News

‘Derbyshire Life’ feature

This well-known magazine decided to do an in-depth article on Leander and its work in their April issue. Amongst the responses it generated was one from the former archivist of Rolls-Royce. A few years ago we made a series of bronze RR Centenary plaques for locations at home and abroad. To reach one awkward site, we had to transport the works fork lift truck to an adjacent street, off-load the plaque and its massive mounting boulder and negotiate some tricky pathways to reach the spot.

Anyway, the RR man wrote “you are very demonstrably artists in your own right, as well as first-rate founders. It all reinforces what I said to Sir Ralph Robbins, then Chairman of RR - your operation is one of which Derbyshire should be proud.”

Bronze tympanum for French chateau

This curious image was an allegorical twisting of a famous image which showed the Devil feeding peasants into the Mouth of Hell. The image we cast showed the opposite - the monks being pushed in, rather than the peasants! We cast it from a broken plaster relief brought from the chateau and the bronze is now on its way to its new home. We used a thick murky patination to make the plaque look anything but new.

An image of the original can be found at www.conques.com/visite23

McFarlane Fountain Restoration

Roger Lees assesses the job!

A goodly number of McFarlane 4-column and 8-column drinking fountains still survive in the UK and overseas. Made by Walter McFarlane, Saracen Foundry, Glasgow in the late Victorian era (hence the over-the-top decoration!) they have survived mainly in parks and occasionally in town centres. We dismantled this one at Whitehall Park, Darwen, Lancs on 24th April for complete refurbishment.

Work across the Irish Sea

Some interesting work is being generated in Ireland. A sizeable order for signage metalwork in Co Cork has been followed by two interesting projects in Limerick. One comprises ductile iron (rowing) oars with text on the blades as a novel form of historical plaque. The second involves four large lectern-mounted full colour plaques with crests and motifs. The Limerick Civic Trust have achieved great things over the past twenty years or so and we’ll enjoy working with them on these projects and others to follow.

Sculpted balustrades

Bespoke bronze

The first (low-res unfortunately) photos of cast bronze balustrades for a new swimming pool at a Cheshire house. Each panel was sculpted in wax by Denise Dutton and cast, patinated and installed by us in early April. Close-up and high-res photos to follow, hopefully!

PLAQUES and ‘PLAQUEES’

‘Plaquee’ is our word for the (usually deceased) subject of a plaque and this month has seen a particularly good inflow of very diverse ‘plaquees’. Several are still very much alive! Here are some examples:

Marlon Devenish, athlete : Sir Nigel Hawthorne, actor : Don Luigi Sturzo, Italian politician : Vince Hill, singer : Billie Whitelaw, actress : Philip Larkin, poet : Clive Owen, actor : Charles Early, blanket manufacturer : Ronnie Hazlehurst, composer of much BBC programme music : Hazel O’Connor, singer/actress : Robert Lochner, inventor of (part of) the wartime Mulberry Harbours.

Perhaps the most interesting is Kelso Cochrane, a young Antiguan carpenter, whose violent death in 1959 led, ironically, to much improved race relations in Kensington. The one which would really appeal to pub quiz compilers is William Gunther who invented, in case you didn’t know, the OXO cube!

Many monoliths

An order has been received for 11 of our large ‘Rotherham’ type monoliths as shown in the site photo gallery. These incorporate a range of hand-modelled and photographically-reproduced information on the history of the sites in question. For the first time, 5 of the monoliths will be double ended - imagine two as illustrated but joined in the middle like Siamese twins. 

We’ve also started casting the sculpted poetry monoliths for St Helens, Merseyside. These are massive aluminium castings weighing about 200kg apiece, with poems snaking around their surface in relief. Photos next month when they’re finished.

Thank you letters

Two more this month:

“I would just like to record our thanks for the superb signs for the Broseley Jitties (alleyways in Shropshire). The signs are all in place and look tremendous. They will add greatly to the other work we are doing in the area.” Community Regeneration Officer, Bridgenorth District Council 23/03/09

“The lecterns (6 etched stainless steel panels recording a thousand years of local history) were greatly admired by those attending the opening. You’ve done a great job and the Museum and I are very happy with the finished product.” Town Centre Manager, Brentwood, Essex 30/03/09

(photos of both to follow)

P.S. Further to last month’s plea to help other firms who are desperately short of work, February’s outsourcing of work and materials was 27% up on the same month last year.