Sculpture

19th March 2023

Nearly a year ago, we were contacted by Chris Allen about a new sculpture that was planned to be erected at Lowgates at the junction of the Arkwright Trail and the Trans-Pennine Trail. He was also in touch with Derbyshire County Council’s Countryside Service which manages the canal.

Chris is the Chair of the Chesterfield Cycle Campaign, a Life Member of our Trust and a major donor to our 2027 Fund. He was a volunteer for the DCC Countryside Service for many years. He sponsored the much-admired wooden sculpture at Bluebank Lock.

This new sculpture was to be very different, celebrating the industrial past and present use of the area with silhouettes of trains, cyclists and boats.

The sculptor is Phil Neal who has a workshop at the Harley Gallery at Welbeck. He has produced a massive range of work over many years in various different media.To see more of his work, click here.

It was decided that the originally proposed location would not be satisfactory partly because it was very isolated and susceptible to vandalism, but also because it would not be seen by many people. Chris asked whether it could be installed at Hollingwood Hub. We readily agreed.

This is very appropriate because the Hub is directly across the road from the site of the old Staveley Works stockyards for the Sand Spun Pipe Foundry where thousands of miles of pipes were made. The tubing in the sculpture gives a nod to this Foundry.

Following a meeting at the Hub, and consulting interested parties, a location next to the lock was settled upon. Our Work Party agreed to do the installation. The National Grid also cleared it – it is located directly beneath power lines.

The installation proved to be a huge task with a massive hole being dug first to support the four poles upon which the sculpture stands. Placing the sculpture itself on top of the legs proved an interesting challenge because it is very heavy and a lifting machine and scaffolding had to be hired. Afterwards, a neat brick surround was put in place, the turf replaced and the legs painted. Finally, a plaque was screwed onto the kick rail.