THE opening of the UK’s new Supreme Court was a proud moment for staff at the Wilton Carpet Factory.
They produced the pop-art carpeting, designed by Sir Peter Blake, who is best known for the Beatles’ Sergeant Pepper album cover.
It has cost £59million to renovate the Middlesex Guildhall in Parliament Square to house the court, which has replaced the Law Lords as the last court of appeal in all matters except Scottish criminal cases.
The brightly-coloured carpet has a large focal motif showing the national flowers of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which is followed through in the small-scale pattern throughout the building.
Wilton’s managing director Peter Le Count said: “The design was quite a surprise for us, as we had expected the Supreme Court to require a very traditional style.
“The exciting design certainly makes a lively statement.
“The contract was one of the larger projects produced by Wilton Carpets during the dark days of the recession last winter. It helped us through a very difficult period when most of our customers stopped buying anything. Hotels cancelled all refurbishment work or simply could not borrow from the banks.
“This time last year we had 129 employees, and we now have 109. We lost about 20 staff through natural wastage and some redundancies in October and November last year.
“We would have lost more if we had not had the Supreme Court project weaving in the factory from October to January.
“We did try to focus on public sector projects at this time, and we had been waiting patiently for October for our weaving to be on public display.”
Carpets woven at Wilton have been used in many other important London buildings in recent years. They include the London Guildhall, the Royal Festival Hall, the Houses of Parliament and many West End theatres.
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