Another Place

Another Place is a modern sculpture by British artist Antony Gormley

It is located on Crosby Beach near Liverpool in the UK.

The sculpture consists of 100 cast iron figures.

Each figure is 6ft 2in tall (189 centimetres) and weighs 650 kilograms.

Visit Date: April 2024

This sculpture was first exhibited on the beach of Cuxhaven, Germany, in 1997 followed by Stavanger in Norway and De Panne in Belgium before being placed on Crosby Beach on July 1st 2005

The figures were cast at Hargreaves Foundry in Halifax, West Yorkshire and the Joseph and Jesse Siddons Foundry in West Bromwich.

Each of the sculptures has been modeled on the artist's own naked body and because of the nakedness of the sculptures they first aroused some controversy.

Another Place

In 2006, the local council refused permission for the statues to remain at the beach in Merseyside however this decision led to the establishment of The company Another Place Ltd which campaigned for the figures' permanent installation.

Click on any image for larger size

In March 2007, permission was granted for Another Place to remain at Crosby Beach permanently.

There is little doubt that these once-controversial figures have led to an increase in tourism to the beach. 

Describing the work Antony Gormley stated 

"I always wanted this to be an open work. The sculptures that comprise ANOTHER PLACE are not statues of ideal or heroic figures from history, they are simply copies of my own body that I used to indicate a human space in space at large."

"Another Place harnesses the ebb and flow of the tide to explore man's relationship with nature. He explains: The seaside is a good place to do this. Here time is tested by tide, architecture by the elements and the prevalence of the sky seems to question the earth's substance. In this work, human life is tested against planetary time. This sculpture exposes to light and time the nakedness of a particular and peculiar body. It is no hero, no ideal, just the industrially reproduced body of a middle-aged man trying to remain standing and trying to breathe, facing a horizon busy with ships moving materials and manufactured things around the planet".

"I can remember the day after we finished the installation in Liverpool, every single work, through its wristband, had a rose in it with a tag on it saying Make Poverty History".

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The statues have been subjected to corrosion and colonization of marine animals as well as trash from the sea over the years. 

In 2012, biologists from the University of Liverpool studied the colonisation of the statues by sessile intertidal organisms, such as invasive species of barnacles.

Sir Antony Gormley (born 1950) is renowned for his sculptures and installations including Angel of the North 1998 and Event Horizon 2007 – 2015.

There is also a similar sculpture by the artist called Horizon Field.

Horizon Field was erected in 2010. The installation features 100 life-sized cast iron statues of the human body left at exactly 2,039 m (6,690 ft) above sea level in the Austrian Alps. It is the first art project of its kind erected in the Alps and the largest landscape intervention in Austria to date. The work covers an area of 150 square kilometres (58 square miles) in the Land Vorarlberg.

Although I have tried to capture the feeling of this work of art being there gives a whole new feeling of belonging. The huge area that is covered by this work. The work covers a distance of almost 3km, with the pieces placed 250m apart along the tide line, and up to 1km out towards the horizon. 

All the statues face out to sea.

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OS Details: -
SD 29743 00476

Additional information.

Visiting is very easy with a large car park. (53.496091062048464, -3.0581922009735023) 

There are public toilets in the car park.







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Trethevy Quoit

Known locally as "the giant's house".

Standing 9 feet (2.7 m) high, this magnificent 5000-year-old

ancient structure consists of Six standing stones capped by a large slab.

Visit Date March 2024

Trethevy Quoit

Walking up to this structure, it is in a field close to some modern houses you do not get a feel of the size of this structure but as you approach the magnificence of this site overwhelms you.

Click on any image to enlarge

There are many of these burial sites in the UK and Cornwall has a large number of them.

Like many other portal structures, Trethevy Quoit would have been originally covered by a mound.

In the 19th century, William Copeland Borlase studied the site and made drawings of it.

A later investigation of the remnants suggests a mound diameter of almost 6.5 metres.

It is impossible to tell if stones have been removed from the site but the remaining seven stones a and an estimated 10.5-ton cover slab were inside the mound.

Trethevy Quoit

There are some unusual aspects of Trethevy Quoit, not only does it have 6 supporting stones forming its internal chamber, but it also has an antechamber at the 'front'. The only other Cornish quoit to boast two chambers is Lanyon Quoit.

Particularly interesting is the circular hole cut in the highermost corner of the capstone. Speculation has informed us that the hole could have been used for astronomy. The movement and settling over the millennia that have passed means it is impossible to prove, but it is peculiar and thought to be unique to this megalithic site.

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The massive capstone sits at a steep angle, and this is unlikely if this was the capstone's original position. At the lower side of the capstone, five small hollows can be found.

The entrance stone at the front in most portal structures can't be moved. however, Trevethy Quoit is a rare exception here, because a small rectangular stone moving at the bottom right of the front allows access to the chamber.

There is a rectangular cut-out at the side of the upright stone that forms the front of the main chamber it is unclear if this is a later modification of if it was used and an entrance this is not seen on any other Cornish sites.

Trethevy Quoit

Trethevy Quoit was first mentioned in 1584 by John Norden, in a topographical and historical account of Britain.

He described it as “A little howse raised of mightie stones, standing on a little hill within a fielde”.

Trethevy Quoit

In Cornish mythology, the monument is known as the Giant’s House and was believed to have been created by this fabled race.

It also like many other structures in Cornwall and indeed Wales it has links with King Arthur legend and is believed to have been magically built by Merlin.

Additional information:-

A Cromlech or Dolmen is an ancient underground tomb typically built with several large upright stones and a capstone on top. In its day, the whole thing would have been covered by a mound of earth. In some parts of the UK especially in Cornwall these structures are called Quoits.

Most date from the Late Neolithic period (4000–2000 BC)

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50.493185727515105, -4.455456201119047

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SX 25936 68813 : Altitude:725 ft

Additional information.

Visiting is fairly easy although the roads become just lanes for some of the way and parking is a small car park for about three cars (50.493164985542144, -4.454975466726607) and a short walk into the adjacent field.
The approach is via the B3254 and turn off towards the village of Darite. On this road you will see the turn off for the quoit.










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The Longstone Cross (Long Tom)

 

Commonly known as "Long Tom" this stick of granite stands more than 2.5 metres (9 feet) high. 

Taking the form of a deliberately shaped standing stone, the top quarter is marked with a carved Greek cross. 

As is common with these early Christian crosses, it is likely to have been added to a much earlier standing stone after Christianity took hold in the area.

Visit Date March 2024

The Longstone Cross (Long Tom) Cornwall

Situated on Bodmin Moor before being inscribed with the cross, Long Tom is almost certainly part of a landscape of prehistoric landmarks.

It would seem to be aligned with the three ancient circles of the nearby "Hurlers".

Regarding the carving of the cross, it was common for the early Christians to carve crosses on existing ritual sites and for the site to have been adopted for Christian rituals.

The Longstone Cross (Long Tom) Cornwall

It is difficult often to age these stones but the carved Long Tom is thought to be at least 600 years old and possibly much older and pre-carved standing Menhir is prehistoric.

The Longstone Cross (Long Tom) Cornwall

These crosses are quite common on Bodmin Moor with at least 35 having been found and 21 of these listed as wayside crosses. Long Tom is one of the best preserved and although many of the crosses may have been moved from their original position this is not thought to be the case with Long Tom which seems to be in its original place.

The carving on these wayside crosses found in Cornwall tend to be modeled like churchyard crosses which are often made from a single stone with a rounded wheel head with a cross carving.

The Longstone Cross (Long Tom) North Face

In Cornwall, such wayside crosses tended to be modeled after churchyard crosses or market crosses. Most were made from a single slab of stone topped by a rounded wheel head carved with religious figures. 

Wayside crosses served a dual purpose. While they were a gathering place for Christian preaching, they also served as way-markers or signposts in a landscape that could be difficult to navigate.

The Longstone Cross (Long Tom) South Face

The cross head is decorated with an incised carving of a cross on the north and south faces. The south face is much better preserved. 

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50.508796877158495, -4.461704999304393

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OS Details: -

SX 25546 70560 Altitude:1016 ft

Additional information.

Visiting is very easy and parking is a small lay by on the side of the road which was completely flooded on my visit.

Long Tom can easily be seen from the road on approach.

The road is much better when approaching from the south.

On the A38 you can turn off at Doublebois and head for St Cleer / Common moor and Minions. The site is around 5 miles from here.

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