Public Monument and Sculpture Association National Recording Project

Aneurin Bevan Memorial Panels Photograph

Region ID

AH

Work ID

288

Manual Reference

BLGW004

Type

Medallion

Title

Aneurin Bevan Memorial Panels

Sculptor

Gorvin, Diane

Date of design

February - June 1998

Year of unveiling

1998

Unveiling details

1998

Road

The Circle

Precise Location

Set in the pavement surrounding the Iron Clock in the centre of Tredegar

A to Z Ref

OS Ref

SO141088

Postcode

Work is

Extant

Listing Status

Not listed

Duty of Care

Tredegar Town Council

Commissioned by

Tredegar Town Council

Notes

Four bronze circular panels depicting Aneurin Bevan at various stages in his life. Around the rims are quotations from his speeches; 1) Miner's agent 1918, 2) Married Jennie Lee 1934, 3) Minister of Health and Housing 1945, 4) International Statesman.

1997 was the centenary of Bevan's birth. The panels were commissioned by Tredegar Town Council, through Artwork Wales, funded by the National Lottery. The artist modelled the central relief work in clay. This was cast into bronze by Castle Fine Art Foundry who also attached the rim with the text which was sandcast into bronze by Leander Architectural. The work was sited by Castle Fine Art Foundry with assistance from the artist and Philip Bews.

Aneurin Bevan (1897-1960) was born in Tredegar. He was elected to Tredegar Urban District Council in 1922 and became the Labour MP for the Ebbw Vale Constituency in 1929, aged 31. He married a fellow Socialist politician, Jennie Lee and edited the left wing newspaper 'Tribune' from 1942-45. He was elected to the National Executive of the Labour Party in 1944 and became Minister of Health in 1945. He played the leading role in the establishment of the National Health Service in 1946 and set in motion the largest public housing programme ever launched in Britain.

circa

raw year

1998

Condition

Good

At risk

No known risk

Inscriptions

Raised letters around upper edge of first panel: "Going around with Ni was like surf-riding on the Niagara Falls - at times you had to be agile or you would be drowned in the sparkling, tireless movement and ebullience." Jennie Lee (1960) Raised letters around lower edge of first panell: ANEURIN BEVAN - MARRIED JENNIE LEE 1934 / ANEURIN BEVAN - PRIODI JENNIE LEE 1934 Raised letters around upper edge of second panel: "The most popular Labour MPs, with the Tories, have been those who plead mercy for the poor. They have never shown anything but bare-fanged hatred for those Labour Members who want political power for the masses." A. Bevan (1918) Raised letters around lower edge of second panel: ANEURIN BEVAN - MINERS AGENT 1918 / ANEURIN BEVAN - ASIANT Y GLOWYR 1918 Raised letters around upper edge of third panel: "I never used to regard myself so much as a politician as a projectile discharged from the Welsh valleys .. When I listen to the cacophony of harsh voices trying to intimidate I close my eyes and listen to the silent voices of the poor." A. Bevan (1948) Raised letters around lower edge of third panel: ANEURIN BEVAN 1897-1960 INTERNATIONAL STATESMAN / ANEURIN BEVAN 1897-1960 GWLADWEINYDD RHYNGWLADOL Raised letters around upper edge of fourth panel: "Society becomes more wholesome, more serene, and spiritually healthier, if it knows that its citizens have at the back of their consciousness the knowledge that not only themselves, but all their fellows, have access, when ill, to the best that medical skill can provide." A. Bevan (1918) Raised letters around lower edge of fourth panel: ANEURIN BEVAN - MINISTER OF HOUSING AND HEALTH 1945 / ANEURIN BEVAN - GWEINIDOG TAI A IECHYD 1945

Signatures

Elements

Element Details

Part of work

Material

Dimensions

Four panels

Bronze

120cm diameter

Assessment of Condition

Surface Character

Detail

Comment

No damage

Good condition

Structural Condition

Structural Condition

Comment

None

Vandalism

Vandalism

Comment

None