| Reference Number | 2012.103/D/3 |
| Level | File |
| Extent | 2 items |
| Title | Plan and press cutting related to the Fleet Building mural, London |
| Date | c.1960-1961 |
| Description | Architects plan showing the Farringdon Street elevation of the Fleet Building and the proposed position of Annan's tiled panels in red. The reverse of the plan is marked with a Ministry of Works crown copyright stamp. The plan is accompanied by a press cutting from 'The Times', March 1961, showing Annan working on one of her panels in her studio. |
| Notes | Annan was commissioned by the Ministry of Works to design a ceramic mural comprising of nine panels for the Farringdon Street elevation of the Fleet Building in London. The Building, designed by the Eric Bedford, was built to house the Central Telegraph Office and was the largest to be built for the Post office since the war. Annan was offered £300 per panel, plus the cost of materials and firing. Annan used photographs of telecommunications equipment supplied by the Post Office as inspiration for the panels. Although the tiles were manufactured by Hathernware Ltd, she hand-scored each wet clay tile to her design at their Loughborough pottery and then decorated, glazed and re-fired them in her studio kiln. On the closure of the Telegraph Office, The Fleet Building was bought by an American Bank and was at risk of demolition. However in 2011 English Heritage gave the panels Grade II listed status and in 2013 they were relocated to an elevated walkway on the Barbican Estate. |
| Related Material | See 2012.103/A/9 for a notebook containing experimental test recipes for different coloured glazes for the tiles of the Fleet Building mural; 2012.103/C/1/13 for black and white photographs of the mural; and 2012.103/G/1/6 for Annan's correspondence related to the commission. |