1957/7 Rugby Clubs Coat of Arms

David McFall R.A. (1919 - 1988)

Sculptor

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39" wide x 76" high

Cast concrete

It was produced in April and May 1957 and bricked in on 16th May.

This Coat of Arms in relief cast in concrete is at the Rugby Clubs, 223 Walmer Road, Notting Hill Gate, London W11. The club, funded by Rugby School for London children, was bombed in the War and William Henderson, Architect (see 1964/8) was commissioned to rebuild it. Henderson writes: "The building, a replacement for the original Victorian one which was bombed, was funded by a grant from the War Damage Commission, so costs were a problem. I asked David if we could do the school crest as economically as possible so he modelled it and had it cast in a 'reconstructed' Portland mix' which, like the building itself, seems to have stood up fairly well to very tough use and attack over 36 years. And weather staining has picked out the armorial bearings and helmet 'mantelling' very happily. I can't remember whether David did the lettering (which I think was added after the opening) but I (and therefore he) would have been consulted and it looks up to his standard. This was the first of the boys clubs (1889) donated by public schools to slum areas in London..."