Raven statue ditched in favour of pilgrim father

2:30pm Wednesday 20th August 2008

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A CONTROVERSIAL piece of artwork planned for Droitwich has been scrapped in favour of a sculpture celebrating one of the pilgrim fathers.

Developer Kandahar Real Estates, which owns the town’s shopping centre, had wanted to install a statue of a raven, a symbol closely associated with Droitwich ‘salt king’ John Corbett.

The salt works owner was credited for transforming the town’s salt industry into a major industrial business and later built the Chateau Impney, now a hotel, on Bromsgrove Road, as well as the Raven Hotel, St Andrew’s Street, and the former Worcestershire Brine Baths Hotel.

The raven was included in Mr Corbett’s coat of arms and already adorns many buildings in the town.

However, the bird statue suggestion proved unpopular with residents and the town council, who thought it could be an unlucky omen, while some questioned whether Corbett’s influence on the town was always positive.

Instead, Kandahar has commissioned a sculpture showing Droitwich man Edward Winslow, one of the founding fathers of the United States, taking his first steps on to the north American continent.

Winslow was born in Droitwich in 1595, the son of a local salt trader, before becoming a printer in London and later the Low Countries.

He was one of the English pilgrims who emigrated to America aboard the Mayflower before founding the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts.

The sculpture will show him kneeling on the Plymouth Rock with one hand placed on to its surface in gratitude and confirmation of his safe arrival.

A replica of the Plymouth Rock with the inscription 1620, the date of his arrival, will be installed with the sculpture on to a granite block inscribed with the name Edward Winslow. A granite plaque will explain the artwork.

The sculpture will be installed early next year with an event to mark its unveiling.

Councillor Pam Davey, who put forward the idea, said: “I am pleased that the decision has been taken and look forward to helping to promote the important historic connection which Winslow has with Droitwich Spa.”