HE IS a well-known character in Basingstoke, offering an insight into the town’s history.

Now the iconic Blue Coat Boy statue has received a striking facelift as the town centre’s regeneration gathers pace.

The monument, in Cross Street, has been repainted and repaired under the instructions of Basingstoke Heritage Society.

Workers from Morris Singer Foundry in Lasham repainted his blue coat while construction company The Champion Group replaced missing tiles from the brick plinth they originally installed when the statue was unveiled in 1994.

The statue stands on the site of former Basingstoke Blue Coat School – founded in the 17th century after wealthy businessman Richard Aldworth left money in his 1646 will to set up a school to educate, feed, clothe and apprentice 10 poor children a year.

The Aldworth charity continued funding grammar school education for boys and eventually girls after the school closed in 1880.

The site was eventually demolished in the 1960s as part of the town development.

Heritage Society secretary Debbie Reavell thanked everyone involved in the project and The Champion Group for providing repairs for free.

She said: “He is a very popular sculpture in Basingstoke and over the last few years we’ve seen his coat was getting a bit faded and there were tiles missing and knew we had to do something.

“There’s been regeneration of Old Basingstoke and we wanted to make sure that he didn’t get left behind.

“It’s a look into the history of Basingstoke and now he can be enjoyed for generations to come.”