A really interesting project. We were contacted by The Museum in the Summer and asked about the viability of trying to reconstruct an original marble mosaic removed in haste from the original GWR head quarters in Paddington, London prior to the buildings demolition in the mid 1980’s. Members and trustees of the Museum removed the mosaic in sections with the original screed base still attached where it remained in the Museums stores for almost 40 years.
During our first meeting at Didcot we took images of the salvaged mosaic, found in numerous pieces ranging in size from individual tesserae to small rather damaged sections. The Museum had also diligently collected other loose marble mosaic from the surrounding area. These spares enabled us to carry out the repairs using the same aged and matching material.
We were awarded the Contract, collected all the bits and over the last few months have carefully and sympathetic reconstructed and restored the mosaic to its original condition, with the aid of numerous images of the original mosaic provided by the Museum prior to removal. We reduced the thickness and mounted the mosaic within a bespoke metal frame with adjustable legs. The work was very time consuming, but extremely enjoyable. The completed mosaic is due to be installed this month with an unveiling ceremony to follow.
We will do another post once the mosaic is up on the wall.
Definitely worth a visit for both train and mosaic enthusiasts….
