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The project was born out of a much simpler idea at a meeting of Wells Lions Club way back in 2014, when a small decorative floor display for a Lions initiative was discussed. Steve suggested a much bigger project could be tackled and agreed to look at it. He came up with the idea of a walkable map created in mosaic. It soon became obvious that it was bigger than Lions could do alone, so it morphed into its own project. Steve approached Ruth, a local mosaic artist already known to him, whose considerable artistic input has developed the design into the spectacular piece of mosaic artwork proposed today. Others also joined the team and it then took us almost 6 years to complete the many formalities for a project of this size before the actual build could begin. We hope to see the physical result of all our hard work and get the mosaic in the ground sometime around 2023, but this is very much dependant on many factors, not least of which is funding.

We launched the completed design at a ‘grand unveiling’ event in November 2019, at The Swan Hotel in Wells. The largest part of the mosaic, taking up the centre of the circle, will be a walkable map of central Wells.  The map itself will be to scale, and will also be orientated to match reality. Its level of definition is restricted only by the size of each individual mosaic tile, and whilst much of the map will show artistic representations of Wells’ features, some of Wells’ most prominent buildings will be represented in a classical, front-on aspect to make them stand out. Although the map is an important part of the whole design, we’ll also be including many fascinating features that expand the whole mosaic to 6 metres in diameter. A key feature will be a circle of gothic windows, each of which will contain a particular historical fact about Wells, along with a circle of quatrefoils containing pictorial representations of a variety of items directly linked to Wells, many of which you may have had no idea about!  So the mosaic is not only useful as a map, it should also be extremely informative for both locals and visitors. And of course, no artwork depicting Wells would be complete without reference to swans and water, so the design will also incorporate many related features to ensure it is always seated firmly in Wells, even when being shown in photographs or discussed as a famous piece of mosaic art on the other side of the world.

With regard to location, we have looked at many possibilities since our project first began. Things may change again by the time Ruth has completed the work but our current choice, which has been agreed in principle with all parties involved, is somewhere within the green space near the bandstand. The red circle on this satellite picture gives you a rough idea.

The quality of the materials we use has a dramatic effect on the finished look and feel of the mosaic, as well as its longevity. We have therefore chosen one of the very best suppliers. The tiles, having been manufactured in France by Winckelmans for over 120 years, are fully vitrified with an extreme density of particles. This means they are immensely hard and exceptionally well suited to high impact zones in all environments – commercial or domestic, indoors or out, whilst their vitrification process makes them water and weather resistant. Available in over 30 heritage colours, the mellow palette and unglazed finish give the tiles a natural and harmonious feel. Their quality, durability and colour retention make them a favourite for professional mosaicists across the world.