The Criterion Hotel has now done both — with the help of Tongala artist Murray Ross — after adding a mural to the beer garden.
“While we can only have so many in our bar and bistro areas, we wanted to spruce up our outdoor area to make it more inviting,” Criterion Hotel owner Phil Brock said.
“So I put in the call to Murray and we put our heads together to come up with the idea of putting up a mural of the Bull Ring.”
Mr Brock and Mr Ross knew the old saleyards were the most obvious choice as the subject of the mural.
“If it weren't for the saleyards and the customers those sales brought to the pub, the Criterion wouldn't exist today,” Mr Brock said.
Mr Ross took the idea and produced a number of sketches before starting the mural a few weeks ago.
“I went with the Bull Ring theme, but I wanted to add a personal touch, so I added the depiction of John Clark, who used to be an auctioneer when the Bull Ring was still operating,” he said.
“We went with a black and white image to add the historical factor.”
Mr Ross worked on the mural for two weeks before finishing last week.
“I'm really happy with how it turned out, it really adds something to the area,” he said.
“It will be something eye-catching and it will tell a story, a part of Rochester's history.”
This is the next step in the pub's refurbishment of the beer garden.
“We're hoping to clean the whole area up and where there's gravel, we will smooth out so we can have more tables and chairs,” Mr Brock said.
“While we can have more people dine outdoors, we want to make the most of it.”
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