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The St Mary and St Pancras School mural has finally found a home |
Moving mural is art of community
Dickens, Shelley and young pupils are featured in school’s new wall painting
IT has taken 30 years and three wall re-sitings, but the St Mary and St Pancras School mural is finally here to stay – until the next time.
The stunning mural at the back of the Somers Town playground has seen a lot of changes in its three-decade lifespan, including being shifted from wall to wall as flats were built, but in that time has won the hearts of the community.
Now in its third phase – the first mural went up in 1984 – it includes recent and older faces, such as current headteacher Sheila McCalla-Gordon and Claire Tomalin, who campaigned to keep the mural when it was threatened in the 1990s. Sue Child, a teaching assistant who remains at the school and has seen all three murals, is also shown.
Famous faces from Somers Town over the years are also featured. Frankenstein author Mary Shelley, who grew up there, Charles Dickens, who lived and worked in the area in the 1820s, and Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, who founded a women’s hospital nearby, are all displayed.
Artist Karen Gregory, who painted all the murals and spent three months on the most recent, said the inspiration behind the original creations was feminism.
“We decided to base it on famous women who lived and worked here – it was the flavour of the times, we were very feminist,” she said.
Ms McCalla-Gordon revealed that the mural was almost replaced by a sculpture a few years ago, but was saved after the community voted unanimously in favour of keeping it. The wall, paid for by the London Diocesan Board for Schools and Unite student housing, was unveiled on Friday.
Ms McCalla-Gordon said: “It’s a real part of the community. We see a lot of history students walking past identifying former members of the community.”
The mural now features scenes from the 18th century up to the present, including children who currently attend the school. |
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