A largescale memorial piece of art is to be installed at Gedling Country Park tomorrow.
The stainless steel, 3.5 metre tall statue has been inspired by a picture of the underground Palm Tree junction on the former colliery site and symbolises the origin of coal and the flames reflect that coal was used to create fire and heat homes. The tree also symbolises the future of this site as a country park and the tradition of lighting a candle to remember a loved one.
The statue will be installed in the memorial garden at the park.
In April, the Friends of Gedling Country Park won £18,425 of funding from Nottinghamshire County Council to create a permanent piece of art in the new memorial garden at Gedling Country Park. The group applied for money from the County Council which provides over £500,000 per year in funding awards to support projects that are beneficial to the local community.
Local artist, Richard Janes, was appointed by the charity group following a selection process where his designs were reviewed by the group, councillors and members of the public.
The Friends and Gedling Borough Council have been developing the memorial garden within the country park for a number of months and have already installed several large metal ‘rings’ to mark the entrance, which were previously used underground to maintain the stability of the mining tunnels.
Gedling Colliery was the life-blood of the village and its surrounding areas for nearly a century, until it closed in 1991. The site stood derelict for over 20 years before being transformed into a country park in March 2015.
