8:30am Tuesday 30th June 2009
By Jayne Bennett
A BRONZE sculpture that was designed to mark the new millennium has at last been unveiled.
‘The Spirit of Thornbury’ was eventually cast in 2005, but a lack of funds meant that the commemorative sculpture was left an unfinished project – until now.
The sculpture, designed by Stephen Daniels and cast in bronze by Morris Singer, is the first public work of art to be installed in the town and is a focal feature for the Thornbury Millennium Heritage Trail.
It reflects the efforts and contributions of generations of inhabitants, past and present.
Northavon MP Steve Webb was at the Silver Street unveiling on Saturday, joining Mayor of Thornbury Phyllida Parsloe and Paul Wildgoose, the Thornbury and District Heritage Trust member who has led the project.
"It was a delightful day," said Paul. "The weather was kind and several hundred people turned up to see the unveiling.
"It was so appropriate that Steve Webb got the local school children to help him, with a CD of the Castle School Steel Band playing in the background.
"The sculpture has the people of Thornbury at its heart, and is fully accessible to everyone from children and the disabled to the blind – it’s a very ‘hands on’ piece," he said.
"Ever since the sculpture was unveiled there has been someone looking at it, right in the heart of town."
The millennium sculpture has cost more than £18,000 and has been paid for through grants from the Lottery, South Gloucestershire Council and additional fundraising, particularly the Friends of Thornbury Museum. All those who have contributed to the trail project will be acknowledged in a commemorative scroll.
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