Plea to help restore York's Bile Beans landmark (From York Press)
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Plea to help restore York's Bile Beans landmark
9:39am Thursday 27th September 2012 in News
Hannah White, co-owner of Me & Mrs Fisher, waves from the top floor of the café in Lord Mayor's Walk, above the famous Bile Beans mural
DONATIONS are being sought to help give one of York’s more unusual landmarks a much-needed lick of paint.
The Bile Beans sign on Lord Mayor’s Walk has been a familiar sight for residents and visitors for decades, but its paint is now peeling off and the cost of repainting it has been estimated at £1,600.
York Civic Trust chairman Sir Ron Cooke, who is also advising City of York Council over its Reinvigorate York city-cente facelift programme, said a firm has agreed to carry out the work but cannot provide the funding itself, and it would not be appropriate for public money to be used.
He has now appealed for businesses or anybody else who can help meet the cost to come forward.
“It’s a maverick sign which makes people smile when they see it, but it has not been repainted for some time and it is definitely now in need of work,” he said.
Sir Ron said there were no problems with planning, the building’s owners had given permission for the work and a firm was ready to do it.
He said other similar ideas involved work on the coat of arms over the doorway to King’s Manor in Exhibition Square and putting back the star over the Ye Olde Starre Inne sign on Stonegate.
Anyone who believes they can help with repainting the Bile Beans sign can email mark.stead@thepress.co.uk and their details will be passed on.
Comments(8)
Zetkin
says...
12:25pm Thu 27 Sep 12
Stupidyorkpeople
says...
5:21pm Thu 27 Sep 12
brahma
says...
5:41pm Thu 27 Sep 12
Jim wrote:No, Jim, it was not black and white. The Stubbs mural was and is monochrome but not Bile Beans. The mural was faded and discoloured from decades of traffic fumes, but York Arts Forum were very careful in matching the original colours when restoring it. The colour matching, like the whole project, was overseen and sponsored by Fisons, who were, by 1986, the owners of Bile Beans. The laxative product was still on sale in Boots at that time.
Wasn't this originally black with white letters? I seem to remember it like that from when I was a kid and then the colours were changed when the York Arts Forum 'restored' it in the mid 80s. If it''s going to be repainted could it please be returned to the original colours?
There's a similar but multi-coloured sign in Leeds.
David of York
says...
7:42pm Thu 27 Sep 12
) to crowdsource donations?
It only needs 160 people to chuck in a tenner and they'll have their money in no time.
Magicman!
says...
2:25am Fri 28 Sep 12
gmsgop
says...
6:55pm Sat 29 Sep 12
Great idea- I am more than prepared to help fund this, maybe as a first- then maybe we can do a few more in the town. Looked up on line the firm that sold bile beans actually paid for it last time.. A quick search I think Fisons owns now - hope you are a member of the civic trust- I am joining, don't know it they are into crowd sourcing .. We should give it a go. Thanks for the idea.. I'll try and find Ron Cooke and see if it can be tried...
David of York
says...
3:17pm Mon 1 Oct 12
Jim says...
10:33am Thu 27 Sep 12
There's a similar but multi-coloured sign in Leeds.