Ridgway Rentals Helps Return Mural to St Martins
Posted Wednesday November 9th 2016Ridgway Rentals helps return mural back to St Martins School after Power Station closure
The 50 year old mosaic created by pupils and staff at St Martins School, Shropshire
RIDGWAY Rentals Ltd head office sits on the former colliery brick yard on the outskirts of the village of St Martins, an ex coal mining village in Shropshire near the Welsh border.
During the 1960s, the coal from St Martin’s was used to fuel the Buildwas Power Station at Ironbridge.
In 1966, as a sign of their appreciation, the staff and pupils of St Martins School created a life size mosaic illustrating the industrial revolution and centred around Ironbridge.
This was then presented to the CEGB (Central Electricity Generating Board) Power Station in Ironbridge where it has remained for the past 50 years, hanging on the boardroom wall.
The Buildwas Power Station in Ironbridge – now decommissioned and set for demolition
The power station stopped generating electricity on 20 November 2015 and is now due for demolition so the directors and staff at Buildwas decided it would be appropriate to return the mosaic back to the School.
After a number of meetings it was decided that the School would need the help and advice of an industry expert in order to safely remove the 5m x 3m mosaic from the boardroom.
Team work from Ridgway Rentals and KDC Demolition
Ridgway Group Chairman, Tim Jones who is also Chair of Governors at St Martins School used his industry contacts and enlisted the help of Ian Smithson CEO of KDC Demolition Ltd.
The KDC team carried out a HSE Risk assessment, designed the method statement and carried out the work of successfully removing the mosaic and safely transporting it back to its creators St Martins School – read story on KDC news here
Quotation from Sue Lovecy Head of St Martins School
“St Martins School are delighted to welcome home a mosaic that had been on display at the Ironbridge power station since 1966.
The mosaic was designed and created by staff and students and is an important part of the history of St Martins, the surrounding area and the school.
It is approximately 2.6m high and 4.7m wide, and depicts images synonymous with the industrial revolution.
This huge venture would not have been possible without the support, time and effort of Ridgway Rentals and KDC.
We are now investigating how this piece of artwork can be safely displayed in school.”