Coat of arms restored as part of £3.5m project

The £20,000 work on the coat of arms has been completed

Extensive restoration works to a coat of arms that has stood in a town hall since the late 19th Century have been completed.

The George II royal coat of arms was gifted to Blandford Forum Town Council in 1893 and it is the first time it has been restored since then.

The £20,000 work – helped by a £1,000 grant from the Georgian Group – forms part of the ongoing £3.5m refurbishment of the Grade I listed Town Hall and Corn Exchange.

It is hoped the renovation project, which started in May 2024, will be finished next month.

The works have included installing a new lift to the first floor of the Town Hall and council chamber, which has made them fully accessible for the first time.

The town council said it hopes the work will "make the interior of the building beautiful again and boost a sense of local pride".

It is easy to notice the difference to the arms work - as part of the £3.5m refurbishment project - with the new version...

...as opposed to the old version before work started