Demolition of Bridge House

The removal, which was completed earlier this month, was carried out as part of the demolition of Bridge House which is being knocked down as part of plans to re-generate the city’s South Bank area. But planning bosses at Peterborough City Council say they are no closer to finding a permanent home for the mural. Geoff Badger, building services manager for the council, said: The removal of the mural went completely to plan, the demolition contractor took very precise care to remove all the slabs and keep them in perfect condition.

There were no hiccups whatsoever and the whole process only took just over two weeks. The slabs have gone into storage at warehouses and the next stage of the process is to find a new home for the mural. That search is still on-going, and we will continue to be looking at several options. Council leader Cllr Marco Cereste said several obstacles needed to be overcome to find the mural a new home including finding a space large enough to display it. City historians had previously voiced their concerns about the mural languishing in storage for a lengthy period.

Chairman of Peterborough Civic Society Peter Lee said: the mural is put into storage then someone will have to pay to re-erect it. I can imagine the council saying sorry, but we do not have the money. The mural features luminaries like Archimedes, Sir Isaac Newton and scholar Thomas Bradwardine and also figures from mythology including Nusuki, the Assyrian god of light and fire, and Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom and the arts, and celebrates the growth of science and engineering.