Nathan Murdoch's work stuns again as he unveils 15 metre mural for The Cresset - taking 60 solo hours

Street artist, Nathan Murdoch, believes his work now makes up 95 per cent of the city’s murals – and there’s no let up for him this summer as his work continues to gather pace.

His latest masterpiece – measuring about 50ft long by 15ft high – is a lasting tribute to The Cresset, a hub which was built to be the heart Bretton in the 1970s; the first new township of Greater Peterborough.

The Peterborough Telegraph spoke to Nathan about how he planned for his latest mural, located inside the theatre’s entrance: "So, I spread polaroid photos across a table, like someone was looking through memories – that was my initial starting point.”

After seven design back-and-fourths, a final design to celebrate The Cresset’s forty-fifth anniversary was settled on, with the community and the centre depicted in the middle of the mural, like a heart.

"It’s a centre for many of the people who live in that area,” he said. “That’s why it’s been designed with oranges and yellows like a fire and then the images in purple at the far edges, they are the most historical.”

On one side you have The Queen - who officially opened The Cresset in 1978 - and the other side you have Llyod Grossman (former presenter of Masterchef) who opened The Fayre Spot and Goodly in 1993, then the second public house in the building, replacing The Beacon.

“Purple means to me they’re still relevant but they’re in the past, with a more modern transition in the centre,” he added.

“I feel like it’s another landmark mural for the city in a well established place that many people know.

"When they contacted me originally I thought ‘I really want to do The Cresset’, I didn’t grow up in that area of town but I’ve been going to the theatre there at Christmas since I was a kid and I’ve seen many shows there.

“I thought ‘I like working with established names of the city and being part of the history’, I’m now part of their 45 year celebrations.

“I did get worried a little bit, I turned up and thought, ‘this is massive’ but then when I started painting as a site in front of the wall it didn’t feel big.

"I’m at a point now where I have a subconscious knowledge of what I’m doing and my head just knows what to do.

“I only understood the scale when I was stood on the scissor lift and someone took a picture of me up there and I looked tiny.”

This mural follows Nathan’s participation in the cathedral’s ‘art showdown’ this week to coincide with its Unofficial Galaxies exhibition, showcasing one of the largest private collections of Star Wars memorabilia in the world.