Uncovered mosaic to be part of Coventry city centre revamp

source - BBC News

Uncovered mosaic to be part of Coventry city centre revamp

Back to Coventry again now for more good news on the heritage front with the remarkable discovery, during regeneration of the city centre, of a two century-old mosaic that was once part of a long-demolished public house The White Lion Inn.

The White Lion Inn, Smithford Street – from murderous deeds to philanthropic endeavour

source - Coventry Telegraph

Having survived being buried under a shopping precinct for over 65 years, not to mention making it through World War Two and the Coventry Blitz with only minor damage, the future of this rare piece of local history seems to be assured with the council rightly seeking to preserve it by incorporating it into the design of the new shopping centre.

The attitude of the councillors involved is a welcome one and I am pleased to see that they recognise the importance of this small piece of prewar history and the necessity of preserving it for generations to come.  It is perhaps because Coventry suffered so badly during the war that this attitude is so prevalent, as Councillor O'Boyle's comment shows.  With so much of the city's buildings destroyed on the night of the 14th-15th November 1940 (and much of the city rebuilt postwar) anything that has survived through to today is of special importance and I can well imagine that finds like this will be taken to the hearts of Coventrians who will no doubt be engaged by this rare glimpse into their city's past.



I for one am also delighted that this charming-looking mosaic is to be made part of a modern redevelopment in such a sympathetic way, as well as noting that a later 1960s-era statue is also to be restored to the Upper Precinct once the regeneration is complete.  What with this and Coventry Rebuilt virtual history app previously mentioned on this blog it would seem that the history of Coventry is in safe hands and destined to show future generations in both Coventry and around the world the past times of this noted city.

Coventry man brings to life old photos to 'give them a home'

Coventry man brings to life old photos to 'give them a home'

Lost photographs and discarded picture albums have been a recurring theme on this blog over the years - from photos of a still under construction Tower Bridge being found in a skip, 5,000 First World War photos rescued from rubbish dumps, to rare images of the British Raj from over one hundred years ago turning up in a shoe box.  On each occasion we have marvelled at the wonderful glimpse into the past these eleventh-hour rediscoveries have afforded us while at the same time lamenting the fact that they have been so undervalued as to have been left forgotten for decades or more, often to the point of their near-destruction.

This latest article is no exception and once again it is thanks to the efforts of one collector that a number of old photographs - primarily picture postcards of his home town of Coventry and studio portraits of its inhabitants - have been saved for posterity.  Peter Knight's attitude towards preserving these "forgotten faces" is one that we can well appreciate - the thought that they might represent all that is left of a person's life, that they are the last surviving visual documentation of their existence and the travesty that would result if they were just left to gather dust (or worse).



What gives this story added inspiration is that Mr Knight has been able to use modern technology to restore the images to a startling degree of freshness, colourising them and in some cases even employing the much talked-of computer trickery that is "deep fake" to slightly animate the photos.  While I am not convinced about the latter technique, the colourisation does go some way to adding to the immediacy of the pictures, to reinvigorating the subject and, indeed, bringing them back to life.  Mr Knight's idea of incorporating these photographs into a virtual online world of an historical Coventry is also an intriguing project and one that I hope succeeds.



There has been some degree of backlash from certain quarters recently regarding how far "restoration" of old photographs and cine-footage should go following the colourisation, addition of sound effects and 4K HD & frame rate upscaling applied to the famous Lumière brothers' 1896 film L'Arrivée d'un train à La Ciotat and other late 19th-/ early 20th-century footage on YouTube.  As a student of history I can well understand the disquiet that is felt at the perhaps unnecessary meddling with things that were products of their time and should be understood and appreciated as such but equally I can appreciate the thinking behind it and in particular the benefits to the originals and their history that may result.  For example, is Peter Jackson's recent excellent WW1 film They Shall Not Grow Old just "showmanship" or a legitimate attempt to modernise important historical footage for a new, 21st century audience?  As I have said we as lovers of times gone by can appreciate black & white pictures and films as windows to the past but to many [young] people it is as alien and as relevant as another planet - noiseless, colourless, oddly-dressed people long since dead.  If adding colour, realistic movement and other modern technological features can help get new generations more interested and perhaps lead them back to the unadulterated original, with a better understanding and appreciation of what it represents, it might well help to avoid further examples of photographic abandonment like those mentioned and ensure the endurance of classic early cinema and historic photographs such as those saved from oblivion by the likes of Peter Knight and others.

***What do you think?  Can film or photographs ever be over-restored?  Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.***