A REVAMPED restaurant has transformed its interior with artwork inspired by a local 17th-century cosmologist and theologian.

PizzaExpress in Northallerton has recently been refurbished and pride of place on the walls is artwork inspired by Thomas Burnet.

The academic was born at Croft near Darlington in 1635 and was a student at Northallerton Grammar School, before studying at Cambridge.

He was a notable writer on the scientific theory of how the universe was created.

His most famous book, the Sacred Theory of the Earth, proposed the earth was hollow and filled with mostly water until the flood on the time of Noah, when oceans and mountains appeared. Burnet calculated the volume of water on the surface of the Earth, which then he stated that the amount of water was not sufficient to result in the flood.

His work inspired Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who mentions him at the beginning of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and the Dorsa Burnet ridge on the moon was named after him.

The new artworks hanging in the restaurant on the town’s High Street are based on the science of the universe and the solar system.

The interior and exterior of the restaurant have also been refurbished.

Manager, Stefan Bahlaj, said, “We love our restaurant’s new look and have a friendly and enthusiastic team who are looking forward to welcoming everyone over a delicious pizza.”