A PAINTING depicting the emblem of the last Plantagenet king of England has been put on display in Barnard Castle as part of efforts to tidy up a historic alleyway.
The artwork features the boar of Richard III and has been mounted in Star Yard to highlight the connection between Barnard Castle and the king, who was granted the castle in 1475 as part of his Neville inheritance.
The painting on marine plywood, mounted using period cast iron brackets, shows Richard III imagery including the white rose of Yorkshire.
The piece was commissioned by town resident Roger Peat and it took artist Cedric Charleuf about four weeks to complete. Mr Peat and his gang of volunteers have been tidying up the alleyway, which links the public car parks to Horsemarket.
King Richard III’s boar features on several buildings in the town, but society members were keen to use the one in Barnard Castle’s coat of arms. Mr Peat said: “We got permission from the property owners, the Lorimers and Dinsmore families, to do the work and I had originally thought it would look good with murals on the walls similar to some alleys in Staithes.”
Damp walls put paid plans for a mural and it was agreed wall mounted artwork would be easier to maintain.
Mr Peat added: “This way if it does need touching up, it is easier to be done. Christine [Naseby] was instrumental with getting all the details correct – it is thanks to her that it is here. We had intended to put the painting directly above the passageway but with health and safety we felt it better to place it off to the side away from the path. It is also more eye catching as people come down from the car park.”
Kim Harding, from the Northern Dales Richard III Society, said: “Everyone is absolutely staggered by it. It’s amazing. We have been given permission to use this design of the boar, which was inspired by the relief above the oriel window at the castle.
“We have many boars in Barnard Castle and now we have an extra one.”
There are now plans to put up an information plaque detailing Barney’s link to Richard, who was the last English monarch to be killed in battle.
