The Link Road mural restoration
Restoring a Millfield gem
Peterborough Presents worked with the amazing local community and a team of incredible artists to restore the Link Road mural. The colour was restored, returning the Link Road mural back to its original glory in summer 2021. Artists involved were Amanda Rigby, Jason Duckmanton, Katie Scott, Nathan Murdoch (Street Arts Hire), Stuart Payn, and Tony Nero. They undertook an epic job of bringing this well-loved mural back to life.
The Link Road mural restoration also wouldn’t have been possible without a brilliant team of community stakeholders: Community First (Peterborough), The Allama Iqbal Centre, PTL Lettings, Friends of Roger Brooks, and Peterborough City Archives.
The mural was also at the heart of our Millfield Link project. It represents a celebration of the area. Read on to find out about the history of the mural and learn about its restoration.
The Link Road Mural Restoration: A Film by Red 7 Productions
Settle in with a cuppa and watch this restoration documentation! Featuring interviews with artists, people in the mural, people who were involved in the original mural, and community partners in the neighbourhood today.
About the restoration
Before the mural could be re-painted, we worked with Hirst Conversation to repair the surface of the wall. This means that any paint applied will last for another forty years. The film below is a short interview with Hirst Conversation. Press play and find out about what they did to the wall!
The History of the The Roger Brooks Memorial
The Link Road mural was designed and painted in 1982 by Francis Gomila. It was created as part of a regeneration project led by Peterborough Development Corporation. It was a much loved mural featuring many of the local residents from the area at the time.
This mural was dedicated in memory of Roger Brooks, City Councillor and Chairman of Urban Renewal Action Committee. Roger was an important figure in the area, and a real community champion. Unfortunately, Roger passed before the mural was completed, and so it was dedicated to him by The Mayor of Peterborough on Sept 23rd 1982.
The mural was designed and painted by Francis Gomila, Town Artist, with the help of art students from Peterborough Technical College. The characters featured in the mural were portraits of real people in the area, many of which lived on and near the site of the mural. They were asked if they’d like to be added to the mural as they chatted to Francis while he was painting.
People would come along and (pointing at the mural) saying ‘there’s your Dad’. So there’s all these little kids who are now connecting newly to the mural. That sort of connection is brilliant because, it makes you think that because it’s such a precious thing, or at least the community’s holding it so precious, that it will be looked after.
Other Projects
Well if you found that fascinating come check out what else we've done!
Top tips and favourite bits: Peterborough Murals
Watch: a short film where 4 Peterborough street artists and the PP team tell you about their favourite murals. We also share some top tips to those interesting in working with artists on future murals
Deljit Singh’s Magical History Tours
Local legend Deljit Singh’s tours of Millfield and Peterborough city centre, exploring the history of places and people past, personal anecdotes, hidden gems, and days gone by.
Bretton Royalty
Bretton Royalty (summer 2021) was inspired by a Bretton resident’s experiences of feeling like royalty during the 1995 Bretton Festival, when she was ‘Bretton Festival princess’ for the day. We extended this feeling of being made to feel special by your community, and celebrated Bretton residents.