Public Monument and Sculpture Association National Recording Project
BROKEN SWORD Photograph
Region ID | MR | |
Work ID | 143 | |
Manual Reference | MR/TAM12 | |
Type | War Memorial | |
Title | BROKEN SWORD | |
Sculptor | Margetts, Paul | |
Date of design | ||
Year of unveiling | 1995 | |
Unveiling details | ||
Road | Victoria Street | |
Precise Location | Memorial Gardens, Market Street, next to taxi rank | |
A to Z Ref | p. 100 F3 | |
OS Ref | SJ925955 | |
Postcode | ||
Work is | Extant | |
Listing Status | Not listed | |
Duty of Care | Tameside MBC | |
Commissioned by | Britain in Bloom/Tameside MBC | |
Notes | ||
Steel sculpture/war memorial. Pyramidal structure frames central structure of poppies growing upwards into a sword, which surmounts the frame. The tip of the sword is broken off and placed across the blade, making it into a cross. | ||
Commissioned for Britain in Bloom c.1995 and sited in the Garden of Remembrance, Market Street, Denton. The garden had been opened in May 1958 as a Garden of Remembrance for those who had died fighting in both world wars. It was decided by council officers to introduce a sculpture in the new design, the commission being awarded to Paul Margetts. The broken sword symbolises the end of war while the cross shape that is created is reminiscent of the simple grave markers to be found in the battlefields of the First World War. The obelisk and the poppies have an obvious relevance. It was installed in 1996 but there was no formal ceremony. | ||
Commissioned for Britain in Bloom. | ||
circa | ||
raw year | 1995 | |
Condition | Good | |
At risk | Not at risk | |
Inscriptions | On plaque to Market street side of gardens: THIS GARDEN WAS DECLARED OPEN/BY/COUNCILLOR MRS. MOORES CC., J.P.,/CHAIRMAN OF THE COUNCIL/ON 22nd MAY 1958 On second plaque: GARDEN OF/REMEMBRANCE/IN COMMEMORATION OF/THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR/LIVES IN TWO WORLD WARS/1914-18/1939-45/ | |
Signatures | none visible | |
Elements
Element Details
Part of work | Material | Dimensions |
|---|---|---|
Sculpture | Steel | 400cm high approx x 73cm square at base |
Assessment of Condition
Surface Character
Detail | Comment |
|---|---|
Bird guano | On top of "frame" section of sculpture |
Structural Condition
Structural Condition | Comment |
|---|---|
None | |
Vandalism
Vandalism | Comment |
|---|---|
None | |
