAK in 2006.
Fresh mint and horseradish below, for making Lion's mint and horseradish sauces.
Mayonnaise
Oil, vinegar, egg and mustard come together to form one of the site's delicious condiments.
Chilli Peppers
A spicy starting point for many products produced on site.
St Christopher Statue, Norton Priory
Under a mile from this site, the Medieval Norton Priory once stood. The twice life-sized St Christopher statue, carved from Runcorn's red sandstone is now housed in their museum. The largest surviving medieval statue of St Christopher in Britain.
Halton Castle
The well known local ruin on Halton Hill, dates back to an original structure in 1071. Replaced with the current sandstone castle in the 13th century, it was visited by King John and Edward II.
Ethelfleda Sculpture
Still standing guard over Runcorn since she founded it in the year 915.
This powerful art piece was made by Diane Gorvin and Philip Bews.
Further reading on the warrior queen of Mercia here.
Runcorn Town Hall
Familiar local landmark built as an elaborate mansion in 1856 for local soap manufacturer Thomas Johnson. The local council became the owners in 1932.
River Mersey, Manchester Ship & Bridgewater Canals
The blue areas of the design represent Runcorn's important waterways. The MSC also used local stone.
White Egret
Representing the nature and wildlife of nearby Wigg Island and the estuary.
It also links to the Liver Bird shield on the (Ethelfleda) Railway Bridge.
Cargo Barge
Representing the import and export history of Runcorn's docks and waterways.
Daresbury Laboratory & Alice In Wonderland
Lewis Carroll was born & raised just 6 miles away, We swapped Alice's bottle to Lion brand sauce. In front of her is the 70m tall Daresbury Tower, the lab's past projects include: Accelerators and Lasers In Combined Experiments (ALICE)
Tomatoes
An important ingredient in many Lion sauces and innovations.
Curry Leaves
A nod to the site's history of C C Spice International.
Norton Water Tower
Built from Runcorn sandstone in 1882, it stands as a highly visible landmark at 30m high, 71m above sea level.
Todger Jones Statue
The statue was sculpted by David Annand to celebrate the heroic deeds of Thomas Alfred (Todger)Jones VC DCM in WW1, that earned Jones the Victoria Cross and the Distinguished Conduct Medal.
Further reading of Todger's amazing story highly recommended!
Mustard Seeds
Runcorn Hill (Frog's Gob)
A working quarry till 1850 now a local park and popular climbing spot. Runcorn's bedrock red sandstone is of such quality it's been used to build: The New York, San Francisco, Texas & Belfast Docks, Chester, Manchester & Liverpool cathedrals and St George's Hall Liverpool among many other structures.
The Brindley Theatre
Named after the engineer of the Bridgewater Canal where it sits, this award winning modern building was designed by John Miller & Partners who have worked on many famous buildings such as Tate Britain and Serpentine Galleries.
Runcorn Bridge and The Mersey Gateway
The old and new Mersey road crossings. The Silver Jubilee (Runcorn) Bridge opened in 1961, transforming the growth of the town. The Mersey Gateway opened in 2017, introducing a toll to cross the river for the first time since the old transporter bridge was replaced 56 years earlier.
The Full Painting
Four weeks to design, two artists, nine days to paint.
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