Public Monument and Sculpture Association National Recording Project
Spitalfields Roundels - School Photograph
Region ID | UEL | |
Work ID | 484 | |
Manual Reference | TH146 | |
Type | Medallion | |
Title | Spitalfields Roundels - School | |
Artist | Bowler, Keith | |
Designer | Bowler, Keith | |
Foundry | Hoyle and Sons Foundry Hackney | |
Date of design | 1994-95 | |
Year of unveiling | 1995 | |
Unveiling details | ||
Road | Brick Lane | |
Precise Location | Set into pavement outside Christ Church School, Brick Lane, between Fournier Street and Fashion Street | |
A to Z Ref | 83 Vb 43 | |
OS Ref | TQ339818 | |
Postcode | E1 | |
Work is | Extant | |
Listing Status | Not listed | |
Duty of Care | London Borough of Tower Hamlets | |
Commissioned by | Bethnal Green City Challenge | |
Notes | ||
Cast iron roundel with embossed image of two children, a boy and a girl, standing facing front. The children are dressed in eighteenth century costumes and are shown pictured on the open pages of a book. The book is surrounded by a circle of pencils, eight in all. | ||
‘To celebrate the area’s history and cultural diversity 25 cast iron roundels have been set into pavements around Spitalfields. Each plaque carries images which tell a Spitalfields story. ... The artist, Keith Bowler, has lived in Spitalfields for over ten years. The roundels were cast in Hoyle and Sons’ foundry in Hackney, also in East London’.(1) This particular roundel is set in the pavement outside the Christ Church primary school, built in 1873. On the wall of the Old Headmaster’s House next door is set a stone plaque (TH 008 q.v.) commemorating the earlier school building of 1808 and showing a relief carving of the school, together with the images of two children of the period. The children shown on the roundel are taken from this plaque. The set of roundels were funded in the 1980s by Bethnal Green City Challenge Company Ltd. The initial idea for the roundels came from Victoria Preston, an arts consultant who was then working for Bethnal Green City Challenge Company Ltd, who approached Keith Bowler to research, design and fabricate them. The contract with BGCC dated from September 1994 and the first meeting was in December 1994 when the majority of the designs were passed. The roundels were cast during February and March 1995 at Hoyle and Sons Foundry and installed soon afterwards. 'There are 20 different designs altogether - although some have disappeared - stolen or dug up by roadworkers'.(2) Note: a disk containing graphics of each of the roundels was supplied by the artist and is in the archives. | ||
circa | ||
raw year | 1995 | |
Condition | Good | |
At risk | At Risk | |
Inscriptions | ||
Signatures | ||
Elements
Element Details
Part of work | Material | Dimensions |
|---|---|---|
Roundel | Cast iron | 36cm diameter |
Assessment of Condition
Surface Character: nothing recorded Structural Condition: nothing recorded Vandalism: nothing recorded