North London Food & Culture

Wednesday Picture: I built the buxom mermaid of King’s Cross

The man behind the infamous busty 90s figurehead tells us exactly how she came to be such a landmark

Mermaid MK1 and MK2 - the tits had to be perfect
Mermaid MK1 and MK2 – the breasts “had to be perfect”. Photos: Tony Diaz

Last year we raved about the near mythical buxom ship’s figurehead that once looked out high above the road to Camden Town. Please read that original article first, because this is very much the follow-up.

The piece ended with a request for more info as to the whereabouts of the mermaid, once the Eurostar development had flattened the arches upon which she once stood so proud.

And last week, Tony Diaz got in touch. He’s none other than the man behind the giant Dr Martin’s boots, animals and piercings that have become so synonymous with Camden Town and the main drag up to its markets. 

So here, in his own words (and personal pictures), Tony explains more about how the busty mermaid came to be, and where she might be now.


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“I made the lady for Martin Silver, a wealthy semi-retired gentleman who had made his mark in the rag trade, and a lovely man called John who had worked in Camden his whole life as a tradesman.

Martin approached me in the early 90s after seeing our various sculpted signs appearing in Camden High Street. He asked me if I could make him a ship’s figurehead of a mermaid for his railway arch in Kings Cross, which was called ‘Silver’s Boatyard’.

The only boat in it was his rather grand cruiser which he was in the process of restoring (for quite a few years). Martin’s passion was working with wood, and he and John designed and constructed all types of wonderful timber children’s toys and furniture there.

The brief he gave me was to build a large authentic mermaid figurehead and he was most emphathic that she had to have “perfect tits”. Apparently his whole reputation depended on it.

Tony's wife and daughter try to move the mermaid
Tony’s wife and daughter helped move the mermaid into place. Photo: Tony Diaz

So, off I went to my small workshop and, with my limited carving skills, crafted my interpretation of a traditional figurehead, a buxom lady in garish colours with very large nipples.

Finally the figure was ready, some twelve feet long, but the challenge now was to deliver it to the railway arch. So, I strapped it on the roof of my van – breasts in the air – and drove, if rather cautiously and quite conspicuously, through the streets to King’s Cross.

On arriving, I parked opposite the railway arch and invited Martin out to inspect his new wares. Martin stood aghast and stuttered “th th that’s amazing- but….”

“Is there a problem, Martin?” I enquired.

“Well,” replied Martin, very apologetically, “I’m sorry but the tits are all wrong. Any chance you can change them?”

I agreed to carry out a breast enhancement, so we hoisted the lady up from the ceiling in the railway arch, where I cut off the offending boobs and replaced them with delicate ski sloped ones with cherries on the end. Martin then painted them in a delicate light porcelain tone and stood back, a very happy man.

The story does not end there: sometime later we had lost touch, but apparently the lightweight polystyrene block which formed the sculpture had moved away from the very secure metal framing we had fixed to the arch. One weekend there was a massive gale which dislodged the blocks and brought them down.

Luckily some local guys retrieved the pieces and stowed them behind a car for safe keeping. The next day, Martin collected the pieces and began to rebuild her, only to find that the breasts were missing. I imagine they are in someone’s rockery somewhere.

Mermaid MK2, as many locals will best remember her
Mermaid MK2, as many locals will best remember her. Photo: Tony Diaz

I was then commissioned to build mermaid MK2 which is the one featured in your article. Finally, due to the modernization of the King’s Cross station, the arches were sadly demolished and we removed the mermaid for Martin and relocated it above a railway arch off of Holloway road.

A while Martin moved again to Docklands. I can only assume that the mermaid went with him.


Listen to an audio interview with Martin about his years in King’s Cross

4 thoughts on “Wednesday Picture: I built the buxom mermaid of King’s Cross”

  1. I loved reading about the mermaid – thanks Tony and Kentishtowner! I started walking to work years ago, after yet another round of tube strikes, and used to go pass her – it certainly brightened my walk. I often wondered what the story was and what happened to her afterwards.

  2. Nice to know who is responsible for helping to make Camden high street look like crap from late ’80s onwards. A lot of that rubbish went up without planning permission, & helped to turn the high st into a cheap leather jacket& fake DM emporium, ultimately demeaning the whole area&turning into a no go area for any local, as it is today.

Leave a Comment

4 thoughts on “Wednesday Picture: I built the buxom mermaid of King’s Cross”

  1. I loved reading about the mermaid – thanks Tony and Kentishtowner! I started walking to work years ago, after yet another round of tube strikes, and used to go pass her – it certainly brightened my walk. I often wondered what the story was and what happened to her afterwards.

  2. Nice to know who is responsible for helping to make Camden high street look like crap from late ’80s onwards. A lot of that rubbish went up without planning permission, & helped to turn the high st into a cheap leather jacket& fake DM emporium, ultimately demeaning the whole area&turning into a no go area for any local, as it is today.

Leave a Comment

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The award-winning print and online title Kentishtowner was founded in 2010 and is part of London Belongs To Me, a citywide network of travel guides for locals. For more info on what we write about and why, see our About section.