A missing bust of Ernest Bevin, the famous wartime Labour politician and trade union leader, is finally to be replaced at the block of flats in Clerkenwell that was named after him.At the same time a large damaged mural by artist Peter Yates, at the foyer of the flats, Bevin Court, off Cruikshank Street, will be restored under the £70,000 scheme.The project, financed by the Heritage Lottery Fund and launched by Islington Council, will also celebrate the work of pioneering modernist architect Berthold Lubetkin, who designed the flats in the 1950s.A special guided walk around “Lubetkin’s Islington” will also be launched.Project officer Alex Smith said that the bust of Bevin disappeared from an alcove at the flats decades ago. She added: “The new bust will be made in plastic using the latest 3D printing technology.”
Yates – a close associate of Lubetkin – painted his mural close to the ground-floor entrance to the building. It is called Day and Night, contains winged bulls and is a stylised interpretation of elements taken from the heraldic arms of the former borough of Finsbury.Ms Smith said: “It has suffered a lot of water damage and graffiti and residents asked for it restored and conserved.”A plaque to artist Cyril Mann, who lived there in the 1960s, was finally unveiled in 2013 following a campaign led by the Tribune.• The restoration project will be officially launched at an event at the Peel Centre, Great Percy Street, from 2pm-4pm next Saturday, May 23.

• Keywords
  TRADE UNIONS, MURALS, SOCIALISM
• Geographical keyword
  CRUIKSHANK STREET
• Persons keyword
  , Cruikshank Street Bevin Court, Ernest Bevin, Alex Smith