Mural 'rediscovered' in Blackheath to be preserved

A mural by a leading 20th Century London artist installed in a now-disused community centre in south London is to be moved to a local primary school.

William Mitchell, who was born in Maida Vale in 1925, has a body of work that ranges from a zoo in Qatar to the Egyptian escalator at Harrods.

Mitchell, who died in 2020 aged 94, was known for his public art in the UK, including Grade II listed works across London, as well as significant installations in the United States.

Now a mural by the artist, "rediscovered" in Blackheath during preparatory work for the construction of new council homes, is to be restored.

Greenwich Council said it worked with local residents, ward councillors and the Blackheath and Twentieth Century Societies to get funding from the Heritage of London Trust to pay for conservation and restoration of the artwork.

Once the mural is thoroughly cleaned and restored it will be moved to Brooklands Primary School, close to the original site.

The council said pupils at the school will be taught about the techniques and technology used to restore artwork during the process.

The mural is currently in storage and will be installed at the school this autumn.

William Mitchell has more artworks listed on the National Heritage List for England than any other post-war artist.

They include the fibreglass reliefs on the doors of Liverpool's Metropolitan Cathedral, a 1,000 ft (320m) long decorative cast concrete work on a wall at Kidderminster ring road and Clifton Cathedral's concrete Stations of the Cross.

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