William George Mitchell Panels
William George Mitchell – Panels
Panels at the corner of Bull Yard.
The untitled panels around Hertford Street and the Bull Yard, above the shop fronts, were designed by William George Mitchell for W.S. Hattrell & Partners, the architects for the street in 1967. There are 54 panels, all in the same shallow relief, abstract, organic stone appearance design. They are not all mounted the same way up and not in a particular pattern but it gives a sense of rhythm and continuity to the street and the architects scheme. Each panel has been cast in fibreglass and given the appearance of cast bronze by the addition of bronze powder into the mixture. The first panels were put up around the Bull Yard and the bottom part of Hertford Street in 1967 and the rest were completed in 1969 up to where the Peeping Tom statue is.
William George Mitchell did many other works of art in the city, including the Three Tons Pub in the Bull Yard, 1966. He also did a mural in the foyer of Hertford House, now closed. The Mural had lady Godiva on the left and showed various scenes from Coventry’s history including the St. Michael’s Cathedral on fire. TV news did a feature about it when it was being made; the film interview showed William Mitchell cutting onto the wet plaster which had to be done in one day before it dried out.
William George Mitchell is most famous for designing many pieces in the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, including the main entrance bronze sliding doors, which is said to have a self portrait.
