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Bisto Kids saved from demolition
Brick sculpture entrusted to Middlewich Town Council and Middlewich Vision -
Major investment in multiple sites
Seven former Premier Foods sites with an estimated total development value of £100m purchased
Bisto Kids saved from demolition
A brick sculpture of the iconic Bisto Kids used to advertise Bisto has been removed from a former Premier Food building in Middlewich.
The factory, which used to make Bisto gravy and Saxa salt products, was closed in November 2008 and the buildings are about to be demolished as part of a multi-million pound redevelopment of the Booth Lane site.
Shropshire based commercial developer Bovale Ltd has removed the sculpture and entrusted its safe keeping to Middlewich Town Council and Middlewich Vision on a long term loan basis.
“We realise that this sculpture is an important part of the local heritage and want it to remain in the area,” says Bovale MD Charles Collier.
“Although plans have not yet been finalised for this site, it is anticipated that it will be regenerated for employment use, residential and mixed development. We would like to see the Bisto Kids back in one of the new buildings in the future but hope that many more local people will benefit from the sculpture being accessible rather than in storage in the meantime.”
The Bisto Kids were created by cartoonist Wilf Owen in 1919 and initially used in a series of newspaper adverts. They were used again in later years in a more elaborate campaign that included TV advertising and the famous slogan, ‘Aah Bisto’.
Bovale purchased the Booth Lane site along with six other former Premier Foods sites, with an estimated total development value of £100m, last year.
Kerry Fletcher a heritage development worker at Middlewich Vision commented: “It is fantastic that the Bisto Kids sculpture has been saved from demolition and we should recognise all the hard work that many people have put into ensuring its safe removal.
“We are also grateful to the previous management team at RHM who helped us secure many artefacts and photographs from the factories for the Canal & Salt Town Middlewich Project.
“We are hoping to be able to give the sculpture a new home in a heritage centre so that local people will be able to share and continue to enjoy this important part of our heritage. In the meantime we are working to secure a partnership that will allow a permanent display site for it.”
Local builder John Wickham undertook the complex removal of the sculpture on behalf of Middlewich Town Council and Middlewich Vision.