A Snake at London Zoo

Restoration of the Old Reptile House Carvings

Many of our jobs have the same formula, especially when it comes to restoring and replacing missing sections of carving. This is another nice little example of a small restoration job we completed for London Zoo.

Zoo Town as it is now named was having a revamp and a part of that was to replace two heads of King Cobras that adorned the lower parts of the doorway. As they were so low and fragile they had both been broken off sometime many years ago and had remained that way until the current artistic directors decided that now was the time to replace the missing heads.

The formular goes; Create a model that fits the original in soft wax, that way you can carve it easily knowing that it will fit perfectly when the time comes to install. Back in the workshop an exact copy is made bearing in mind the weathering that the original carving has acquired over the years. This is then taken back to site where it can be carefully pinned into place and seamlessly pointed. Tone and age to match the colour and pattern of the original. And the snakes are once again standing sentient among the other beautifully carved reptiles.

A Small History of the Reptile House

Built in 1926 the new Reptile House was reputed as one of the best of its kind in the World. It was a high tech design which included 'Vita Glass' that provided natural ultraviolet lighting that the animals needed and differentiated heating providing the warmth that reptiles required as well as aquarium style lighting where the animals were lit and the spectators were in a dimmed environment.

For us the most interesting part is of course the beautifully life-like carvings by George Alexander. Alexander was a Glasgow born Sculptor who moved to London to study at the Royal Academy and went on to embellish many prominent locations around London. The carvings that have remained intact at London Zoo bare a likeness to the earlier carvings that pepper the façade of The Natural History Museum. A beautiful celebration of all wild animals small and large.