04/10/2026
Could Belper recreate the missing Mill lion?
A couple of years ago the familiar lion-head fountain spout at the Belper Mill archway was stolen. The original has not, as far as I know, been recovered.
That prompted a thought: could modern technology allow us to recreate it?
There must be a considerable number of photographs of the lion in private collections and online, taken from different angles and over many years. Using a technique called photogrammetry, multiple photographs can potentially be combined to reconstruct the three-dimensional shape of an object.
It probably wouldn't be quite as simple as feeding a few photographs into a computer and pressing Print. The quality and range of the available images would need assessing. Missing details might have to be reconstructed manually, and accurate measurements would need to be obtained from photographs and the surviving fountain structure.
But it seems technically feasible enough to be worth investigating.
Once a satisfactory digital 3-D model existed, a replacement needn't necessarily be cast in bronze. A high-quality resin print with a convincing bronze-effect finish and patina could reproduce the appearance while having little intrinsic scrap value. A hollow reproduction could potentially also accommodate discreet identification or tracking technology.
Perhaps most importantly, the digital model could be preserved. If a replica were subsequently damaged or stolen, another could be produced without having to reconstruct the lion all over again.
There would obviously be questions about ownership, permissions, listed-building/conservation requirements, mounting, materials, durability and cost. Those would need discussing with the appropriate people before anybody contemplated installing anything.
At this stage I'm not proposing that anyone makes or installs a replacement. I'm simply trying to establish whether there is enough local interest to investigate whether such a project would be feasible.
It might involve people with old photographs of the lion, local historians, 3-D modelling and photogrammetry enthusiasts, CAD designers, people experienced in resin printing and finishing, and perhaps local engineering or heritage expertise.
So, initially:
Would anyone be interested in helping explore the idea?
In particular, I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has good photographs of the original lion head, especially close-ups or pictures taken from unusual angles rather than simply straight on.
If there's sufficient interest and photographic material, the first objective could simply be to find out whether we can create an accurate digital reconstruction.
No fundraising, no committee, no grand scheme at this point; just finding out whether Belper collectively has the photographs, skills and enthusiasm to see if it can be done.
