Hidden Horsham - Sculptures

Water Forms by Claire Morris in Horsham Park

Dotted around Horsham are a number of sculptures, some more obvious than others. Bronze seems to be the preferred medium in the town centre, but the use of wood is more popular in the park

Perhaps the most notorious in recent years are Lorne McKean's three swans doing a splash landing into water at Swan Walk; they attracted a lot of attention in September 2007 when they were covertly removed after an 'environmental and water safety review'. This was clearly suspicious since they had been operating safely since 1990 and were the first of Horsham's public works of art. A public outcry was voiced initially by the Horsham Forum and picked up later by the West Sussex County Times (WSCT). It subsequently emerged that they were removed to gain a little more retail space

Swan Walk management eventually bowed to public pressure expressed in the Horsham Forum and WSCT and agreed to renovate the swans and return them to their original position. At the time of writing, September 2008, the swans have returned to the shopping centre and are awaiting a new plinth

But the swans aren't the only well loved works of art in town that Lorne McKean has created. William Pirie, with his donkey and cart, are very popular in Pirie's Place. It was clearly designed for children to climb aboard the cart and join Pirie on the front seat. Mr Pirie was the headmaster of Collyers between 1822 and 1868 and he built a row of Victorian Cottages to fund his retirement, naming them Piries Place. The cottages disappeared at some time as yet undetermined and the area, by then known as Burton's Yard, was redeveloped. The new shopping centre revived the name

Swan Walk	William Pirie	County Times	Shelley's Fountain

There are more subtle works of art in the town. A series of newspapers coming off the WSCT press is represented near the Carfax Bandstand. It serves as a noticeboard for community events

The water feature officially called 'The Rising Universe' but known locally as Shelley's Fountain sits at the junction of West Street and Worthing Road. Funded largely by a donation from Sainsbury Properties it was unveiled on November the 13^th, 1996. Initially it was unpopular, perhaps because of its unusual appearance. Now it is enjoyed by most, especially children, when the rush of seven tonnes of water floods the base every five minutes. In the summer months the base is bedecked with flowers as part of the Horsham in Bloom campaign. The photograph used here is a winter shot which shows more clearly the whole work

The fountain was created by Angela Conner who was inspired by Percy Bysshe Shelley's 1817 poem 'Mont Blanc'. The question remains about whether a water feature is an appropriate way to remember a poet who died by drowning. From spring 2006 until November 2007 the water was turned off for conservation reasons; through splashes, filtration and evaporation it consumes 800 litres a day despite all attempts to recycle. The pumping mechanism is below the fountain in what used to be the Worthing Road underpass that took pedestrains between what is now Wilkinsons and the Lynd Cross

Nearby is The Forum. Here you will find two water features although three were promised in a 2002 news release. The first, close to the library and currently under repair, is a series of walk-through fountains that are very popular when heatwaves occur. Jets of varying height of water in a grid pattern emerge from the paving. The second resembles a stainless steel funnel on a stick and is secreted behind the cafe near to the Manor of Hewells. Between these two is the Sundial; another work in bronze by Lorne McKean, Edwin Russell and Damien Fennell. It has thirty depictions of Horsham throughout the years. Duplicated sections of this sundial were made as part of the manufacturing process and can be found in Horsham's Capitol Theatre

The Forum	The Forum	The Forum Sundial..	..and at the Capitol

In the park there are a number of sculptures of diverse design; Hidden in the fenced off area by the duck pond is a carving of French limestone by Claire Morris entitled Water Forms, see the main picture above. Nearby in the trees are two further totem poles entitled The Gateway, carved into wood by Janine Creaye. These works were commissioned by Horsham District Council and funded by Awards for All lottery money. They were part of the Scattered Seeds Project and installed in May 2007

Still in the park a totem pole has been erected in the children's play area in front of the pavilions. The area was funded by Southern Water and is themed on saving water. The dragon featured in the legends of St Leonard's Forest is the reward for finding the centre of the maze near to the bandstand and already has its own feature on Hidden Horsham. This was belatedly put in place to mark the new millennium. In the sensory garden of Park House there is a sundial with a sun god as the pointer

In the park is a totem pole...	and two wooden figures...	in the trees	The sundial pointer

The War Memorial in the Carfax has five 'Celebration of Life' roundels decorating the outer side of the rear wall, facing the Carfax Bandstand. They were created by Edwin Russell, husband of Lorne McKean. These are shown below from left to right and depict the varying lifeforms on our planet

The roundels from left to right

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