Mosaic trail celebrates Welsh-Liverpool connections

Denbigh-born explorer HM Stanley is celebrated in a mosaic

Over the next few weeks mosaics reflecting Denbighshire's historic links with the city of Liverpool will be unveiled in the county's towns.

The project to create 12 artworks is reaching its final stages, with the installation of the remaining mosaics around the county.

The first mosaic in the final phase of the project has been placed on the wall of a cafe in Denbigh, near the town hall. It features explorer HM Stanley, who was born in the town.

Mosaic artist Tricia Jones explains: "He was born just beneath the castle walls in a cottage which no longer exists. The connection between Stanley and Liverpool is the fact that he sailed from Liverpool on the first of his many journeys."

Tricia, who has has worked with community and youth groups to create the artworks, added: "They decided on the subjects of the mosaics and it was entirely up to them what they could include, provided they stuck to the theme, which was the historical connections between the place the mosaic was being installed and Liverpool.

The mosaic has been installed on the wall of a cafe

"The young people did their own research and came up with designs and drawings themselves."

Sue Muse is the proprietor of the cafe where the mosaic has been installed. She said: "I'm over the moon and very honoured that the building's been chosen to have the mosaic put on it.

"Hopefully people will come to see the artwork and then want to see more of the town and see what else Denbigh has to offer them."

Among the locations of the other mosaics are Plas Newydd in Llangollen, Ruthin Gaol and the Roman bath house in Prestatyn.

As well as helping to design the mosaics, the local community has also been involved in providing some of the materials.

"Mosaics are built using a lot of recycled materials, some of which, like old cups, plates and mirrors, will have been donated. There's also traditional mosaic material like smalti and vitreous glass," said Tricia.

So if you donated your old crockery to the project you might see it again as part of a work of art in a Denbighshire town!