Two lost mosaic panels depicting the Tabard Inn ‘are in reasonable
condition’ according to a report submitted to Southwark Council.

The Livesey Trust Annual Report 2024/25 highlights the large scenes which were removed from public display in 1967 to make way for the Bricklayers Arms flyover in Old Kent Road.

They show the pilgrims in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales gathering at The Tabard in Southwark’s Borough High Street before setting out for Canterbury and on their return feasting.

The report, by Southwark Council’s Head of Culture Eva Gomez, concedes that the bright life-size outdoor artworks have ‘one or two losses and loose pieces’.

With a proposal to remove traffic from the flyover and create a high level garden this might be the moment to bring the panels out of storage and place them back restored on the Pilgrims’ Way which runs across the Bricklayers Arms roundabout.