Famous Whittington cat sculpture and stone at the bottom of Highgate Hill

A NOD to the folkloric furry friend of the Whittington Hospital’s namesake and a lucky charm for its patients, the limestone cat at the bottom of Highgate Hill is finally getting a makeover.

Keen-eyed passers-by may have spotted a planning notice on the railings that surround the famous Whittington Cat sculpture and Whittington Stone in recent weeks.

“Cleaning, repairs and sharpening of letters” will be carried out on the monument, it says. The cat’s sculptor, Jonathan Kenworthy, has previously told the Tribune that the sculpture had been left “a mess” and said he would be happy to replace it free of charge.

He is not alone in thinking the spruce-up has been a long time coming.

Francis Wilkinson, secretary of the Highgate Society, has been calling on the council to restore the sculpture for a number of years.

He said: “I’m very pleased that they have responded to my initial concern by slowly and gradually getting some work done to improve it.”

Mr Wilkinson had been leading a campaign to get the cat’s ears repaired, but was told by the council that any repairs could potentially further damage the sculpture. He said: “It was mystifying. I don’t understand it. The sculptor said it would be fine, and I spoke to a man who does repairs to stones in the cemetery and he also said it would be fine.”

The Whittington Cat has been perched atop the Whittington Stone since 1964, inspired by the rags-to-riches story of poor 14th-century orphan turned wealthy merchant and Lord Mayor of London, Richard “Dick” Whittington.

The cat’s sculptor, Jonathan Kenworthy, has previously said he would be happy to replace it

The cat sculpture, along with the stone, became listed in 1972. Mr Wilkinson said that the listing would now make it “a very big operation” to replace.

He added: “It would involve English Heritage making all sorts of big decisions. But it was a lovely offer to replace it by Mr Kentworthy, and it’s amazing that the person who actually made the listed monument is alive to talk about it.”

Legend says Mr Whittington made his money by selling his cat as a rodent-killer to a rat-infested foreign country – although whether the real Whittington actually had a cat is doubtful, because contrary to the story he was in fact born into wealth.

The Archway connection is earlier in the tale, when Mr Whittington fled his London scullion job to return home, about to forego his dreams of finding fortune in the city, when he heard the bells of Bow Church ring out, telling him: “Turn again Whittington, thrice Lord Mayor of London.”

Supposedly, the Whittington Stone – and Cat – mark the very spot where he heard those encouraging bells.

Cllr Santiago Bell-Bradford, Islington Council’s culture chief, said: “We’re committed to protecting and preserving Islington’s much-loved historical landmarks, including the Whittington Stone.

“We know that the cat sculpture is well-loved by residents across our borough, and is often stroked as a good luck charm ahead of hospital visits.”

He added: “As the cat is Grade II-listed, we have submitted a listed building consent request to carry out restoration work. Once we have received listed building consent, restoration works should proceed quite quickly.

“We are grateful to the artist Jonathan Kenworthy for offering, via the Highgate Society, to create a new statue, but given the statue’s listed status, both Historic England and our own planning department gave us guidance that it is preferable to restore the existing statue rather than removing and replacing it. We look forward to speaking to Jonathan Kenworthy about the restoration works.”