Beautifully Restored windows at The Allegory of Morecambe Bay by the very talented Shane Johnstone using imitation leaf and enamel paints supplied by ourselves.

The mural at St Lawrence Church begins by celebrating Morecambe’s Fairground heritage, especially that extraordinary seaside creature the Carousel horse, the traditions used to name them and some of the rituals and superstitions behind their decoration. We also remember the origin of a local place name, old news stories, the famous illuminations and a local food that became synonymous with an international decorative style.

The old church windows, boarded up for decades are magically transformed to appear as the artist describes “like inside out stained glass that glows on the outside”. It is hard to believe the dazzling effect is achieved by using nothing more than enamel paint and the artist’s skills honed by years of practice.

Supporting the composition, on either side we see two magnificent carousel gallopers resplendent in Napoleonic regalia. Why Napoleonic? We’ll come to that in a moment. Our fine fillies are named according to fairground tradition; after new born family members. The only break from this tradition might be to honour a royal birth. Here we take the names of Arizona, granddaughter of Morecambe artist and author of the work Shane Johnstone and Mimi granddaughter of his friend the Morecambe Composer & one-man band Pete Moser. Mimi and Arizona whom were both born while the artwork was being created represent the towns future and in using their names we acknowledge the need to provide now, the best we possibly can for them and all our local children, to ensure that culturally, educationally and economically we leave them a fitting legacy on which and when the time comes; they can build a bright future for our small but special seaside town.

Behind Arizona and Mimi you’ll see a rising tide of sea green wave patterns and an Art Deco Cockle shell motif as tributes to our town’s early 20^th Century heyday and the seafood that along with the shrimp has made Morecambe Bay famous. The Bay Cockling disaster of 2004 reminds us of the Bay’s infamous dangers; indeed old cockle fishermen would describe the sudden arrival of the Riptide as a wall of water, impossible to outrun, that would bear down upon them, faster than a galloping horse. Perhaps a seaside carousel horse’s astonished gaze and flowing, storm swept mane might represent something other than benign childish fun. Just over 200 years ago another threat from the sea stalked the land; England lived in the fear that Napoleon Bonaparte might invade at any time. Locally coastal defences were built and although the architecture of war is long gone one name remains. A huge canon was mounted on a local promontory. As a result that location was named the Battery. In salute to its role in defending the town.Our horses are decorated to “cock a snoop” as the old gun did, in defiance of “Old Boney”.

Typography from an early review of Morecambe illuminations is also included. It reads “Sparkling Sea ablaze from Bare to the Battery” and describes the reflections from the then; new-fangled electric lights reflecting on the Bay.

Above the text and over a deep red stylised sunset, silver stars represent a way to find home for our seafaring brethren and also the music and entertainment stars that have graced the many theatre stages of this once great entertainment town.

The traditional fairground painting technique used involves dozens of layers of coloured lacquer laid over a bright metal leaf and is unique in the way the finished surface shimmers as the sun passes over head. At night it dances, animated by flashing electric bulbs and undulates with ghostly distortions in the beams of passing headlights.

This uniquely English approach to an age old craft creates a fantastical modern folk art that synchronises perfectly with the timeline of Morecambe and the Bay.

“if you’d like to see more of Shanes work check out his website at www.shanejohnstone.com”