'A Bridge to the Past' mural unveiled at Quentin Blake Centre
Tuesday 2nd June 2026
Quentin Blake has unveiled a new mural at the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration ahead of its public opening.
The mural, A Bridge to the Past (2026), depicts a bridge over the New River filled with figures from different eras. The origins of the site date to the early 1600s, when the New River Company completed an engineering project to bring fresh water from Hertfordshire to London.
From 1613, the New River supplied water to London. Although swimming, fishing and bathing were officially prohibited, reports from the 1830s claim up to a thousand people were bathing in the river every summer - so many of the characters in his mural are doing just that.
Quentin also drew inspiration from Isaac Cruikshank’s 1796 engraving of men fishing the New River in formal attire, while other characters are from his imagination.
Quentin said: “I was especially pleased to be asked to produce a mural for the new Centre’s cafe. You will see that I have drawn a bridge. It does not actually exist but I needed one to act as a bridge to the past. Crossing it are folk in period costume; they are all invented by me, except for the two men fishing who are borrowed from a print made in the 1700s.”
Quentin created the work in his studio, first in a rough composition in ballpoint pen, and then using pen, ink and watercolour for the final drawing. It was then digitally enlarged to sit on a bespoke panel on the centre’s cafe wall, measuring almost 5 metres by 2 metres. The cafe is situated in the former Boiler House, designed by William Chadwell Mylne in the 1840s.
Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration will formally open its doors to the public on Friday 5 June, when visitors will be able to enjoy a changing programme of exhibitions and workshops. Alongside these paid-for spaces, the cafe, shop, small library and gardens will be free to enter. For more info and to book tickets, visit https://qbcentre.org.uk/
Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration will formally open its doors to the public on Friday 5 June, when visitors will be able to enjoy a changing programme of exhibitions and workshops. Alongside these paid-for spaces, the cafe, shop, small library and gardens will be free to enter. For more info and to book tickets, visit https://qbcentre.org.uk/