The intriguing history of the Black Cat roundabout statue - and what will happen to it when it's replaced by a junction

The Black Cat roundabout on the A1 is a local and national landmark – but it will soon be going to make way for a new free-flowing junction as part of the A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet road improvements.

So what will happen to the famous cat statue? Will it and its nine lives survive?

The feline’s fascinating past – and future – has been brought to life in a new animation released by National Highways to coincide with national Black Cat Day today (October 27) – which you can view below.

The roundabout took its name from the garage and car repair shop which opened in the 1920s and was situated near the junction of the A1, A421 and Bedford Road, just south of St Neots.

But it only really came into being in 2004 when four locals – including former parish councillor Dr Jack Pike – placed a black cat structure on the roundabout.

Jack recalls: “From early on it was quite obvious the roundabout was something quite significant. When I retired from being a parish councillor in the early 2000s, I gathered together a few of my engineering friends and we put together a plan to construct and install a black cat statue on the roundabout.”

The original was placed on the roundabout in January 2004, taking its shape from a paw-trait of the cat on the original garage clock tower.

Jack says: “The original idea was to construct the cat with plywood, but my friend Clive said he could cut it in metal, and we took it from there. The first small statue now resides in my garden because when there were upgrades, the bigger roundabout required a bigger black cat.”

The recently released animation showcases the history of the Black Cat from its inception in 2004, to what happened when cat burglars stuck in 2007, and the cat-astrophic incident of vandalism in 2019.

National Highways senior project manager Paul Salmon said: “One of the most frequently asked questions we receive is: ‘What will happen to the black cat statue?’

"We fully understand its importance as a local landmark and one of our ambitions is to leave a purr-fect legacy. So don't worry – we’ll be looking after the cat and her kittens during construction. And rest assured that the black cat will be returned once the upgrade is complete.”

The scheme will help transform the region, improving journeys between Milton Keynes, Bedford, St Neots, and Cambridge.  

A new 10-mile dual carriageway will be created, linking the A1 Black Cat roundabout in Bedfordshire to the A428 Caxton Gibbet roundabout in Cambridgeshire.

Both existing roundabouts will be upgraded into modern, free-flowing junctions with a new junction added at Cambridge Road, improving access to St Neots and its train station.      

The improvements will help drivers save up to an hour-and-a-half on their journeys every week. 

A Highways spokesperson said: “We plan to move into full construction by the end of the year and expect the road to open in 2027.”

Go to www.nationalhighways.co.uk/a428 for more information about the proposed plans.