A FIXTURE of the Falmouth seafront has been restored to her former glory after being vandalised - thanks to a dock’s painter and his apprentice.

Ami, the large figurehead down Upton Slip, is a well-recognised part of the town's history and is popular with locals and visitor alike. She is renowned for her less than happy expression as if disgusted by the indignity of where she has ended up.

Ami prior to her restorationAmi prior to her restoration (Image: Supplied)
 

For many years she stood outside the original address of the Bosun's Locker chandlery. The former chandlery is now an Air BnB.

Sadly in or around 2019, Ami was attacked and badly damaged by two men who, according to an eyewitness, punched her in the face until a large crack appeared across her neck.

On top of this, time and a large number of visitors having their photos taken with her had also taken their toll.

Ami with damage to her neck prior to restorationAmi with damage to her neck prior to restoration (Image: Lally MacBeth/The Folk Archive Instagram)

She was in a bit of a sorry state when Falmouth Docks commissioned its sign writer Graham Phillips and his trainee Louis Caban to restore her.

Amy was restored by sign writer Graham Phillips and his trainee Louis Caban Amy was restored by sign writer Graham Phillips and his trainee Louis Caban (Image: Supplied)

Mr Phillips said it took about 12 hours, from 8am to 10pm, to restore Ami before it got too busy to carry on.

“It was a honour and a privilege to restore such an iconic feature of Falmouth,” he said.

Falmouth Docks has been contacted by the Packet for a comment.

Ami has had her ups and downs during the years and was last restored in 2005 by staff at the Bosun’s Locker chandlery which opened in 1987 before moving to Church Street in 2014 No one knows how she really ended up there but she is believed to have come from a 19th Century ship called The RMS Amazon.

Alan Parmenter the owner the Bosun's Locker back with Ami when she was in completely different coloursAlan Parmenter the owner the Bosun's Locker back with Ami when she was in completely different colours (Image: File)

RMS Amazon was a wooden three-masted barque, paddle steamer and Royal Mail Ship. She caught fire in the Bay of Biscay on her maiden voyage to the Caribbean in December 1851 when her engine bearings overheated.

She sank with the loss either 105 to 115 lives lost, according to different reports.

Legend has it that timbers from the ship eventually washed up in Falmouth the following February, including Ami who was placed on Upton Slip.

However over the years the wooden structure gradually disintegrated and she was eventually replaced with the fibre glass structure we have today.