At Sandifords of Rochdale we have developed a fruitful relationship with artists in our particular part of the Lancashire and Yorkshire borders, as well as having our own very special connection with Rochdale and its surroundings. So it seemed entirely natural that we should commission our own collection of watercolours to celebrate the spirit, heritage and architecture of one of North West England's key towns: and the choice of Geoffrey Cowton as the artist was equally easy to arrive at.
While in fact based just over t'border in West Yorkshire, we and our watercolour clients have long appreciated Geoffrey Cowton's gift in capturing in colours the meeting of hard stone and soft greenery. Whether the glacier strewn obelisks across the floor of a high Dale, or the precise squaring of the grey mill nestled in a quiet clough; in Geoffrey Cowton's watercolours the works of nature and man meet and merge to create a stunning vision of the Pennine landscape.
The broader borough of Rochdale encompasses a surprising variety of rural landscape. In the collection we find the shaded woodlands of Healey contrasting with the Pennine roof of Ashworth Moor and Watergrove. The latter was once a thriving village and is now a calm reservoir, where affecting evidence of its stone buildings can still be found in the reservoir walls or in the muddy bank at high Summer when the water is low.
Below Watergrove, the sloping hill upon which sits Wardle, a growing village where old Lancashire charm mix with the vibrancy of modern living.
In a natural bowl formed by the Pennine foothills sits another reservoir, Hollingworth lake. Once 'the seaside' to Rochdale's mill workers (there is a pub on its banks called 'The Beach') and still today a centre of leisure and gentle waterborne pursuits, Hollingworth Lake is now acknowledged as a major centre for ornithology and environmental studies.
On the roads leading in and out of the Borough of Rochdale sit communities in their own right, like Whitworth, a true Lancashire ribbon village snaking along the road out to the county's heart, yet at its own heart a true village centre.
On these outer edges are names to evoke questions - who was 'Owd Bett'? - and names which retain a clearer mark of history: like Warland, site of a bloody skirmish in the Wars of the Roses.
The Rochdale Canal, winding its way easily around the contours of Rochdale's topology, has added a further dimension to Geoffrey Cowton's work in this collection. Reflection and shimmering texture bring down the sky into the mix of autumnal browns, vibrant summer greens and timeless stone.
The canal is itself alive with traffic once more, as holiday cruisers and enthusiasts travel great distances to experience the Pennine journey between Manchester and Yorkshire - in these few images, Geoffrey Cowton has captured the special magic that draws these travellers.
