Port Cochere and mural

Port Cochere and concrete mural on 6 Oct 2010

The Port Cochere or covered way at Ordnance Survey’s former HQ in Maybush linked Central Block (William Roy Building) and North Block (Compass House)

The covered way or ‘Port Cochere’ connected Central and North Block, between H and J cores. The road from the main front entrance ran underneath it as well but there was a one-way scheme in operation – incoming traffic went under the H core side and outgoing traffic on the J core side.

The Port Cochere was fronted by a unique sculptured concrete mural by Keith McCarter DA(Edin), MISA, AIBD, see his website here.

In August 2011, the mural was carefully removed. While there were several who expressed an interest in taking it, it has gone to the Milton Keynes Public Arts Trust, which has cleaned it and will be erecting it somewhere in the town.

The meaning behind ‘The Mural’

Its purpose is to present an association of ideas in pictorial form relating to survey and cartography. The theme is a portrayal in abstract form of phenomena associated with astronomical geodesy and of instruments used in its study. It is intended to suggest the relationship of astronomy and cartography. The actual forms are based on patterns and movements of constellations and shapes revealed in the formation of stellar systems and galaxies, on the patterns of satellite recordings and on equipment used at modern observatories which have relevance to the work of Ordnance Survey. The siting of the feature permits considerable viewing distance and this, in conjunction with the strong rectilinear expression of the buildings, determined the final feeling. The textures of the exposed aggregate concrete were derived from studies of the surface of meteorites and are also designed to have a quality that will act as a foil to the material used in the adjacent architecture.

Last updated on Friday 29 April 2022 by GaryReggae