Public artworks and monuments in Easington district

Examples of contemporary public art can be found throughout the District of Easington, many of which were commissioned as part of the district's contribution to the Year of the Visual Arts in 1996.  Others were created during the four years of Turning the Tide's regeneration of the district's coastline. Yet others, including many still in development, owe their existence to a widespread belief in the area that public art - the adornment of streets, pathways, towns and villages - has a real contribution to make to the health, wealth and happiness of the community.   

An illustrated, 32 - page booklet  - Easington Art, a guide to artwork in the East of Durham - is available free from the District Council. Organised under the names of the contributing artists, it describes most, but not all of the work to be seen. In the remainder of this section, organised geographically, we have (we hope) described all  of the district's public artworks with the exception of the many old and new miners' banners to be seen on display in community centres, schools and former miners' welfares throughout the district. We suggest you drop in and enquire if passing one of these buildings.  If you know of any artworks and memorials we have missed please contact Dave Clarke (see contact details below)  

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Seaham Promenade

Without doubt, Seaham's promenade between Terrace Green and Seaham Hall, features more artworks than any other part of the district. Though opinions vary about particular pieces none would surely argue that the half dozen artists who were involved have not, together, made a very big contribution to the regeneration of the sea front. 

At the  promenade's  southern end, Paul Mason's two stone obelisks provide a focus and establish the maritime theme developed in Michael Johnson's seats, Sue Disley's pavement mosaics, Graeme Hopper's handrails and David Wilson's "wavey wall," as it is known locally.

Set into the pathway at intervals you will find a series of  bronze "Time Line" plaques designed by Michael Johnson and with text by Katrina Porteous. Follow these plaques north and  you will come to the promenade's  three  largest pieces of sculpture, all made by Michael Johnson in bronze and stainless steel and all performing a dual function of beautifying and interpreting the locality. On the promenade itself,  at the edge of the coastal clifftops, stands his Vane Tempest sculpture, a depiction of the skyline of the famous colliery which used to stand across the road. The panels around the base hold memories of mining and discuss the way the work of the Vane Tempest miners changed with developments in the coal industry. 

Just opposite the Vane Tempest sculpture is the entrance to East Shore Village, a major housing development occupying the site of the former colliery. The developers commissioned new work from two regional sculptors, Andrew McKeown who created large scale versions of microscopic sea creatures, and Craig Knowles.

Further north along the promenade is Vane Tempest car park and the second of the  three sculptures. Made in the form of a disc, this piece overlooks the site of the medieval village of Seaham now occupied by Seaham Hall, the old vicarage and the only surviving village building, St.Mary's Church. Two interpretive panels describe the history of the site. 

The last and  largest in this family of remarkable works is in Seaham Hall Beach car park. Here you will see a piece formed in the shape of the "footprint" of the nearby medieval  St Marys Church  with the words of Katrina Porteous  engraved into the fabric.Inserted into the sculpture are  panels providing information on the church, on the history of Seaham, on the archaeological digs which confirmed early signs of Christianity in the area, and on the 11 mile, Seaham to Crimdon coastal walk which starts at this car park. Michael Johnson's three Seaham artworks won an Interpret Britain Award. 

While at the Seaham Hall Beach Car Park look out for  Michael Johnson's bronze and stainless steel water fountain, made in the form of the letters H2O and engraved with words from the poems of Lord Byron. Byron lived briefly at the nearby Seaham Hall, now converted to a Hotel and Oriental Spa and site of the largest concentration of contemporary art in the district and for many miles beyond. Outside its front door, in ironic contrast to Michael's fountain, stands "Charybdis," William Pye's large and celebrated  water vortex sculpture. To see more you will have to become a customer of the hotel or of its bar, coffee shop, restaurant or spa.     

Elsewhere in Seaham, on and around the main shopping centre of  Church Street, look out for Michael Johnson's bicycle-shaped bike racks, his seagulls perched on the top of street lights and  his golden crabs on the cast iron bollards. Elsewhere in the town, a very recent addition,  is a new mural on the history of Seaham painted by Dawdon-based artist Stephen Ward with students from Seaham School of Technology. This is located on an external wall of the new Seaham Police Station at the junction of New Strangford Road and Graham Way in Deneside.      

Durham Coastal Footpath

Throughout the whole length of the 11 mile coastal footpath walkers are guided by regular waymarkers of bronze and stone designed by Michael Johnson, while at four locations beside the path larger artworks can be seen. At Easington Colliery, high on a hill overlooking the sea and the site of the former pit, stands an enormous old pit cage. Far below, a memorial garden features work by poet Katrina Porteous.  Leading up to the cage and down again is a two-part "time line" created by Andrew McKeown and Michael Johnson describing both the history and the geology of the pit. A short walk inland along Seaside Lane will bring you to one of George Robson's paintings of Durham Miners' Gala in the Resource Centre on Bede Street (Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm) and to Bill Harris's iron railings for Townfield Quarry, an area of magnesian limestone which is being returned to natural grassland. Access to the quarry is by a sharply sloping roadway on the left. A little further along Seaside Lane, outside the library, is Matthew Jarratt's brick boat.  

At Whiteside's Gill, on the edge of the former site of Horden Colliery, Julia Barton and Keith Barrett have produced a piece of land-art incorporating earthworks, dry stone walls, footpaths and a stream. Two hundred yards inland Julia worked with local schools to create microclimates for plants using stone spirals and earth mounds. Inland still further, William Pym's enormous "prize bloom" sculpture, inspired by the flower shows popular in the area, was commissioned for the regenerated Horden Welfare Park on Park Road.  

In the famous Castle Eden Dene, which begins at Peterlee but ends at Denemouth on the coast, is a mile long trail marked by sculptured limestone fruit inset with words by the poet Linda France. A very recent addition,to be seen close to the Dene's visitor centre at Oakerside Dene Lodge, is a splendid group of  five timber totem poles made by 90 local children and adults working with artists Clint Chaloner and Cheryl Hughes. 

At Blackhall Rocks you will find a number of pieces of artwork in the form of celebratory bronzes set into stone,  designed by Michael Johnson in collaboration with local school children. 

Once the main holiday centre for the Durham mining communities, Crimdon Park and Dene has gradually reverted to a sanctuary for wild birds, trees and flowers. A major regeneration scheme has cleared the derelict remains of the old lido, replacing them with a new landform created by the sculptor Keith Barrett. Set on the landform are a number of timber and stone artworks incorporating seating and wildlife habitats. Nearby are wooden sculptures of Little Terns, also made Keith.

 Keith worked in partnership with Groundwork's landscape architect whose contribution to the site won a silver Green Apple Award in 2005 for environmental best practice in conservation projects.   

Pasmore's Apollo Pavilion

Victor Pasmore's Pavilion off Oakerside Drive, Peterlee was originally named in honour of the Apollo moon mission and was completed in 1970. At the time Pasmore was both Master of Painting at Kings College Newcastle and attached to Peterlee Development Corporation to advise on house design, the grouping of houses, lanscaping and tree planting. The two storey, re-inforced concrete sculpture was designed as an integral part of its setting i.e. the lake, the formal parkland and the surrounding houses. As a piece of landscape, the monument's setting has recently received the accolade of a Grade II listing in the English Heritage Register of Parks and Garden.                  

Although generally highly valued by those with an interest in modernist architecture and the constructivist art practised by Pasmore, an attempt to have the Pavilion itself listed as an historic building was a failure. Nor has the local community of Sunny Blunts been universally supportive. One Independent Councillor, indeed, won considerable support for her demand that the army should dynamite it.

The Pavilion, it is fair to say, is not perfect. It's lack of colour, in contrast to Pasmore's paintings, is a drawback. The fact that it and the now extensively altered surrounding houses no longer complement each other is another.  Its very closeness to the houses does cause problems, as do the unpleasant smells from the lake.

A committee of local residents - the people who  live with the Pavilion year round - have worked long and hard to produce a solution, and Easington and the wider world should wish them success in their work on behalf of this unique part of the North East's heritage. For further information contact Colin Robson (see contact details below)

Easington Village

Just off  the A19, at the top of the long hill leading down to Easington Colliery, stands Easington Village where the work of three artists is on permanent display and short term exhibitions are mounted in Seaton Holme, the manor house beside the church of St.Mary the Virgin. 

Within the church (Friday to Sunday 11am to 4pm, May to September) can be seen Marguerite Elliott's contemporary embroidery, a  seven piece  set of chair seats and kneelers. 

Set in a line into a bank on the village green, just below the church, are Amanda Randall's seven cast concrete roundels, known locally as the "Easington Worm."  Amanda's work reflects local legends (the Easington Hare), the flora and fauna and the local children. 

A hundred yards or so downhill, in the main building of the district council (Monday to Thursday 8.30am to 5pm and Friday 8.30am to 4.30pm) is hung one of George Robson's paintings of the Durham Miners' Gala. Some examples of George's work have recently been purchased by the Government Art Collection.

West of the A19

To the west of the A19 the District of Easington becomes an area of small villages set within woods and farmland. Bisecting the area from north to south and east to west is a network of cycleways including the Haswell to Hart (part of NCN Routes 1 and 14) and the Station Town to Deaf Hill, on both of which can be seen work by the Dawdon-based sculptor David Gross. Working with local children and young people David has carved great lengths of tree trunk into huge wild flowers and commemorated famous local sportsmen and various aspects of the area's social and industrial heritage.     

Starting at the North end of the district at Woods Terrace, Murton, work can be seen by four artists, including street furniture by Michael Johnson. Vivian Mousdell's carved sandstone panels are set into the external walls of the Officials' Club and take as their theme hands performing a wide range of activities - holding a pigeon, a baby, a prize leek, a tuba, a pick axe. Across the terrace in Murton Resource Centre (Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5pm), an upstairs meeting room has one of George Robson's paintings of the Durham Miners' Gala on display - the District Council owns three - and a stained glass window by Mary Russell. Mary, who lives in the district at Peterlee, has focused on the village's regeneration and hopes for the future.   

At South Hetton, on the external wall of the new Robin Todd Community Centre, is one of the district's two large murals. Painted originally in 1987 on the gable end of the only surviving building from the former pit, it was re-painted on panels in 1996 by Joanne Morgan. It depicts real members of the community dressed in their pit clothes and surrounded by  the colourful plant life of this half-rural, half-urban community.   

Hawthorn Cokeworks was located between the villages of Murton and South Hetton. This site was recently returned to public open space upon which are displayed the written thoughts of the people of the two villages. Collected and augmented by poet Linda France during her year as poet-in-residence, the words are engraved onto steel sculptures commissioned from William Pym. 

At Haswell and Haswell Plough and in the nearby Elemore Woods can be seen the work of three different sculptors. By far the most emotive piece is Michael Disley's carved stone memorial to the 95 dead of the 1844 pit disaster. Framed by the ruined walls of the pit's old winding house and set in fields between the two Haswells, on Mazine Terrace, Michael's piece is among the most memorable in the district. Phil Townsend, who also works mainly in stone, made the two stone and timber benches outside The Plough in Haswell Plough and opposite The Wayfarer in the centre of Haswell. They celebrate the beautiful natural environment of the two villages. Keith Barrett's work, a carved wooden bench, is located cheek by jowl with nature in Elemore Woods.       

Thornley, yet another former pit village, has celebrated its industrial heritage through the medium of stone  and looked to the future through the use of textiles. Located at opposite ends of the village are carved stone pillars on mining themes, 5 feet tall, by Wayne Markwort. Made in the Year of the Visual Arts by textile artist Margaret Williams and the local community, the Thornley Tapestry looks forward to a brighter future for the village and can be seen in Thornley Library. (Monday 1.00 to 7.00; Wednesday 9.00 to 12.30; Thursday 1.00 to 7.00; Friday 9.00 to 12.30; Saturday 9.00 to 1.00.). Thornley's latest piece of public art is Wayne Markwort's seat in the form of an old woman, which aims to provide a restful break for the elderly as they cross the village green.      

In Wheatley Hill the community's interest in its history has resulted in the creation by Andrew McKeown of a cast bas-relief on the external walls of the Primary School, off Quilstyle Road, telling the history of the village.  Another sculptor, Graeme Hopper, developed a new artwork in collaboration with local people working on plans for the long-term future of their community. It takes the form of a steel archway and was installed in early 2006 on the edge of the village, close to the old pit wheel and the new golf range.  

At the Community Centre in Rodridge Street, Station Town, painters Stephen Ward and Pauline Wardle  worked with local children and young people to produce a mural inspired by plants and local wildlife. The latest development to be installed in the centre's garden are carved monumental vegetables made by sculptor David Gross and local youngsters.

Some frequently asked questions

Are there any publications on public art in the District of Easington?

Yes, there is a free publication - Easington Art: A Guide to Artworks in the East of Durham. There is also a publication for sale 'Looking Beyond' by Linda France priced £3.50. Refer to Sundry Items and Publications in the arts pages of the council website.