Art / News
Mural unveiled to the ‘cockle lady’
Known to everyone as ‘the cockle lady’, Lilian Rees used to sell cockles every Saturday in Shirehampton opposite St Mary’s Church.
She has now been immortalised in a new mural by a local artist that was commissioned by a group of friends who said that Rees was “a very big part of our community growing up”.
The artwork was the idea of docks workers and former Portway School pupils Wayne Harvey and Nicky Venn, with the mural painted by Joe Westlake of Joe’s Murals.
is needed now More than ever
Protected behind Perspex, the mural to the “kind-hearted” cockle lady was unveiled in a ceremony on Saturday morning.
“The whole community knew Lillian,” Harvey told BBC Bristol.
She was a good friend to everyone. She knitted hats and gloves for the new-born babies and she was a very big part of our community.”
The mural to the ‘cockle lady’ has been unveiled where she used to sit for many years – photo: Martin Booth
While finding out more about Rees’ life, teacher Steve Lewis discovered that she was from Penclawdd, a village in the Gower west of Swansea.
“She came up to Bristol, met a sweetheart in Kingswood and then settled in Bristol herself,” Lewis told the BBC.
“Not only did she change the life of the people in the village, but the village changed her life as well.”
Main photo: Martin Booth
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