Robin of Pegswood
By Mike Pearce
From a photo by Mike Pearce
Travelling between Morpeth and Ashington you might be surprised to observe a new piece of public art. You can’t miss it really. It rises almost 40 feet into the sky; its outline is, to say the least, striking. An archer, you think at first. As you approach you notice that the ‘arrow’ is a shovel, the archer is dressed as a modern pitman, the ‘bow’ is a continuation of the supporting steel girder. Interesting!
The sculpture stands in a commanding position at an entrance to the SE Northumberland coalfield. Fine, but what is the connection between a miner and a bow (steel girder) and arrow (shovel)?
The land on which it stands is part of the Welbeck Estates. These estates also include part of North Nottinghamshire, the stamping ground of Robin of Sherwood. So there’s a connection. The sculpture is really called ‘Fire’ – should there be an exclamation mark?
For me it symbolises the courage and determination of local miners, winning coal from the dark depths and aiming for the bright sky above.
The artist, Tom Maley, is a local man with coal mining connections and a training in engineering and design. He has also done statues of Wilf Mannion at Middlesbrough and Jackie Milburn at St James’ Park. His representation of a modern Icarus also shows great imagination.
City and County
November 2009
