|
| |
ANDY GOLDSWORTHY SHEEPFOLDS
Sheepfolds is Cumbria County Council's major countywide sculpture project by internationally
known artist Andy Goldsworthy. Begun in 1996 and completed in 2002, the artist
has used existing sheepfold, washfold and pinfold sites to create environmentally
responsive sculptures. The works connect directly with the farming tradition and
history of Cumbria: by using the sites of existing or ruined agricultural structures
and rebuilding or repairing them, new life is breathed into them - where before
they would simply have melted into the landscape. Local
people have been directly involved in the evolution and development of the works
as well as a wide range of organisations such as East Cumbria Countryside Project,
Cumbria's six district authorities (including Eden), North West Development Agency,
Leader Programme, the National Trust, the Lake District National Park, Prism Arts,
Cumbria Arts in Education, Newton Rigg College and Cumbria Public Art. SHEEPFOLD
SITES TO VISIT IN EDEN
Melmerby
Washfold
The two chamber washfold, opening
into a stream within which is a sandstone sculpture, is situated on the Penrith
to Alston A686 road, on the right of Melmerby village green. Andy Goldsworthy
wrote, on 13 September 2001:
"I was delighted to see the wall growing
back from its state of ruin. The red sandstone makes a strong connection to the
carved sandstone sculpture which I placed inside the curved wall alongside the
dub and from where the sheep would have been thrown into the water. The sculpture
has a depth and feel not dissimilar to the ripples of a pool disturbed by the
dropping of a stone. Water was the reason for this fold to be built. Although
for the most part the sculpture is not under water, the dub can be dammed from
time to time so that it is submerged." Two
Redmire Farm Folds, Mungrisdale
The first two
sheepfolds of the whole project, completed in 1996, were built with the help of
Newton Rigg College, on a fell farm owned by the college:
Single Sheepfold
map ref. 372296 & Field Boulder Fold 375294 - OS Outdoor Leisure Map 5, NE
Area. The Pinfold Cones
In
the 1980s Andy Goldsworthy lived at Brough, from where on a clear day you can
see across to Hartley Fell and the constructed piles of stones called the Nine
Standards, which dominate the valley below like a watchful presence on the skyline.
Inspired by these, Andy started making stacked stone cones around this time, and
they remain one of his most distinctive and recognisable sculptural forms. The
Pinfold Cones are sited in village pinfolds - originally built to hold stray animals
- in the Eden Valley and are intended to reflect the Nine Standards on the fells
above.
Pinfold Cones completed to date include those at Raisbeck near Orton,
Outhgill near Mallerstang and Brough Primary School at Church Brough, Warcop and
Bolton. Touchstone Fold
On the eastern slope of Helbeck Fell, at Dead
Man Ghyll, near Brough is the double Touchstone Fold. One chamber has been made
up as a normal pen, the other houses sculptures set into the north wall: little
'ladders' of throughs with a shingle stone set into each gap between them which
partially sighted or blind people will be able to feel - hence the name of the
fold. Drove Arch Folds
A
redstone arch was built, photographed, dismantled and rebuilt at derelict fold
sites along one of the old drove routes running from Scotland, through Cumbria
and into North Yorkshire. In its wake a series of sheepfolds have been rebuilt
along this drove route as a symbol of goodwill, and the arch will be housed permanently
in a shepherd's hut adjacent to a rebuilt sheepfold in North Yorkshire. Drove
Arch Folds in Eden include: Milestone House (Hesket), Hanson Quarry (Shap), Thunderstone
(Shap) and Scout Green (Orton). See Sheepfolds website:
www.sheepfolds.org Further
details, directions, information on disabled access and education pack available
from Cumbria County Council, Community Regeneration Unit: Phone 01228 607306 or
email community.regeneration@cumbriacc.gov.uk EDEN
BENCHMARKS
East Cumbria Countryside Project
seeks to promote quiet recreation in the rural landscape and enhance people's
enjoyment of the natural environment. More usually done through guided walks,
circular booklets and special events, ECCP is increasingly developing its work
through the arts - as the visual arts have a particular relevance in our perception
of the landscape. Eden Benchmarks was a Millennium
project: ECCP commissioned a series of ten site-specific, carved stone sculptures
which also function as seats, situated on public paths along the length of the
River Eden from Mallerstang . Each is by a different sculptor, selected in close
consultation with local people. The River Eden provides a cohesive and spectacular
context for the sculptures: collectively giving visual expression to local pride
in the river and its surrounding landscape and individually fostering a profound
sense of place at each location. They're also a lovely place just to sit and quietly
reflect on the river, on art, on landscape - and life. An
illustrated brochure with map showing locations of the Benchmarks is available
direct from East Cumbria Countryside Project, Warwick Mill, Warwick Bridge, Carlisle
CA4 8RR Eden Benchmarks has been funded by Regional Arts
Lottery, Carlisle and Eden District Councils, Cumbria County Council, Countryside
Agency, Northern Arts, Foundation for Sport & the Arts, Environment Agency,
English Nature and Eden Arts.
EDEN MILLENNIUM
MONUMENT
The monumental piece of Shap granite
which sits on the roadside near Mayburgh Henge was erected in the year 2000 to
celebrate the millennium in Eden. The Greek letters Alpha and Omega are hand-carved
on two of its faces, whilst on the third is carved the symbol of the cross and
the date 2000. The stone carving was done by artist letter cutter Lida Lopes Cardozo,
whose studio in Cambridge claims a direct line of master-pupil descent from renowned
20th century sculptor and letter cutter Eric Gill. The Eden Millennium Monument
was dedicated by the Bishop of Penrith at the Eden Millennium Festival in June
2000. Both monument and festival came about through the hard work of local people,
inspired by the vision and dedication of Canon Gervase Markham of Morland.
Location: take Pooley Bridge road on the A6 at Eamont
Bridge just south of Penrith, and the Eden Millennium Monument can be seen ahead
of you on the right, where the narrow lane leads off to Mayburgh Henge. There
is parking along the lane.
KIRKBY STEPHEN
POETRY PATH
Walking the talk takes on a new
meaning in Kirkby Stephen, in the shape of a Poetry Path on the theme of 'A year
in the life of a fellside farmer'. The Path was first suggested by Dick Capel
of East Cumbria Countryside Project as a way of celebrating the landscape of the
Eden Valley, after the Foot & Mouth epidemic highlighted the relationship
between traditional farming with the familiar landscape and its wildlife. Poet
Meg Peacocke was asked to write a series of twelve poems, which resonate with
sense of place and reflect the farming calendar - hay-making, harvest, hedgelaying
and lambing time: "Twin lambs race to the mother, baby-cries Mam! Mam! jolt
out of them, and now they jostle the ragged ewe for milk…" The poems
have been carved into a series of stones by letter-cutter Pip Hall, each verse
interpreted in ways which add to the impact of the words, and incorporated into
walls and stiles, or planted like milestones along the route of the path. Through
the stones walkers will be able to trace the course of a farmer's year simply
by following the route, which loops from Stenkrith near Kirkby Stephen to Hartley
and back. A booklet to accompany the path is available
from East Cumbria Countryside Project on 01228 561601 or Kirkby Stephen TIC 017683
71199.
|
