The words around the outside of the mosaics are quite helpful in identifying what they depict actually.
The first one with the text "Marple, The stream at the boundary - Merpel - Forged through the ages" depicts a fossil and represents the origins of the name Marple.
Read more here:
https://www.marple.website/local-history/a-brief-history-of-marple.htmlThe next one with the text "1790 Industrial Transformation Samuel Oldknows Mill by the River Goyt" is the most self-explanatory. This mosaic depicts a Mill, a Water Wheel, a Viaduct and water and is obviously referring to Samuel Oldknow's Mellor Mill constructed in 1790 down at what is now called Roman Lakes.
The third one with the text "Years working away towards a prosperous tomorrow" depicts two hawks of some kind plus four birds. I would think that this is a nod to Hawk Green being part of Marple but cannot be sure what was in the minds of the students from the Ridge College who designed all 3 of the mosaics.
They were installed by Marple Civic Society and the Council as part of a Millennium project that pre-dates the formation of the "Marple Regeneration Partnership" a community group that ran for several years in the 2000s. The Marple Website was part of this partnership and provided the group with its own web site, which is still available on-line tucked away here:
http://www.marple-uk.com/mcrp/index.htmI'm not sure why you refer to them as the Hopkins mosaics in the title of this thread though
@Dudleian I have asked MCS if they can provide any more background information.
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