Kettering mosaic dream shattered as tiles disintegrate - but work starts on smaller replica

Kettering' s iconic mosaic looks set to have a new home in the town - but it won't be the original artwork after thousands of the tiles disintegrated.

A smaller replica is being made because artist Kenneth Budd had not used frost-resistant tiles when the mosaic was first created, and as a result the artwork's tesserae crumbled in storage.

Kettering's civic society now hopes the new mosaic, which will be one-fifth of the size of the original, will go on display at the town's railway station.

The original artwork had been saved from destruction when the old Tresham College to which the mosaic was attached - originally Kettering Grammar School - was earmarked for demolition. Civic society members launched an urgent campaign to fund the safe removal of the 45ft by 15ft multicoloured artwork, hoping it would one day go on show again.

The bulk of the work of keeping the society's dream alive fell to secretary Monica Ozdemir, who has worked tirelessly hoping that one day the mosaic would return to a prominent position in Kettering.

Monica said: "All our hard work surrounding the mosaic will be realised. We spent 19 years trying to raise the funds and find a new home. Once you have made a commitment you see it through.

"Sadly over the years the tiles disintegrated whilst in storage. We only realised the full extent of the damage last year but we will have, with the best intentions, fulfilled the wishes of those who wanted to preserve the memory of the grammar school."

The mosaic design is an abstract interpretation of Kettering’s coat of arms and makes reference to industries in the town.

Finding a suitable site for the large, heavy artwork, together with many other planning considerations and raising funds, had proved to be a difficult task.

With a loan from Kettering Borough Council of £15,000 and £5,000 raised by donations, the mosaic was carefully removed and put into storage in Kent.

Kettering Grammar School's mosaic was artist Kenneth Budd's first major work and he used broken tiles from wherever he could source them. But, as a result of them not being frost-resistant, when the mosaic was moved to ground level the tiles shattered.

Now Kenneth's son Oliver, who is also a mosaic artist, has started a scaled-down new and improved mosaic which will be identical to the original but a fifth of the size at 11ft by 3ft.

The civic society is in talks with East Midlands Railway with a wall at platform one of Kettering Railway Station the preferred place to display the new mosaic, outside the society's 'Time Travellers' multi-functional room.

Monica, 69, said: "The end result will be perfect. Having seen some of the work, it will be beautiful. My purpose is to get tourism to Kettering. It should be a key draw to the town. The art gallery has world-class paintings.

"Now the station is being refurbished it will be one of the first things people will see when they arrive. An information board will show the meaning behind the mosaic and sponsors will be recognised by having their names displayed on a plaque.

"It will be a landmark, inviting passengers and commuters to visit Kettering. We are going to focus on the station and to get funding to restore it."

The mosaic and a film about it are due to be completed in the late spring, with an unveiling of the new mosaic and the premiere of the documentary at the Kettering Odeon.

Monica added: "The people of Kettering have supported the civic society. The cinema will be packed. We are all about promoting Kettering.

"It's been so many years of my life. It's almost as if the mosaic is my baby - it's been a long labour and this will be the birth."

1962: Kettering Grammar School (later Kettering Boys School) commissions Kenneth Budd to create the artwork for the Windmill Avenue site for front wall of the hall

1993: Kettering Boys School closes, the site is taken over by Tresham College - new college built behind the old school buildings

2005: Demolition of old building announced

2006: Urgent fundraising campaign launches to save mosaic for town - £5,000 in donations and £15,000 from Kettering Borough Council

2007: Mosaic removed and taken into storage by mosaic artist Oliver Budd (son of Kenneth) to his Kent workshop

2009: Kettering Civic Society registers as a charity to access lottery funding

2012 : First Heritage Lottery bid fails

2013: Owners of Newlands Centre offer to host the mosaic, Planning permission sought and granted twice for the mosaic to be attached to the multi-storey carpark

2015: Second Heritage Lottery bid fails

2018: Third Heritage Lottery bid fails

2019: January - society meets Kettering Borough Council to ask for help to take on the project

2019: November - Discussions begin with Tresham College to once again to become the home of the mosaic - plans fail after change of personnel

2020: Historic England confirms funding of £1,480,000 for the Kettering High Street Heritage Action Zone, with the four-year project beginning 2021

The HSHAZ is a Historic England initiative intended to breathe new life into town centres by revitalising old buildings and helping to regenerate a vibrant place for locals, businesses and visitors.

2020: August - possible new home for the mosaic identified in Meadow Road

2021: April - a documentary about the mosaic commissioned to be filmed by UK FilmSchool

2021: July - Kettering Cultural Consortium formed

2021: August - four days of filming in Kettering is completed for the documentary

2021: December - the mosaic is revealed to have been destroyed by frost and beyond repair

2022: The new mosaic is to be completed and a film chronicling the story to premiere