Mosaic panels on the south tower of J.P. Seddon's Old College, Aberystwyth, designed by Charles Voysey in 1887-88.
According to the Old College's listing text, the mosaics, which were "probably intended for a different academy," feature a long-bearded Archimedes in the central panel. Seated as on a throne, as if pondering, he has several accoutrements, including a kind of starry circlet on his head, and a globe to the left. This figure is being offered, as a form of homage, a steam locomotive by a kneeling figure in one side panel, and a ship by a similar figure (perhaps female) in the other side panel. The idea is clearly to show the primacy of scientific knowledge and the fruits of its application in the new technologies of the Victorian age. Apparently, Voysey had intended to show another figure — "a downcast pope, symbol of superstition, from under the feet of the main figure"; nevertheless, "[b]roadly delineated with broad areas of colour, it remains an intriguing early work by so important a designer" (Lloyd et al. 417). — Jacqueline Banerjee
Photograph @ Ian Capper, originally posted on the Geograph website, and kindly released under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial licence (CC BY-NC) licence. [Click on the image to enlarge it.]
Bibliography
Lloyd, Thomas, Julian Orbach and Robert Scourfield, with other contributors. The Buildings of Wales: Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2006.
"University College of Wales Old College Building." British Listed Buildings. Web. 25 September 2025.
Created 25 September 2025