History of Sculpture and Carvings

Sculpture and Carvings Timeline

The foundation stone of the Percy Tenantry Column in Alnwick was laid on 1st July 1816. When agricultural prices fell after the Napoleonic Wars, the 2nd Duke of Northumberland, reduced the rents of his tenants by a quarter to alleviate their hardship. The column was paid for and built by the tenants in thanks for this. It is believed that features of the Tenantry Column may have inspired the design of Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, London.

"TO HUGH, DUKE OF NORTHUMBERLAND, K.G. IS ERECTED, DEDICATED, AND INSCRIBED, BY A GRATEFUL AND UNITED TENANTRY / ANNO DOMINI MDCCCXVI." 

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A monument to the eminent engineer George Stephenson, located on the junction of Westgate Road and Neville Street in Newcastle, was unveiled in a ceremony on the 2nd of October 1862. The monument was designed by John Graham Lough. Below the main bronze statue of George Stephenson on the corners of the sandstone plinth are 4 further statues of Stephenson, representing the areas of his achievements: as a miner, a locomotive engineer, a blacksmith and bridge builder. The decision to build the monument in Newcastle was made 10 years after Stephenson's death, at a meeting of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in August 1858, presided over by his son, Robert Stephenson and William Armstrong.

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The bronze memorial statue of Queen Victoria in Tynemouth was unveiled on the 25th October 1902. The statue by Alfred Turner was paid for by public subscription, despite financial hardship in the country because of the ongoing Boer War.

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The 'Swans in Flight' sculpture by David Wynne was completed in 1968. The bronze statue had been commissioned for new Civic Centre in Newcastle. It is based on Hans Hartvig Seedorff Pederson's 'The Swans from the North', a Scandinavian poem - the Five Swans, representing the five Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Finland).

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The Apollo Pavilion, a piece of abstract public art in the new town of Peterlee in County Durham was completed in 1969. It was designed by Victor Pasmore.

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Articulated Opposites

September 16, 1969

The sculpture 'Articulated Opposites' was unveiled on the 16th of September 1969 by Joseph Swan’s son, Sir Kenneth Swan. The abstract sculpture, by Raymond Arnott, is located outside Swan House (now 55 Degrees North) in Newcastle. The work was commissioned by Newcastle City Council and designed as a memorial to Sir Joseph Swan, the Newcastle inventor of the incandescent light. The memorial to Joseph Swan was suggested by the council leader, T. Dan Smith.

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Parsons Polygon is a sculpture by David Hamilton, which was installed on Blackett Street, Newcastle, in 1985. The sculpture commemorates Sir Charles Parsons (1854-1931), the Newcastle-based engineer who developed steam turbines for generating electricity. The designs pressed into the clay are abstracted from Parsons' engineering drawings. The sculpture is also a ventilation shaft for the Metro system!

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Angel of the North

February 16, 1998

The Angel of the North, by internationally renowned sculptor Sir Antony Gormley, was completed on the 16th of February 1998. The contemporary sculpture was made with 200 tonnes of steel, with a wingspan of 54 metres (177 ft) across. It stands on a hill on the southern edge of Low Fell, and can be seen from the A1 and A167 roads into Tyneside, and the East Coast Main Line rail route. The Angel was built on the site of a former colliery pithead baths. Funded by the National Lottery work began in 1994.

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'Lightning Clock', a working sculpture by Andy Plant was installed at the Royal Quays Shopping outlet in North Shields in the Spring of 2000. On the stroke of every hour, the clock comes to life. The sound of thunder comes from inside the large globe, which then opens up to reveal the face of the North Wind. It blows out smoke, representing a storm, which blows the weatherman on the small globe off his feet.

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This galvanised steel sculpture of the DNA spiral is by Charles Jencks, 2000. It is located in Times Square in the of the International Centre for Life in Newcastle. The sculpture was unveiled on the 18th June 2000 by James Watson, the scientist, who along with Francis Crick, discovered DNA in 1953.

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Blue Carpet is a work by Thomas Heatherwick, located next to the Laing Art Gallery on the pedestrianised section of New Bridge Street West. It was commissioned by Newcastle City Council and the "carpet", completed in 2001, forms a public open space. The "carpet" is formed with tiles made of blue glass in resin laid across the square and 'riding up' against the gallery and bollards.

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Temenos

June 10, 2010

Temenos is a publicly funded scupture by Anish Kapoor, located in the Middlehaven area of Middlesbrough. It was officially presented to the people of Middlesbrough on 10th June 2010.

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The memorial garden on the corner of Gallogate and St Andrew's Street was opened on the 23rd of May 2011, in honour of Sir Bobby Robson. The 'pocket park' has five stone plaques, sculpted by artist Graeme Mitcheson. The garden is in close proximity of St James' Park, where Bobby Robson managed Newcastle United from September 1999 to August 2004.

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'The Brothers' (aka 'Leaning Post') sculpture in Seaham was created by Brian Brown, who previously worked at Silksworth pit, and unveiled on the 31st July 2011 as part of the Seaham carnival. Celebrating Seaham's mining heritage, the sculpture of 3 miners represents the 3 mines of Seaham: Seaham Colliery, Dawdon Colliery and Vane Tempest.

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The ladform sculpture Northumberlandia was officially opened by Princess Anne on the 29th August 2012. Also known as "The Lady of the North", the huge human-shaped landform sculpture is set in a 46 acre community park near Blagdon. Northumberlandia was designed by architect and artist Charles Jencks and inspired by the nearby Cheviot Hills. The sculpture is made of 1.5 million tonnes of rock, clay and soil, it is 100 feet high and a quarter of a mile long. It was built by the Banks Group and partners and work started in 2010 as part of the restoration of the adjacent Shotton surface coal mine. 

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A distinctive metal statue of a First World War soldier, by local artist Ray Lonsdale, was installed near the seafront in Seaham in May 2014. It is entitled '1101' (after the Armistice which went into effect at 11am on November 11, 1918), but commonly known as 'Tommy' by the local community. It was initially intended to be a temporary feature, however, a local fund-raising drive succeeded in retaining the statue.

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The 'Spiral Nebula' sculpture outside the Hershel Building at Newcastle University was Grade II listed by Historic England in 2016, as a leading example of post-war public art. The sculpture was created in 1962 by Geoffrey Clarke. It was restored in 2012 by the sculptor's son, Jonathan Clarke, and Andrew Pawsey, son of Clarke’s assistant back in 1962.
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A statue of Dr Martin Luther King Jr. was unveiled on on the 50th anniversary of his visit to Newcastle University to accept an honorary degree. The statue is located in King's Quad, which is a new courtyard area, within the Armstrong Building. The courtyard was opened with the unveiling of the statue. It was developed as part of a major refurbishment programme at the University in 2017.
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"Clasp" by Anthony Gormley, the designer of the Angel of the North, installed on King's Walk at Newcastle University in late July 2018.

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Percy Tenantry Column, Alnwick

George Stephenson monument unveiled

Memorial Statue of Queen Victoria - Tynemouth

Swans in Flight - sculpture

Victor Pasmore's Apollo Pavilion

Articulated Opposites

Parsons Polygon

Angel of the North

Lightning Clock

DNA Spiral, Times Square, Newcastle

Blue Carpet by Thomas Heatherwick

Temenos

Sir Bobby Robson Memorial Garden

The Brothers Mining Memorial, Seaham

Northumberlandia officially opened

Tommy Statue - Seaham

Spiral Nebula - Listed

King's Quad and Statue of Martin Luther King

"Clasp" by Anthony Gormley

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