A piece of heraldic history has been restored on a housing estate in London’s East End after going missing for 20 years.

Housing staff have recreated six coats of arms which had disappeared with the ravages of time from a boundary wall on Bethnal Green’s Cranbrook estate.

The six tower blocks on the estate off the Roman Road—Offenbach, Puteaux, Modling, St Gilles, Alzette and Velletri—are all named after towns around the world that the former Metropolitan Borough of Bethnal Green was twinned with.

They were built in the 1960s with coats of arms from the towns above each entrance door which can still be seen today.

But the heraldic shields were also on the wall outside Tate House which had all vanished by the 1990s.

They have now been replaced with replicas by staff in the original alcoves on the boundary wall, overlooked by the famous Blind Beggar and His Dog bronze sculpture.

Tyrone Ross, from Tower Hamlets Homes, said: “Two women came up to us while we were installing the shields who had lived on the estate as children and said the shields had been missing for 20 years. It’s great that we’ve been able to replace them for residents.”

The housing organisation praised its area team today for “using their imagination and enthusiasm” to restore a part of the East End’s heritage with new shields, replacing the metal originals which went missing two decades ago.