Object Details

Millennium Sculpture Garden

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Author: Anthony McIntosh
Copyright for Photograph:

Creative Commons

Location

Street:Church Lane
Town:Chiddingly
Parish:Chiddingly
Council:Wealden District Council
County:East Sussex
Postcode:BN8
Location on Google Map
Object setting:Garden
Access is:Public
Location note:Next to the Church Car Park.
In the AZ book:East Sussex
Page:97
Grid reference:J6
The A-Z books used are A-Z East Sussex and A-Z West Sussex (Editions 1A 2005). Geographers' A-Z Map Company Ltd. Sevenoaks.
OS Reference:TQ544142

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Makers

Name : Sue Nunn
     Role:Sculptor
Name : Helen Mary Skelton
     Role:Letter carver

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General Information

Commissioned by: Funded by The Arts Council, South East Arts, ESCC, Wealden DC
Commissioned also by: Chiddingly Parish Council and local firms and individuals
Construction period:2000
Installation date:2000
Work is:Extant
Owner custodian:Chiddingly Parish Council
Object listing:Not listed
Description:A circular sculpture garden in the centre of which stands a carved oak bole on a stone base. The central bole features key village landmarks. Encircling the central piece are four tall allegorical figures and two wooden benches. The wooden sculptures were all carved from a single 150 year old oak tree. Wooden plaques affixed to the surrounding fence describe the sculptures and the Millennium project and list all of the residents of the village at the time of the Millennium.
Iconographical description:The four archetypal figures symbolise the Seasons and the Family of Chiddingly. The central bole features key village landmarks, and records and captures the history and myths of the village.
Signatures:Carved around the stone base of the Oak bole:
CHIDDINGLY MILLENNIUM OAK SCULPTURE Sue Nunn - Sculptor
SPIRIT OF THE VILLAGE 2000 AD

Carved into the stone base of the birdbath:
GEORGE KENNARD 2000
Inscription:Wooden inscribed plaque attached to the gate:

MILLENNIUM GARDEN

''Though in the world outside there is strife,
Here may there be peace.
Though in the world outside there is hate,
Here may there be love.
Though in the world outside there is grief
Here may there be joy.''


Wooden inscribed plaque attached to the inner aspect of the fence surrounding the garden:

SPIRIT OF THE VILLAGE
Carved by sculptor Sue Nunn from a single 150 year-old Oak grown in Chiddingly,
these four archetypal figures symbolise the Seasons and the Family of Chiddingly.
The central bole features key village landmarks, beneath which are engraved the
family names of those resident in the village at the Millennium. Chiddingly was
recorded in the Domesday book, and now almost a thousand years later our
Millennium Sculpture records and captures the history and myths of the village and
something of the spirit of the place, the sacredness of its hedgerows, trees and
countryside. At the base is the title plinth carved in Dunhouse Sandstone by letter
cutter Helen Mary Skelton.

Wooden inscribed plaque attached to inner aspect of the fence surrounding the garden:

CHIDDINGLY MILLENNIUM OAK SCULPTURE AND GARDEN
This project has been made possible by generous grants, donations and support from: The Arts Council, / South East Arts, East Sussex County Council, Wealden District Council, Chiddingly Parish Council; Abbott / Joinery, Adams and Remers, American Express, Albourne Stone and Marble, Boron, Chandlers-BMW, / Cuprinol, Davies and Tate, Elphick and Son Ltd., Farley Farm, Farm Photographic, George Hammond Plc., / Jenners, Laughton Agriplant, Mark Caruthers Carpenter, Nigel Braden Architectural Designs and Consultancy, / P.B.Fencing, P. and P. Paving, Penrose Forest Products Ltd, Trencherlink, Ivan Vincent, C.B. Winter & Sons, / Wooden Wonders Ltd., Marilyn Ambroziak, Rex and Gill Bretten, Joyce and Ken Boulter, Sandi Cook, Peter / and Pam Dye, Kevin Hannah, Corin Hardy, Noel and Winnow Hardy, Dave and Barbie Harrison, Terry / Hungerford, Dawn Jackson, George Kennard, Edward and Jose Loosemore, Jeni Longley, Brenda and Jerry / Longley, David and Kay Miller, Tony and Ros Penrose, Andrew Smith. Peter Hamlin, Lord of the Manor of / Chiddingly, has provided an endowment to preserve the sculpture into the future.

Underneath this plaque is a second one carrying a list of names of those who helped with the fencing and establishing of the garden.

Wooden inscribed plaque attached to inner aspect of the fence surrounding the garden:

THE CARVED OAK BOLE
Here you will find: Two cheeses amongst the roots near Chiddingly Church denoting the story of the / Jefferay family who lived at Place Farm during Tudor times and were reputed to walk to the Church / on ''cheeses''. An Onion Pie by the Village Hall symbolises the poisoning of William French by his / wife Sarah Ann, who added arsenic to his onion pie and was the last woman to be hanged in Lewes / Prison. A 16th Century Cannon near the school is a reminder that the Sussex Weald was the centre / of the Iron industry. There are many ''hammer ponds'' found locally from which the iron was cast, / linked to place-names such as Gun Hill and Furnace Lane. A Galleon represents the fleet that fought / off the Spanish Armada, -many locally-grown oaks were used to build ships. A Bottle Kiln by the / Six Bells Pub represents the early brick-making industry at the Dicker. Also to be discovered is a / motorbike, a more modern village legend, and by the Shop is a shoe last in memory of the Russell / and Bromley shoe business started by John Clifford Russell who lived in the village. You will also / see a swap – a smaller version of the scythe used locally since the earliest days of agriculture.

Carved in a circle surrounding the stone bowl of the birdbath:

HARMONY . TRANQUILITY . PEACE

A further wooden plaque carries the names of the Chiddingly Festival Committee and the Millennium Oak Advisory Group who oversaw the project and the carved logos of the main funders. Underneath several of the inscribed plaques are vertical plaques holding the names of all the residents of the village at the time of the Millennium.

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Classification

Categories:Sculptural, Functional, Composite, Free Standing, Commemorative
Object type1:Sculpture
Object type2:Landscape
Subject type1:Figurative
Subject type2:Pictorial
     Subject subtype1:Group
Subject type3:Allegorical
     Subject subtype1:Group
Subject type4:Symbolic

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Object Parts

Part 1:Carved centrepiece
     Material:Oak bole with Dunhouse Sandstone base
     Height (cm):100
     Width (cm):55
     Depth (cm):55
Part 2:Wooden sculptures x 4
     Material:Oak
     Height (cm):250
     Width (cm):40
     Depth (cm):40

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Object Condition

Overall condition:Good
Risk assessment:No known risk
Condition 1 of type:Surface
     Condition 1: Corrosion, deterioration
     More details:General weatherwearing to the wooden pieces.
Date of on-site inspection:18/07/2007

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History


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References


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Photographs





Author: Anthony McIntosh
Copyright: Creative Commons




Author: Anthony McIntosh
Copyright: Creative Commons




Author: Anthony McIntosh
Copyright: Creative Commons




Author: Anthony McIntosh
Copyright: Creative Commons

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