| Sutton Heritage Mosaic | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Rob Turner and Gary Drostle |
| Year | 1994 |
| Medium | Mosaic made with ceramic tile |
| Location | Sutton, London, UK |
The Sutton Heritage Mosaic is a large mural in the form of a mosaic situated in Sutton High Street in the town of Sutton in Greater London, England. [1] [2] One of the largest examples of wall art in Britain, it was commissioned by the London Borough of Sutton to celebrate the borough's heritage. [3]
The mural is on the side of a three-storey building on the corner of High Street and St Nicholas Road at Trinity Square (the main town square). [1]
Measuring 9 metres (30 ft) high by 5 metres (16 ft) wide, [4] the mural depicts various aspects of Sutton's heritage and local history in nineteen black and white panels. [3] [4] The centrepiece is Henry VIII's Nonsuch Palace in Nonsuch Park. [3] [4] Surrounding this are shown the heraldic beasts of the coats of arms of the historic local families of Carew, Gaynesford and Lumley. The mural also features local heritage buildings such as Honeywood House and All Saints Church in Carshalton Village; and the Old Cottage and Whitehall in Cheam Village. Old industries are also covered, represented by the inclusion of a River Wandle mill. The early railway line, which was routed alongside the river is illustrated, as is a Hannibal biplane, which used the former Croydon Airport. [3]
The mural was designed by public artist Rob Turner, and created by him with fellow artist Gary Drostle. [4] [5] The artists had presented the borough's Public Arts Committee with six designs, and the Committee chose one, depicting local history in nineteen panels. Appledown Properties Ltd provided the financing. [3]
The mosaic was created from vitreous ceramic tesserae and put in place in 1994. [3] [1] It was initially created in a studio, using the reverse technique, whereby a full-size outline was drawn on paper in reverse. The tiles were then affixed to the paper with flour-and-water glue. [5] At the end of the process, the paper and glue were washed off with water and the mosaic was grouted and polished. Consisting of well over 100,000 pieces, the mosaic took over 1,500 hours to design and construct. [5]
A plaque describing the panels was installed in 2011, and unveiled by Councillor Graham Tope, Executive Member for Community Safety, Leisure and Libraries, who said: [3]
This beautiful mosaic has been a much-loved feature of our High Street for the past 17 years, but unless you're a historian the chances are you would not know what all of the intricate panels mean. I hope this plaque will encourage people to take a look, and for those already familiar with the mosaic, I hope it will help them to appreciate it even more.
Cheam is a suburb of London, England, 10.9 miles (17.5 km) southwest of Charing Cross. It is divided into North Cheam, Cheam Village and South Cheam. Cheam Village contains the listed buildings Lumley Chapel and the 16th-century Whitehall. It is adjacent to two large parks, Nonsuch Park and Cheam Park. Nonsuch Park contains the listed Nonsuch Mansion. Parts of Cheam Park and Cheam Village are in a conservation area. Cheam is bordered by Worcester Park to the northwest, Morden to the northeast, Sutton to the east, Epsom, Ewell and Stoneleigh to the west and Banstead and Belmont to the south.
The London Borough of Sutton is an Outer London borough in south-west London, England. It covers an area of 43 km2 (17 sq mi) and is the 80th largest local authority in England by population. It borders the London Borough of Croydon to the east, the London Borough of Merton to the north and the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames to the north-west; it also borders the Surrey boroughs of Epsom and Ewell to the west and Reigate and Banstead to the south. The local authority is Sutton London Borough Council. Its principal town is the eponymous Sutton.
Epsom and Ewell is a local government district with borough status in Surrey, England, covering the towns of Epsom and Ewell. The borough lies just outside the administrative boundary of Greater London, but it is entirely within the M25 motorway which encircles London. Many of the borough's urban areas form part of the wider Greater London Built-up Area.
Sutton is a town in the London Borough of Sutton in South London, England. It is the administrative headquarters of the Outer London borough, on the lower slopes of the North Downs. It is 10 miles (16 km) south-southwest of Charing Cross, one of the thirteen metropolitan centres in the London Plan. The population of the town was counted as 41,483 in the 2011 census, while the borough overall counted 204,525.
Nonsuch Park is a public park between Stoneleigh, Cheam, and Ewell in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England. It borders the London Borough of Sutton. It is the last surviving part of the Little Park of Nonsuch, a deer hunting park established by Henry VIII surrounding the former Nonsuch Palace.
Nonsuch Mansion is a historic house located within Nonsuch Park in north Surrey, England near the boundary with Greater London. It is in the borough of Epsom and Ewell, adjacent to the London Borough of Sutton. It has been listed Grade II* on the National Heritage List for England since April 1954.
Putney School of Art and Design (PSAD) is an art college in Putney, in the London Borough of Wandsworth.
Sutton High Street is a high street running north–south through the town of Sutton in the London Borough of Sutton.
The Millennium Dial Armillary is one of six pieces of public art located in the town centre of Sutton in Greater London, England. The others include the Sutton heritage mosaic, the Sutton twin towns mural and the Messenger statue.
The Sutton Twin towns mural is a large mural in the form of seven individual paintings situated in Sutton High Street in the town of Sutton in Greater London, England. It is one of six works of public art in Sutton town centre.
St Saviour's War Memorial is a war memorial on Borough High Street, in the former parish of Southwark St Saviour, to south of the River Thames in London. It became a Grade II listed building in 1998 and was upgraded to Grade II* in 2018.
Gary Drostle is a British artist specialising in public art, sculpture and mosaic as well as mural painting and drawing. He was also President of the British Association for Modern Mosaic, a lecturer at The Chicago Mosaic School. and is on the editorial board of Andamento the Journal of Contemporary Mosaics.
New Malden War Memorial is a Grade II listed war memorial in the town of New Malden, Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Greater London, England, commemorating local victims of the First and Second World Wars. Situated in the High Street of New Malden, in front of the erstwhile New Malden Town Hall now owned by Waitrose, New Malden War Memorial comprises a three-tiered cenotaph on a pedestal and two-stepped base.
51°21′43″N0°11′34″W / 51.36194°N 0.19278°W
