Finials which once decorated a courtyard in Somers Town

WELL done to the determined duo whose detective work, and significant fundraising efforts, has brought two of the stolen finials back to Somers Town, (Mission to find missing Somers Town finials leads to auction find in United States, February 10).

They have done the memory of the sculptor Gilbert Bayes proud. A socialist, he believed in “art in everyday life” and that things of beauty should be enjoyed by working people. For him paintings and sculptures were about passion, not simply a commission.

There has been in recent years something of a trend toward forgoing public art in developments and regeneration schemes. It’s part of a defeatist approach amounting to “you can’t have nice things because they might get stolen”.

There are several busts, statues and sculptures in Camden streets. About 20 years ago, spray-painted wall murals became favoured.

Not many people will know it, but Camden Council holds just under 1,000 artworks – including paper drawings, paintings and sculptures over almost 80 years.

There are 190 works held in the old Town Hall in Judd Street alone. While the building remains closed, the public can view the archive online.

Some were inherited from the earlier authorities but the bulk were purchased by Camden Council between 1965 to 1985.

It is perhaps telling of the narrow-minded political outlook of the time, and the decades that have followed, but since 1986 there have been just two additions to Camden’s artist archive.

There is at least one noteworthy piece of public art on a prestigious Camden building. Facing out from the top floor of the council’s £120million main offices in 5 Pancras Square, King’s Cross, is a piece by the Turner Prize-nominated Mark Titchner.

The “Not For Self But For All” message is an interpretation of Camden Council’s equally lesser-known motto, “Non Sibi Sed Toti”. Not many people will have seen this architectural flourish, however.

So many millions have been made in profit by developers in Camden over the years. But the buildings that have gone up are, more often than not, depressingly functional.

Homes in new-build blocks may meet higher regulatory and safety standards than
traditional council estates. But those new areas are often criticised as soulless and insipid.

Isn’t it time the council started demanding developers adorn their blocks and walkways with something unusual, curious and stimulating?

They should be following the example set by Gilbert Bayes. The finials are a timely reminder of that.