We’re bringing back the bow-tie look to Civic Square as part of a project to make the most of our post-war architecture.
This eye-catching pattern featured in the original design of the Grade II listed park and garden and thanks to Historic England it is back.
The stones have been laid as part of a project developed with Historic England funding under the High Street Heritage Action Zone.
Many of us walk past the square not realising its importance in post-war British architecture.
The landscaping was designed by Geoffrey Jellicoe, one of this country’s greatest landscape gardeners in his time. He designed this public square as part of the civic layout of Plymouth planned by the city architect H J W Stirling and based on Abercrombie and Paton Watson's post-war plan for Plymouth of 1943. It was designed alongside the Civic Centre which was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in July 1962.
The square is getting a makeover to showcase some of its existing heritage features as well as reinstate others. Also on the to-do list is stripping back the paint on the copings around the pond to reveal the polished concrete underneath.
The area around the pond has been scaffolded so that its walls can be painted and repairs carried out to edges of the island. Seats nearby will be refurbished, paving replaced and cobbles around the circular seating refreshed and smartened up.