Mural of Herefordshire Scenes

 I sometimes feel as if I have nothing to say and I want to communicate this - Damien Hirst

On an otherwise unremarkable industrial building in Hereford, an artwork is taking shape. Just round the corner from us is the Heineken Brewery/Cider Plant in Plough Lane. Originally the home of Bulmers Cider since the 1930s, it was taken over by Scottish & Newcastle (S&N) in 2003 before becoming part of the Heineken Group in 2008 when S&N was divided up between Carlsberg and Heineken.

Photo 1: Part of the Heineken Plant in Hereford (h/t Google Street View)

I first noticed the painted mural (Photo 2) at the beginning of June when I was on my way to one of my citizen science water testing sites. A few weeks later, I stopped to talk to the artist, Mark Stewart.

Photo 2: Mural in early June 2006

Mark used to work at the Heineken site in Hereford and the mural was commissioned by them. Acrylic paints are used and the painting is built up in layers. It is a challenging surface to work; not only because of the uneven surface (mortared brick) but also due to the two angles of the brick surface. For this reason, some of the animals (e.g. hare, kingfisher) are composites of different pictures. The scenes all depict flora and fauna associated with Herefordshire. Mark expects to finish in August and the mural will need a final protective coat to weatherproof it.

Here is a photo of one of the panels showing a reflection of Hereford Cathedral in the River Wye. The mallard details have yet to be added at this point (June 6th).

Photo 3: Mallards and Hereford Cathedral Reflection (June 6th 2026)

Herefordshire is known as a cider county and the original site was owned/built by Bulmers. Unsurprisingly, apples feature in a number of the panels.

Photo 4: Apple Trees & Holly (June 6th 2026)

Photo 5: Fallen Apples and Deer (June 6th 2026)

A month later (3rd July) and the work is progressing nicely ...

Photo 6: Apple Blossom, Green Woodpecker and Pearl-bordered Fritillary (July 3rd 2026)

Photo 7: River Wye, Kingfisher and Orchards (7th July 2026)

As soon as the artwork is completed, I'll post new photos