Kettering: Film documents 18-year battle to save mosaic

A film documenting the long fight to reinstate a town's mosaic is set for its first showing.

The Lost Mosaic tells the tale of Kettering Civic Society's 18-year campaign to save the 14m by 4.5m (45ft by 15ft) mosaic, originally displayed in the 1960s on a school.

When the Northamptonshire school was demolished, the mosaic was removed and stored, but later deteriorated.

A smaller version was recreated and put in a gallery in the town in January.

The original, made by artist Kenneth Budd, was commissioned in 1963 to be placed on Kettering Grammar School to reflect the school's long history, dating back to the reign of Elizabeth I.

Kettering Boys' School, the successor to the grammar school, closed in 1993 and in 2005 the building's new owners said the site would be demolished.

The civic society got involved and began its quest to keep the mosaic in the town.

It was carefully removed from the school building in 2007 by the artist's son, Oliver Budd, who is also a mosaic artist.

He took it home to Kent where it was put in storage until funding and a new display site could be found.

The civic society made several failed attempts over the years to secure grants to reinstate the mosaic, but in 2020 Kettering Borough Council was awarded £1,480,000 from the government and Historic England to restore the town's historical centre.

The mosaic was to be reinstated as part of this.

However, it transpired the mosaic had deteriorated as the original tiles were not frost-proof, and it was beyond repair.

It was decided that Oliver Budd could create a smaller version of the mosaic, measuring 3.3m by 0.9m (11ft by 3ft) and paid for through funds the society had raised over the years.

It was hung in the Alfred East Art Gallery in Kettering in January.

Monica Ozdemir, secretary of Kettering Civic Society and a long-time campaigner for the mosaic, said of the new film: "The documentary and the topics covered in it are of national interest and an excellent record of not only Kenneth Budd's importance in the art world, but also highlights Kettering's rich history."

The documentary was produced by social enterprise UK Film School, funded by Historic England and will be premiered at Kettering's Odeon Cinema on Thursday.

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