For our fiftieth year we wanted to give something lasting back to the town. Together with Diss Town Council, we set sixth-form students at Diss High School a brief: design a new insertion for the town’s mayoral chain — a small badge that would be worn on civic occasions for years to come, and that says something true about Diss.
The winning design
The winning entry came from Rosie Brown. Her design pairs two of the town’s landmarks — St Mary’s Church and The Corn Hall — with the colourful bunting that so often lines the streets, the whole composition crowned and set to sit among the chain’s existing links.
“I chose to incorporate the colourful flags in my design, to develop a stronger composition and also symbolise the efforts of the community to preserve and celebrate the unique heritage of the town,” said Rosie Brown.
“The judges were incredibly impressed by Rosie’s composition and attention to detail,” added our Director, Jennifer Price.
From drawing to chain
Turning Rosie’s drawing into metal is the part we love best. Each insertion began life as a casting in silver — St Mary’s Church and The Corn Hall picked out in relief, ready to be brought to life by hand.
From there it is bench work. The cast edges are trimmed and filed crisp, the little buildings sharpened until every line reads clearly.
Then the surfaces are taken up through the polish, by hand, until they catch the light cleanly.
Last comes the colour. The scenes — the church, the Corn Hall, and Rosie’s colourful bunting — are hand-painted in enamel, mixed and applied a touch at a time from the palette.
Finished, the two insertions are set among the chain’s original links, so the new sits with the old as a single piece.
Presented to the Mayor
The finished insertions were presented to the Mayor of Diss, Declan Craggs, at our anniversary reception at The Corn Hall in June. They now form part of the chain the mayor wears for civic occasions — a piece of the town’s story, designed by one of its own students and made just up the road.
