
Llanrwst Gateway Carvings - Llanrwst, Conwy, North Wales
Posted by:
Dragontree
N 53° 07.758 W 003° 47.184
30U E 447382 N 5886943
Quick Description: Some welcoming arms reaching out at either end of the small town of Llanrwst along the A470 main road.
Location: United Kingdom
Date Posted: 6/28/2008 1:07:52 PM
Waymark Code: WM42HG
Views: 38
Long Description:Llanrwst Gateways Commission describes the carvings:
Article from June 1st 2006
'The historic market town of Llanrwst, in the heart of the Conwy
Valley boasts a wonderful landscape, and a great many historic and
cultural features of renown, such as the famous bridge over the
River Conwy (probably designed by Inigo Jones), Gwydir Castle and
the wonderful treasure that is the Church of St Grwst, containing
the large stone coffin of Llywelyn the Great.
Visitors to Llanrwst can now wonder at the recent additions to
the town’s heritage – a pair of ‘Gateways Sculptures’, to be found
on the Northern and Southern approach routes into the town.
Each sculpture is a tight cluster of what appears to be tall,
bleached tree trunks, which are quite alien and distinct in
appearance. Their eye catching appearance is particularly
spectacular, because they appear to be frozen in an uniformly
curving, permanent wind-bent position.
On closer inspection, each tree trunk has been carved in Welsh Oak,
from trees that were painstakingly selected for the precise angles
of their branches. Each trunk also has a small cast-metal, low
relief panel set into its surface, creating a clustered effect
across the lower level of the ‘copse’. The relief panels all
represent in some way the history of Llanrwst, and they were
designed and made by the real experts on the area – young people
from local primary schools, the secondary school and youth
groups.'
Further information has come to light kindly supplied to us by
Mark Edwards of Bryn Bella Guest House from Dafydd Apolloni -
thanks:
'The 'Gateway Sculptures' by Cardiff based sculptor Nigel Talbot
are trunks of Welsh Oak cut from trunks of forestry grown trees
felled during the thinning process. Each trunk has a small
cast-metal low relief panel set into its surface. The relief panels
represent in some way the history of Llanrwst and were designed and
made by local primary school children from Ysgol Bro Gwydir and
Ysgol Llanddoged. The artworks were supported by a Lottery Grant
from the Arts Council of Wales and the Welsh Developement
Agency.'