Repaired 200-year-old statues from an historic Rotherhithe school have been returned home following a meticulous restoration project.
The figures of two schoolchildren have been restored to their position above the old Free School on St Marychurch Street, after being removed from the Grade II listed tourist hotspot in February to begin their regeneration.
The boy-and-girl statues were made in 1795 and were clearly suffering from the wear and tear of Southwark life as their paint began to peel off.
Restorers discovered that the statues were painted every ten-twelve years for more than two centuries, as different colours could be seen emerging over time.
The restoration was carried out by Hall Conservation, who cleared all 26 layers of paint down to the original surface so that they could analyse the original colour scheme and then replicate it.
The Free School in Rotherhithe was established in 1613 by Robert Bell and the statues have now finally got their original ‘bluecoats’ back.