Your chance to choose famous names for city sculpture - ballot (From Worcester News)
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Your chance to choose famous names for city sculpture - ballot
12:09pm Tuesday 19th June 2012 in News
By Sarah Davies
RIVERSIDE FIGURES: An artist’s impression of how the specially-commissioned portrait bench in Worcester could look
• This ballot is now closed.
VISITORS to Worcester’s riverside may soon be sharing the view with notable people from the city’s past and present.
Sustainable transport charity Sustrans wants to commemorate the cycling and walking project that has centred on the new Diglis Bridge through a specially-commissioned portrait bench.
A shortlist has been drawn up with the goal of choosing figures from Worcester’s history who have not yet already been commemorated with a statue in Worcester and who have contributed to the life, culture or history of the city.
It is now up to our readers to decide which three characters should appear on the portrait bench.
They will be life-sized two-dimensional steel figures standing alongside a simple wooden bench overlooking Diglis Bridge.
Simon Geraghty, leader of Worcester City Council and deputy leader of Worcestershire County Council, said: “Worcester’s new-look riverside has been a hit with people young and old, and it’s already boosting our reputation as a great place for all the family to visit.
“This portrait bench is a great way of recognising the success of the project and promoting our city’s heritage. Enjoy voting.”
Peter John, edtior of the Worcester News, said: “We’re very excited to be able to offer our readers the chance to take part in this vote.
"Opportunities like this do not come along very often.
“The statue will form an exciting new part of our city landscape and will be enjoyed by future generations to come.
"I’m looking forward to seeing the finished statue, as voted for by our readers.”
Sustrans’ West Midlands area manager Henry Harbord said: “The cycling and walking scheme is hugely popular and I think statues of any three from the shortlist will be a great way to commemorate it.”
The Diglis Bridge and the network of paths that link to it have been delivered by Worcester City Council and Worcestershire County Council in partnership with Sustrans.
The scheme is part of a national project from the charity creating new everyday walking and cycling routes in communities across the UK.
This national project received £50 million from the Big Lottery Fund.
Part of the money has made its way to Worcester, alongside funding from Worcester City Council and Worcestershire County Council, as well as the Department for Transport and contributions from local developers.
• We plan to run a total of three ballots. The one here is the first. The second will be featured next week on this site.
The shortlisted candidates
Ernest Payne
Worcester-born Olympic gold medal winning cyclist hailed the Worcester Wonder. He won gold in the team pursuit at the 1908 summer Olympics in London. He was a member of St John’s Cycling Club and
also played amateur football for Manchester United.
Henry Sandon
An antique ceramics expert specialising in Royal Worcester. A former lay clerk of Worcester Cathedral Choir and teacher at the Royal Grammar School. Past curator of Dyson Perrins Museum of
Porcelain and TV personality on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow.
Dr John Wall
Born in Powick in 1708. He was founder of Worcester Royal Infirmary, Royal Worcester porcelain factory and treasurer of the Three Choirs Festival. He also established a village spa at Malvern Wells
and was the first to bottle Malvern water.
Sir Edward Leader Williams
He was born and raised in Worcester, living at Diglis House. A designer of the Manchester Ship Canal and knighted for his work. Son to a civil engineer also named Edward who was responsible for
works to make the river Severn navigable. Brother Benjamin was a famous landscape artist.
Sir Charles Hastings
Founder of the British Medical Association and instrumental in the development of public health. He lived much of his life in Foregate Street and was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1850 for his
outstanding services to the medical profession.
Tracy Moseley
A former downhill mountain bike world champion who was born in Worcester and lives in Storridge. She is one of 27 trained Bikeability instructors working with Worcester-shire County Council to
improve the proficiency of cyclists in the county.
Vesta Tilley
A music hall star born in a Worcester back street in 1864. Once one of the best paid women entertainers in the world and better known than Sir Edward Elgar at the peak of her success.
Cecil Duckworth
Established the Worcester Group, which was valued at £72 million when taken over by Bosch in 1992. Backer and chairman of Worcester Warriors Rugby Club. Honoured by the Queen with an OBE in 2004
and founder of the Duckworth Worcestershire Trust charity.
King Charles II and Oliver Cromwell or a Parliamentarian and a Royalist soldier
Worcester was the setting for the first and last conflicts of the English Civil War between the Royalists and the Parliamentarians. Cromwell defeated Charles at the Battle of Worcester on September
3, 1651, ending divine rule.
Comments(29)
molecat
says...
12:33pm Tue 19 Jun 12
murray kelso
says...
12:44pm Tue 19 Jun 12
MK - Digital Editor
MrStJohns
says...
12:51pm Tue 19 Jun 12
Saying that I like the idea of Cromwell and charles side by side, nice idea sure another nice additon to the riverside.
outside-edge
says...
12:54pm Tue 19 Jun 12
That part of town might not be a beauty-spot, it's a bit wild and overgrown, that's part of its charm. I'd prefer it to be left as it is than have this rather worthless, pretentious and dubious sculpture installed.
Gillian1961
says...
1:34pm Tue 19 Jun 12
MrStJohns
says...
1:40pm Tue 19 Jun 12
Gillian1961 wrote:elgar statues are ten a penny theres one at the end of worcesters high street :-), and a plaque on the side of H&M to mark the site of the familys music shop, which planners of the 1960's saw fit to demolish.
Elgar he must of got some of his inspiration from Worcester, we have a statue of him with a bicycle in the grounds of Hereford Cathedral.
Maggie Would
says...
1:40pm Tue 19 Jun 12
molecat wrote:We don't need to know about your personal life, molecat, we just want to know which you would choose for the statue.
I've carefully considered all three and come to the conclusion that I have no idea who any of them are. Which I'm sure will be the case for most people. I'm torn between either Cher Lloyd or Derek Prodger myself.
I'm wondering what the bull's got to do with it. On second thoughts, I've sussed that bit.
140354
says...
1:47pm Tue 19 Jun 12
Andy_R
says...
2:09pm Tue 19 Jun 12
MJI
says...
3:02pm Tue 19 Jun 12
.
Personally I am not a fan of Sustrans due to their dislike of railway preservation schemes having the cheek to want to run trains on land, Sustrans would rather have for a cycle path.
.
First came across this when Cyclebag had plans for a cycle route along a line I was helping to relay!
MrStJohns
says...
3:04pm Tue 19 Jun 12
MJI wrote:I cant believe you haven’t brought this epically important subject to light before now, this changes everything.
I like the Prodger one as a joke!!!! . Personally I am not a fan of Sustrans due to their dislike of railway preservation schemes having the cheek to want to run trains on land, Sustrans would rather have for a cycle path. . First came across this when Cyclebag had plans for a cycle route along a line I was helping to relay!
MJI
says...
3:33pm Tue 19 Jun 12
MrStJohns wrote:Surprisingly important to the railway preservation movement.
MJI wrote:I cant believe you haven’t brought this epically important subject to light before now, this changes everything.
I like the Prodger one as a joke!!!! . Personally I am not a fan of Sustrans due to their dislike of railway preservation schemes having the cheek to want to run trains on land, Sustrans would rather have for a cycle path. . First came across this when Cyclebag had plans for a cycle route along a line I was helping to relay!
mauro balbino
says...
3:52pm Tue 19 Jun 12
MrStJohns wrote:MrStJohns wrote:
I didn’t realise there was in fact a longer list than the short list you originally printed, vesta tilly is on there after all. :-)
Saying that I like the idea of Cromwell and charles side by side, nice idea sure another nice additon to the riverside.
"(...)
I like the idea of Cromwell and Charles side by side
(...)".
bieberfever
says...
4:47pm Tue 19 Jun 12
Rollin182
says...
6:09pm Tue 19 Jun 12
Gorgeous of Worcester
says...
7:44pm Tue 19 Jun 12
denon
says...
9:25pm Tue 19 Jun 12
Ian_25
says...
9:53pm Tue 19 Jun 12
CSquared
says...
10:56pm Tue 19 Jun 12
The Doosra
says...
7:59am Wed 20 Jun 12
Rollin182 wrote:Seconded
Basil D'Oliveira with cricket bat and stumps would be great.
GD1986
says...
9:17am Wed 20 Jun 12
one94
says...
9:35am Wed 20 Jun 12
Ian_25 wrote:spot on!
Chicken George gets my vote (or it would if I could find where to vote).
tsalt21
says...
11:14am Wed 20 Jun 12
MrStJohns
says...
1:56pm Wed 20 Jun 12
mauro balbino wrote:and?
MrStJohns wrote: I didn’t realise there was in fact a longer list than the short list you originally printed, vesta tilly is on there after all. :-) Saying that I like the idea of Cromwell and charles side by side, nice idea sure another nice additon to the riverside.MrStJohns wrote: "(...) I like the idea of Cromwell and Charles side by side (...)".
i think a quick look back in history may reveal, they didnt spend much time side by side when they where alive. :-)
moonpig
says...
8:04pm Wed 20 Jun 12
1twogo
says...
11:31am Fri 22 Jun 12
When we see potholes in our roads and we have a CCTV system installed in the City that the Local Authority can’t afford to run do we really need to spend on a new dust gatherer? For pity sake, get a grip!
And here is a novel idea… why don’t we have a charity formed to fill in the nations potholes? Or perhaps obtain charity status for our council?
Saturn V
says...
9:07pm Fri 22 Jun 12
Just looked up "Chicken George" which a few people have suggested and was moved by the WN obituary back in 2006.
"Fond of his drink, he would also be seen wandering through the streets sometimes shouting expletives as he went about his day."
Ahhhh... another world back then.
HolyMoley
says...
1:20pm Tue 26 Jun 12
news.co.uk/news/4778
193.COMMENT__Don___t
_ditch_Elgar_____let
_s_have_Chicken_Geor
ge_too/
MrStJohns says...
12:25pm Tue 19 Jun 12
Seeing as shes not on the list though, Henry sandon. :-)