The Bakewell Town Hall mural is in danger of becoming nothing more than a myth due to dwindling recollections of the Second World War tribute.
Painted by Driver, John Blake R.A.S.C in 1945 the mural, painted on the Assembly Room wall, was 30ft wide by 16ft tall flanked by two further painted panels each 12ft wide; took 146 hours over a period of five weeks to paint and depicted Haddon Hall viewed from the south and featuring the exterior elevation of the Long Gallery
Blake had been stationed in Bakewell and at the end of the War, as a token of gratitude to the people of Bakewell, asked that he might be allowed to paint the mural – a sort of memorial to those who served but were not known to have died.
When completed, an inscription was added by Mr. G. B. Baker, a local resident:
"Haddon Hall, painted by Driver J. Blake, R.A.S.C. presented as a Victory Gift in token of their gratitude to the Townsfolk of Bakewell, from all ranks of the C and D Coys., No. 5 Trng. Batt. (Drivers) R.A.S.C. V.J. Day ,1945."
The mural was unveiled by Lt. Col. F. A. Lovegrove, Commanding Officer of No. 5 Training Battalion R.A.S.C. who said that the mural would be ‘a lasting memento of gratitude for the kindness that the people of Bakewell had shown to the troops’ and he asked the town of Bakewell to accept it from the Battalion.
Mr. Brooke-Taylor, in accepting the gift on behalf of the Urban District Council, said ‘they appreciated what Driver Blake had done and it would always be a joy to them to look at that painting’.
However, in 1958 the Urban District Council made the decision, without consultation, to paint over the mural during a redecoration project of the Town Hall.
When this became public knowledge, the controversy began and numerous letters of objection were sent, all to no avail. The Council went ahead and painted over the mural without giving any consideration to the pleas from the Bakewell townsfolk or Driver Blake himself.
There has been much talk over the years but never any firm evidence of the painting other than the nostalgic memories of a few and the almost folklore tales of a soldier’s thank you to the people of Bakewell.
But thanks to Stephen Coates and the Bakewell & District Historical Society, we now have a copy of the only known picture of the Mural.
The picture is a photocopy of the original picture which appeared in the Derbyshire Times on 7th February 1958.
We are appealing for anyone who has any more information about Driver Blake or the mural as we would like to make a permanent tribute in our Assembly Room, keeping this piece of history alive. Please get in touch with Marie at BTCT@bake welltownhall.co.uk
With special thanks to Stephen Coates for his article in the Bakewell & District Historical Society Journal 2023 which has been used with his permission for much of the historical information in this appeal.
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